SHOOT OUT AT THE FANTASY FACTORY

This was pretty much the first time a Traffic album had sounded much like the previous Traffic album - it's even got a very similar cover conceit - but alas, this second incarnation of the band was already losing steam. The Low Spark of High-Heeled Boys had a similar style of jazz-tinged, smoothly delivered light prog, but that had hooks in it which remain fresh in the memory long after the album's done; Shoot Out is pleasant to listen to at the time, but lacks the same staying power.

Roll Right Stones is a similar attempt at a long song with regular repeated refrains as the title song from Low Spark, but there's diminishing returns at play here; the instrumental Tragic Magic has some fun contributions from Chris Wood which help things a little, but the obvious joke about the title of closing number Sometimes I Feel So Uninspired really rings true: even Steve's singing feels unenthusiastic about proceedings. It's not a terrible album - I won't skip any of the songs if they come up on shuffle - but it's not a memorable album.