The history of Steve Winwood reads like the history of English rock and roll: teenage years spent in an R&B band in the 60s (the Spencer Davis Group), fronting a psychedelic rock band in the late 60s and a progressive rock band in the early 70s (Traffic both times), playing alongside titans (Eric Clapton, Jimi…
A supergroup for the ages, featuring the principal members of Cream and Traffic. Plus the bass player from Family.
A symphonic interpretation of Tommy featuring guest vocalists that include Roger Daltrey, Rod Stewart and Ringo Starr.
What happens when VU’s visionary meets the king of concept albums, Bob Ezrin?
Not a commercial album, though Trafficking in the dark side of the moon might seem that way. And I’m gung ho for Go’s gang: Winwood, Shrieve, Schulze, DiMeola. Stomu Yamashta is a mystery to me, but I admire his vision, sandwiching songs between instrumental interludes that range from modern classical to electronic space music. Whether…
Kronomyth 1.0: NO HITS, NO NAME, NO WONDER. Often lost and forgotten, Steve Winwood’s first official album was the second ill omen of nineteen hundred and seventy-seven, Peter Gabriel’s hodgepodge of pop and pomp being the other. Rolling Stone’s critics gave Winwood a pass on this one, but you’d have to be pretty mathematically challenged…
George ends the decade on a high note with one of his better solo albums.
Steve dives into the new world of synthesizers and emerges with a platinum record.
Kronomyth 7.0: DISCO IS DEAD, LONG LIVE ROCK. Finally, a fitting followup to Short Cut Draw Blood. Let The Thunder Cry is a similarly pleasant potpourri of pop/rock with a good dose of social conscience and a little romance thrown in good measure. The first side of music is especially strong; so much so that,…
Kronomyth 3.0: DIVER DOWN. Steve Winwood writes soulful, romantic synthesizer pop. I write progressive rock reviews. Not exactly a match made in heaven, so when I tell you that this is a second Arc, bear in mind that I wasn’t exactly on board with the first one. Talking Back To The Night does contain the…
Kronomyth 8.0: ARC OF A DIVERSE ARTIST. Co-produced with Steve Winwood, Fierce Heart is a conscious attempt to channel Winwood’s success with synthesizers into Jim Capaldi’s career. The result is surprisingly effective; in fact, this might be the best solo album he’s ever recorded. Capaldi doesn’t rely completely on synthesizers, but blends them into the…
This edges out The Pros and Cons of Hitchhiking as the best of the pink flawed following The Final Cut.
Steve Winwood’s best solo album, it dominated the airwaves alongside Peter Gabriel’s So and Paul Simon’s Graceland.
The second single from High Life and, yeah, it basically sounds like “Superstition,” but let’s just agree it’s wonderfull.