Songs from the Ocean Floor

Opener 'Cross' is a good example of what to expect throughout the release and its an extremely good track. Gradually building with 12 string acoustic work over which Morgenstein lays a steady groove and Timmons throws in atmospheric fills rather than rampant axework gives you a taster of what to expect. Fans of Dream Theater's more laidback moments (Speak To Me, Lifting Shadows Of A Dream etc) will embrace this album with open arms at its warmth is easy to pick up on even the first listen. This sort of sets the tone for the rest of the release, their is not a huge amount of deviation in the nature of the tracks except for some being either sparser or more elaborate in orchestration. All however feature Kips exceptionally strong and melodic vocals and mature lyrics. Gone are the 'looking for babes' lyrically content that Winger portrayed, with these on 'Songs From The Ocean Floor' being more in tune with life journeys and experiences. This should not be seen as a sign of selling out as these kind of lyrics were the backbone of the last 'Winger' album 'Pull'. Highlights of the album include the aforementioned opener 'Cross', the Page & Plant-ish 'Song Of Midnight', the dark rock of 'Broken Open'. A great piano led ballad 'Only One Word' which fuses Savatage with James LaBrie vocal phrasings. 'Resurrection' could be seen as a 'Headed For A Heartbrake' for the new millennium only with a less commercial chorus and more mature lyrics, Reb Beach makes a guest appearance and throws some weight into the track with an emotive solo. Apart from these tracks mentioned a variety of other moods are ventured on: Orchestrated ballad - 'Two Lovers Stand', melancholy - 'Landslide', eastern tinged instrumental - 'Free' and flirtations in Sting jazz tinged areas - 'Everything You Need'. Overall a variety of bases are covered and covered well, the one glaring omission is anything remotely like the upbeat rocking Winger material.

All in all its a great slice of songwriting that will reap benefits in the long-term.

He can still pen a good tune, and the songs are mainly strong. I especially like Cross, Crash the Wall, and there's a fantastic instrumental track as well I just love. The mid-tempo tracks are sometimes similar to Winger's third and final CD Pull (although the guitar is nothing like as distorted as Reb Beach used to), but there are also a lot of slow songs, very reflective.

I knocked off a star due to the lack of much upbeat material, but to be honest that's just my opinion, and this CD remains a very strong release.