Scan of the album in my collection. I acquired this record back when it was issued. At the time I was in New Orleans and bought it at the Mushroom on the Tulane campus. There was nothing sexualized in this cover in the day. That is today. Sad.
I too purchased this album when it came out, in 1969 and have always been a fan of anything that Stevie Winwood has done, (Spencer Davis Group, Traffic, Blind Faith, Solo work). The photo was taken by Bob Seidemann, who has many "provocative" album covers, but always creative photography. We were not offended by it in any way, we concentrated on the genius within created by Winwood, Clapton, Grech, and Baker. It is still today, one of my favorite albums, for the talent within. Traffic, before they were Traffic, the evolution is a part of my lifetime. Listen to the album, and enjoy the history. Take a look at Seidemann's work, and the bands that he worked with. For those of us who lived during this time, the album speaks for itself.
It was a very different time, and many albums were marketed with covers to get our attention (Beatles Butcher Album etc.) but the genius was within.
Listen to the music, it speaks for itself. Very different time, political unrest, height of the war in Vietnam, racial protest. It got our attention then, and apparently still does.