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Sounds Great on Vinyl (Guest Review): Steve Winwood, Steve Winwood (Island, 1977)
Mr. Zabib has been insistent that I guest blog for him with a review or two, so for my first review Iâve gone with one of the greatest male rock vocalists ever: Steve Winwood. I picked up his self titled solo debut for $2.99 at the Electric Fetus in Duluth a couple weeks ago and was not disappointed.
This âyacht rockâ record is consistent with others in the genre, light on lyrics and heavy on groove. The first two tracks âHold Onâ and âTime Is Running Outâ feature thick bass and percussion funk highlighted by Rebop Kwaku Baahâs conga playing. As an aside, in an exercise in musical Seven Degrees of Bacon, Rebop Kwaku Baah was with Steve Winwood in Traffic and also played with Can, recording three albums, from 1977 until their breakup in 1979.
The third track on the record titled âMidland Maniacâ is one of my favorites. The solo piano introduction, combined with Winwoodâs soulful falsetto positions this song between his psychedelic works âCanât Find My Way Homeâ and âDear Mr. Fantasyâ and the powerful 1986 yacht rock anthem âHigher Loveâ.
On the fourth track, Steve provides the only real lyrical depth on the record with âVacant Chairâ, a song about overcoming the grief from a friendâs death. The chorus is a Yoruban saying O-ku nsu-kun no-ko meaning âthe dead are weeping for the deadâ sung by Winwood with heavy reverb. This creates an uplifting yet ghost-like mood of death and resurrection. This tune is thick with various instrumentation: organ, vibraphone, electric guitar, but the play of Winwood on piano and Baah on conga really drives the track.
The combination of organ and conga works. The record provides a great mix of Traffic and West African rhythm. There is little surprise the record didnât produce a hit single as the shortest track comes in at four and a half minutes and the best, âVacant Chairâ, is a seven minute jam. Is this record Fela Kuti? No. Is it Paul Simonâs Graceland? No. But it is a pretty good little record to dance to with serious vocals. And hey, it sounds great on vinyl.
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