Cherry Red's Esoteric Recordings has revisited the 2007 concert release Dear Mr. Fantasy: A Celebration for Jim Capaldi in a new 2CD/1Blu-ray edition.  Following the singer-songwriter-drummer's death on January 28, 2005 at the age of 60 from stomach cancer, many of his friends came together on January 21, 2007 at the Roundhouse in London's Camden Town to pay tribute and support one of his favorite charities, The Jubilee Action Street Children Appeal.  This release preserves that extraordinary evening with Capaldi's former Traffic bandmate Steve Winwood, Yusuf Islam a.k.a. Cat Stevens, Pete Townshend, Joe Walsh, Paul Weller, Gary Moore, Jon Lord, Bill Wyman, and others.

Dear Mr. Fantasy is named after one of Traffic's most beloved songs, but the Worcestershire native paid his dues prior to forming that famous band.  Capaldi's first group, The Hellions, initially consisted of Capaldi, Dave Mason, and Gordon Jackson; after attempting to relaunch themselves as Revolution, a disenchanted Mason departed the band.  With Luther Grosvenor replacing Mason, they regrouped one final time as Deep Feeling.  But it didn't last.  After dissolving Deep Feeling, Capaldi reached out to a friend he had met while on tour with The Hellions, Steve Winwood.

Now free from his obligations as member of the hitmaking Spencer Davis Group, Winwood joined Capaldi, multi-instrumentalist Chris Wood, and Mason (back on board) to form Traffic.  Capaldi wrote lyrics to Winwood's melody for the psychedelic "Paper Sun," Traffic's first single in 1967. Despite a fluctuating lineup, with Mason coming and going with frequency, Traffic remained an ongoing concern through 1974 with its intricate sound melding rock and jazz-rooted improvisation. (The band would reform in 1993-1994 as well as in 2004 for its Rock and Roll Hall of Fame induction.)

Capaldi launched a solo career in 1972 with Oh How We Danced, featuring contributions from Paul Kossoff of Free. A 1975 cover version of "Love Hurts" went Top 5 in the U.K. but it wasn't until 1982 that he cracked the lucrative American radio market with "That's Love" from the album Fierce Heart, featuring old friend Winwood on keyboards. Capaldi continued collaborating with many friends throughout his career, including Eric Clapton (for whom he played on Rainbow Concert, Carlos Santana, and Squeeze's Paul Carrack, with whom he wrote the Eagles hit "Love Will Keep Us Alive."  His final studio album, 2001's Living on the Outside, featured Winwood, Paul Weller, and George Harrison as guests.

The 1,500-capacity Roundhouse proved an ideal and intimate setting for this celebration of Jim Capaldi's life which began with Paul Weller's rendition of Traffic's "Paper Sun" through the finale, an all-star take on "Love Will Keep Us Alive" led by Eagles' Joe Walsh, Steve Winwood, and veteran sideman (and the evening's musical director) Mark Rivera (Billy Joel, Ringo Starr).  The setlist featured both Traffic material (Walsh's "John Barleycorn Must Die," Weller's "Pearly Queen" and "Here We Go Round the Mulberry Bush," Winwood's "Dear Mr. Fantasy," Townshend's "No Face, No Name, No Number") and solo songs from Capaldi's catalogue (The Storys' "Love's Got a Hold on Me," Yusuf's "Man with No Country," Moore's "Evil Love").  The cast was supported by a top-tier band led by saxophonist Rivera and featuring percussionist Ray Cooper (Elton John), keyboardist Paul "Wix" Wickens (Paul McCartney), drummers Simon Kirke (Bad Company) and Andy Newmark (Sly and the Family Stone), bassist Dave Bronze (Eric Clapton), and guitarist Pete Bonas (a frequent Capaldi collaborator).

Esoteric's new edition is housed in a clamshell case and contains a 44-page booklet with numerous photos as well as a reprint of the original concert program.  Ben Wiseman has mastered the audio.  The full concert is presented on both 2 CDs and one Blu-ray which is region-free and playable on all standard Blu-ray players throughout the world.  (Eagle Vision previously released the show on DVD in both PAL and NTSC formats.)

Dear Mr. Fantasy: A Celebration for Jim Capaldi is a potent reminder of the late artist's many gifts.  It's available now from Cherry Red and Esoteric.  As an Amazon affiliate, we earn from qualifying purchases.

Various Artists, Dear Mr. Fantasy: A Celebration for Jim Capaldi (Cherry Red/Esoteric ECLEC 32905, 2025) (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada / Cherry Red)

CD 1

1. Paper Sun - Paul Weller
2. Lost Inside Your Love - Stevie Lange
3. Living on the Outside - Joe Walsh, Bill Wyman, and Jon Lord
4. Elixir of Life - Dennis Locorriere
5. Whale Meat Again - Simon Kirke
6. Love's Got a Hold on Me - The Storys
7. Forty Thousand Headmen - Joe Walsh
8. Man with No Country - Yusuf
9. Light Up or Leave Me Alone - Steve Winwood
10. Dear Mr. Fantasy - Steve Winwood

CD 2

1. Evil Love - Gary Moore
2. Here We Go Round the Mulberry Bush - Paul Weller
3. Let Me Make Something in Your Life - Stevie Lange and Jon Lord
4. Gifts of Unknown Things - Phil Capaldi, Jon Lord, and Bill Wyman
5. Love You 'Til the Day I Die - Margo Buchanan
6. No Face, No Name, No Number - Pete Townshend
7. John Barleycorn Must Die - Joe Walsh
8. Pearly Queen - Paul Weller
9. Rock and Roll Stew - Dennis Locorriere, Margo Buchanan, and Stevie Lange
10. Love Will Keep Us Alive - Steve Winwood, Joe Walsh, Mark Rivera, Gary Moore, Jon Lord, The Storys, and Bill Wyman

Blu-ray contains all above tracks plus Introduction by Bob Harris.

All tracks originally released on Eagle Records ER 20118-2, 2007 (CD) / EV 30225-9, 2007 (DVD)​