Another Detour From Traffic

** TRAFFIC, “Far From Home”; Virgin

This purported reunion of a classic rock band sounds more like an attempt to jump-start Steve Winwood’s becalmed solo career under a sexier marketing banner.

Vintage Traffic music was an adventurous grab-bag that at its best combined pop pith with wide-ranging stretches through jazz, folk, rock and R&B; influences. “Far From Home” enlists Traffic alum Jim Capaldi on drums, but the album is a sleek, tailored work little different in approach from the music Winwood’s been making since his 1986 solo high-water mark, “Back in the High Life.”

Winwood’s inspiration has faltered badly since then, but “Far From Home” at least represents a step back from the tedium of his 1990 release, “Refugee of the Heart.” Winwood remains one of the great pure talents in rock and the major strands of his ability are well-represented here: the soulful urgency of the voice and the instrumental excellence on organ, piano and guitars.

The spark is still there when he taps funk, soul or blues roots or pays tribute to Carlos Santana’s blues-salsa fusion on the instrumental “Mozambique.” Elsewhere, songs become diffuse and overextended as the so-called Traffic tries to make up in profundity what it lacks in freshness and inspiration.

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