Winger - Winger IV Review
Posted by John Malady on 12.08.2006
She was only 17 in 1988 but she is 35 now. Should she check out the new Winger CD-WingerIV? Should you? Daddy says she too young but she's old enough for me! Now read the review. Do it for the kids!
Not so long ago in another time, another decade, there was a platinum selling rock n’ roll band by the name of Winger. Winger was one of the many heavy rock bands from the late eighties, early nineties that got lumped into a category of music, actually a sub-genre of heavy metal, referred to as hair metal or sometimes pop metal. Most of the time these types of bands (the originators of the genre) kicked ass as musicians but were marketed incorrectly. Of course the idiots that marketed these bands at the time would tell you different because most of these types of bands sold millions of records and made millions of dollars; unfortunately some really great musicians of this time got no respect from their peers and their looks or videos took priority over their actual songwriting or musicianship skills. Winger was one of these bands.
The true Winger fans, which I am, knew that what came out of the speakers when a Winger record was playing was what truly mattered and Winger could kick some serious ass as musicians as wells as at creating melodic and memorable riffs that latched onto and stuck with you long after hearing them. Winger could play progressive rock, classic styled rock, shredding metal, power ballads, you name it and they could play it with skill and emotion regardless of what they were singing about, which could be anything from personal tragedy to the joys of getting laid. In the eyes of fans of thrash bands (which I am as well) like Slayer, Metallica, and Megadeth, Winger was the enemy. To “true” metal heads that liked all forms of rock n’roll not just the fastest or heaviest bands, Winger churned out some damn fine, catchy rock n’roll.
For guitar shred heads, Winger guitarist, Reb Beach, was and still is a guitar god. For old school progressive rock n’roll fanatics, Winger’s drummer, Rod Morgenstein, hailed from the progressive rock band Dixie Dregs was and still is a phenomenal drummer. Songwriter and multi-instrumentalist, Paul Taylor was also with Winger for the first 2 albums. Last, but surely not the least, the man whose last name is also the bands name, Kip Winger. Most people remember Kip as the front man who MTV marketed as a pin up model more than a musician when in actuality Kip Winger studied the classical guitar as well as ballet, and prior to forming and playing in Winger Kip was Alice Cooper’s bass player on Alice’s Constrictor album and tour in 1986. After the tour he began writing songs with Reb Beach and worked at starting his own band. In fact, Alice Cooper suggested Kip call his band Winger.
Winger the self-titled first record came out in 1988 and instantly landed a hit with the song Seventeen, and is probably, for better or worse, the most well known song by the band. Winger released another platinum album in 1990 titled, In the Heart of the Young, then Nirvana hit and Winger was seen more on episodes of Beavis and Butt Head then in video rotation on MTV. Remember the nerd cheese metal fan they messed with all the time? He wore a Winger shirt, which could be taken as a compliment or an insult. In 1993 Winger released another great album, in my opinion, titled Pull but it failed to sell like the previous two Winger releases and until now,
13 years later, there were no Winger albums or tours. It is 2006 and the music scene is not the same as it was when pop metal ruled the charts or even when Seattle rock took its place. In terms of commercially popular rock n’roll there are not a whole hell of a lot of bands out there selling records whose music is anything short of 100% crap-no really commendable musicianship and no emotion that feels real. Of course there are some great bands out there for hardcore music fans that search for it but in terms of commercial radio, popular magazines, and television most of what is fed to the kids is just fad sounds that come in as quick as they leave with no timelessness or memorable qualities really shining through. No matter what style of music one likes, an honest music lover can hear if the emotions coming through the speakers are genuine or not, passionate people are not fools unfortunately there are more fools than passionate people thus we get crap as the common pushed product.
Out of nowhere comes along Winger IV, and when I saw that Winger was releasing another album I volunteered right away to review it and also conduct an interview with Kip Winger himself, look for it here on 411mania.com music zone soon to hear what Kip has been up to and why Winger got back together 13 years after their last record and tour. You might be wondering now is Winger IV any good? Yes it is. Is it cheesy pop metal that sounds out of place and time? Not at all. Winger IV sounds like musicians who play the type of music they are inspired to create and it also sounds like musicians who enjoy playing and creating music with one another.
Winger IV picks up where the band left off on Pull and they deliver the goods by the ton. Heavy and rocking tunes intact? Check. Blistering and complex solos shooting through the speakers? Check. Lyrical content that is much more creative and emotional than a song about a seventeen yr. old chick? Check. Wailing, classic Kip Winger vocals still there to rock you? Check. In fact, Kip Winger not only plays guitar, bass, and sings on this new record but he also produced, engineered, and mixed it. I not only think he did a great job on all fronts but I feel he has far exceeded the production of the other records they had put out previously.
Winger IV sounds like a live performance rather than a sterile studio session. There appears to be a loose based theme that involves the different perspectives of people going to, coming back from, or being in times of war but there is no protesting or preachy opinion coming through in the lyrics just stories being told from very human perspectives that allow you to attach your own feelings about the way war makes you feel personally rather than have them forced on you which is not an easy thing to do as an artist and it actually makes WingerIV possess a mysterious quality about it that is equally parallel to the question of why all of the sudden in 2006 has Winger reformed and released a new album? This is a good quality for the album to have because it will make it harder for critics to compare to their previously released work and maybe look at the band and the new album with a fresh set of ears and free of judgment that would stem from a time that is gone and will never be back again. Winger IV is out now and it is a damn good album that I recommend folks out there to give a go. You have nothing to lose but you could gain something you never had before.
The 411: Most people might ask themselves when they see the band name Winger in 2006, Why? Who? Does anyone even care that Winger IV is out and that Winger is on tour ? I think that Winger fans that have been there from the beginning will and should care, I still have all my Winger cd’s and I have seen them live before and look forward to seeing them again. I think anyone who isn’t familiar with anything they have done before and wants a good no bullshit rock n’roll record to crank up and escape the world for awhile should give this record a go. I think anyone that digs kick ass guitar playing should check this record out as well because it delivers some damn fine creative solos from Reb Beach, guitar virtuoso. Winger is back and I have no problem with that at all. Winger IV 2006 Oh hell yeah!
