Steve Winwood - Nine Lives Review
Posted by Leonard Hayhurst on 05.02.2008
But like a cat, can the rock legend always land on his feet?
Release Date: April 29, 2008 Label: Sony Producer: Steve Winwood
Main Personnel
Steve Winwood: Guitar, Hammond Organ, Vocals
Jose Neto: Guitar
Paul Booth: Flute, Saxophone, Whistle
Karl Van Den Bossche: Percussion
Richard Bailey: Drums
Tim Canfield and Eric Clapton guest on guitar
Steve Winwood has been rocking out since he was 15 as part of the Spencer Davis Group. He then went on to Traffic, Go, and Eric Clapton’s supergroup Blind Faith. Winwood achieved solo success in the eighties with songs such as “Back in the High Life” and “Higher Love.” This is his first solo album since 2003. Winwood is on tour this summer with Tom Petty. He is part of the Rock ‘n Roll Hall of Fame as a member of Traffic.
TRACK LISTING
I'm Not Drowning: It’s clear that Winwood is going back to his blues roots from the opening track with its click-clack percussion and chicken picking guitar style. It makes for a simple, but catchy rhythm. Winwood’s vocals on the track are also raspy with just a touch of a Howling Wolf style wail at the end of verses. It’s nothing grand, but a good meat and potatoes opener.
Fly: This is more akin to his eighties and nineties pop work as the sax gets a good workout as the lead instrument, but the song overall has a layered sound. It’s a very mellow track. You can tell here that Winwood is getting up there in years as he lacks that crispness and ability to hit the higher ranges. However, on this whistful track about leaving the world behind and going to a special place the haggardness works. At nearly eight mintues it is a bit long. The final break should have been cut as it’s just reptitive.
Raging Sea: This is a good marriage of the first two tracks with just a hint of the classic Traffic sound. This song has a more up beat blues tempo and a bongo backbeat that pushes it into a strange mix of Latin and African rhythms. Then the organ comes in toward the end and you don’t know what to think. Winwood’s vocals aren’t as bluesy as “I’m Not Drowning,” but he has a kick in the ass after the sleepy “Fly.” It’s a bit muddled with the different flavors, but not overly so.
Dirty City: This is the first single and features Steve’s old buddy Eric Clapton on guitar. Compared to the other tracks you can tell it’s Clapton. His guitar work and the distinct percussion and organ work gives this track an eerie feel. It really gets a gothic vibe when the organ takes over the chorus. Winwood’s raspy vocals with an even tone recalls his seventies work before he went really pop. I can understand making this song the first track because of Clapton’s invovlement, but I don’t think it has real commercial appeal. Clapton just starts jamming at the end while Winwood cuts loose on repeating the chorus. It really bumps the track a couple notches.
We're All Looking: Another musical inspiration rears its head here as Winwood uses the organ to explore a gospel tinged sound. The lyrics about everyone looking, but being blind and searching inside themselves can easily be taken for a religious message. The track is progressive with the heavy use of cymbals for percussion and the accoustic guitar sound on the breaks. It’s the kind of song you’d hear going into that church that used to be a grocery story where Father Brad has an earring and calls everyone brother.
Hungry Man: Hey, break out the kettle drums, it’s calypso time in Steven Winwood world! Winwood acheives a staccato sound on his vocals as he talks about burning sand and baby tears. It’s a Bob Marley style poverty anthem, but a tad too peppy. The constant style shift really starts to grate on me here. The guitar work is great though as it really mimics that Carribbean sound and blends well with the multi-layred percussion. Tim Canfield guests.
Secrets: Finally a track that sounds like it could be on an album with another one. This has that progressive light rock feel of “Dirty City” and similar styled moody, mysterious lyrics. The flute replaces the sax here and gets into a nice, playful duel with the backbeat. At that point it slides into light jazz, but very much with a rock tempo. The flute break is a bit long. Seriously, who can sit through more than like thirty seconds of a flute solo? Drop the flute all together and this is your radio ready single.
At Times We Do Forget: A little too much flute and too much bongos. Get past that and this is a nice rocking number with a more classic pop sound than some of the other tracks. This is probably also Winwood’s most comfortable vocal performance as it meshes well with the backing track. He’s singing with the music, not over it, you know? Fiddle with the arrangement and this could have been one of his eighties hits.
Other Shore: This is a mellow, groovy track. You could put this on when you’re getting romantic with your lady friend. That is cemented when the saxophone takes over on the break. It brings back the mental imagery of the first few tracks with the wind and water symbolism of being swept away in whatever and just enjoying the ride. There is some light jazz touches again, but the tempo and arrangement keep it in the pop rock vein. It builds to a nice crescendo. Possibly my favorite track, let me listen to it a few more times.
The 411: Each song on their own is pretty decent with their own merits. The problem is that I don’t know how this works as a cohesive album. There are a lot of different musical styles here fighting it out, even though Winwood plays around heavy with the Hammond organ and bongo drums on most tracks. None of the songs are that memorable lyrically, but with Winwood it’s more about the instrumentation and production. I don’t see this getting a lot of radio play and casual fans might be turned off. Those who really dig Winwood and understand his blues background will probably be interested enough to give this disc a few spins. I do feel that it’s probably an album that would grow on you. The craftsmanship on the album is evident and the nine tracks at just about an hour doesn’t overstay its welcome, yet most of the tracks are long compared to the average radio single. I did like it, but I was a bit under whelmed.
