Gordon Jackson, a vocalist, guitarist, and drummer, issued the scarce 1969 Marmalade LP Thinking Back, an effort that echoed the sound of contemporaneous Traffic releases while showing a more remote kinship with Family. The parallels arose from direct involvement rather than coincidence: several musicians from both Traffic and Family contributed, as did Julie Driscoll and Spooky Tooth’s Luther Grosvenor, with Traffic’s Dave Mason serving as producer. The album blended psychedelic rock with jazz, folk, soul, and world-music elements in the same unhurried manner that marked portions of Traffic’s catalog. Although the songs lacked the sharper focus and strength found in Traffic or Family material, they conveyed an appealing introspective feel through haunting melodies cast in minor keys.
Before recording the album, Jackson maintained close ties to players who would later populate Traffic, Family, and Spooky Tooth, yet his own short-lived solo path never approached their level of visibility. He had belonged to the Hellions, a Birmingham outfit that also featured Mason, Grosvenor, and future Traffic percussionist Jim Capaldi; the group cut unsuccessful singles for Piccadilly during the mid-1960s. Once the Hellions disbanded, Jackson joined Deep Feeling alongside Capaldi, Grosvenor, and Poli Palmer, the multi-instrumentalist who would join Family. Deep Feeling issued no recordings at the time, although the strong early psychedelic number “Pretty Colours” eventually surfaced on Grosvenor’s Floodgates Anthology. Jackson remained outside the circle when Mason and Capaldi helped launch Traffic, and after the close of the 1960s he largely disappeared from view, even though Thinking Back had suggested greater promise.
