Most Helpful Customer Reviews
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28 of 30 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
What a nice way to keep on running after all this time. Got to make you feelin' alright!, 2 May 2008
Stevie Winwood is turning 60 on April 12. Since he was 15 years old, he has had an exceptionally long and fruitful career by anybody' standard.
He enjoyed success with the white R'n'B of the Spencer Davis Group, the pop/psychedelic/jazz sounds of Traffic, the blues/rock of the short-lived "Blind Faith" super group. After the breakup of Traffic, he turned temporarily to mostly session work.
Winwood solo career began in earnest with his 1977 eponymous Island album, which did nothing at the height of punk. His five subsequent albums of sophisticated pop issued from 1981 to 1988 met with great international success with mostly adult fans. Successful singles also came along, including two chart toppers. He also received a Grammy Award (for best album of the year with "Back Into The high Life Again").
Afterwards, success began to elude him and long periods of inactivity began to set in. He turned to Latin/jazz inspired music in 1998 and left Virgin.
Steve Winwood's new album - a one-album deal with a major label (Columbia) - is a consolidation and an improvement upon his "About Time" album from 1993. The latter was, basically, performed by an organ/guitar/drums trio with occasional percussions, sax and flute. It featured R'n'B tunes infused with the aforementioned Latin/jazz influences.
The same influences still pervade this new release although the album hints more distinctly at the music found on, say, Traffic's "John Barleycorn Must Die" and "The Low Spark of High-heeled Boys" (which is good news in my book.) Guitarist Jose Pires de Almeida Neto and singer/lyricist Peter Godwin play a great role as co-composers of the album tracks. As regards the lyrics, they touch upon adult subjects as separation, loss, reunion and spiritual redemption.
Now a few words about my favourite songs.
The album opener, "I'm Not Drowning", is an acoustic, rolling blues on which Winwood plays all the instruments including the superb acoustic guitar part. The most striking aspect of this tune is that Winwood sings with the ecstatic force of his youth, although in a huskier tone. Congas and timbales surround the effortless soul of Steve's voice.
The optimistic "Fly" features delicate, beautiful flute playing, sweet strains of harmonica and the mighty tones of the Hammond B3. Sax/flute player Paul Booth ably fills in for the late, great Chris Wood in the band. The following track, "Raging Sea" is a lot funkier.
A special delight is Eric Clapton's appearance on "Dirty City" - the album's single - where he plays a stinging, scorching masterful guitar solo over Winwood's simple Hammond vamps and concluding vocals.
"Hungry Man" is another standout cut featuring the floating sounds of horns, a reggae-influenced rhythm as well as excellent, smoothly elegant lead and rhythm guitar parts.
I find that the funky, percussions and Hammond-filled "At Times We Do Forget" is definitely one of the most enjoyable tracks on this album.
Although I really enjoyed Winwood's first albums of the eighties ("Talking Back To The Night" in particular), I sure am glad to rediscover him in a setting that is much closer to his pre-solo career because I like his music with Traffic even more.
I am convinced that lots of people - not only older fans - are going to enjoy Steve Winwood's beautiful voice singing nicely thought out lyrics and bathed in a highly sympathetic musical context.
Keep on running, Steve. Who Knows What Tomorrow May Bring!
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15 of 16 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Hail the King of White Soul, 2 May 2008
I am two years younger than Steve and it has been my privilege to hear and savour his musical wizardry since I was 13. Never has his voice quavered and never has he dropped his standards. Every album has been a bag of oysters and every oyster has borne a pearl. This album is no exception and, as always, has justified the wait.
Truly great, our kid! Your voice is as pure as ever.
Robert, Perry Barr
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11 of 13 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Long Live Steve Winwood!, 6 May 2008
There is no doubting the pedigree of Steve Winwood. As a 15 year old he was the dominant creative and popular force in the Spencer Davis Group. This had a rather detrimental effect on Davis once Winwood left and he realised that he couldn't quite cut it without Steve.
He went on to massive success with Traffic and his solo career but there are a number of other projects and sessions work that are worth considering. All the reviews for this album mention Blind Faith because of Clapton's presence on Dirty City but he also played a significant part in the Pete Townsend lead support for Clapton's return to music at the Rainbow Concert in the early 70s.
His work with Stomu Yamashta's Go (see The Complete Go Sessions) was more than just as a side man. He later added considerably to John Martyn's classic album One World and the list could go on like this for a long time.
This album is in familiar Winwood territory of that soul, blues and Latin inflected sound. Some artists remain fresh by constantly moving forward and changing their style and approach, by re-imagining their music and introducing new elements. Others do not. Neither approach is right or wrong they are just different.
Steve Winwood's music is consistently excellent and although it is not everyone's cup of tea it has great merit and for those of us who love his music this is a welcome return. Like his last album, I hear the sound of a man who is again at ease with his music. The pressures of the music industry, A&R interferance etc, which undermined his confidence and drive for a number of years, seems to have vanished and in its place is a reinvigourated steve Winwood.
This is fine album, representing the very best we could possibly expect form this great man at this stage of his career and I for one am happy to have it.
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