![]() In fact, if you want interesting flavor and inventiveness, “Tears of Blood” will be much more to your liking. Of course, in Winger tradition, its apparent simplicity belies some of the interesting keyboard work, drumming, and guitar bits that would never be found in the filler material of lesser bands. It is unfair to classify much material on this record as filler, since it’s all good, but there are a few tracks that don’t necessarily raise the bar, but nonetheless deliver solid songwriting and musicianship with cool riffs and melodies to keep the record going. This is followed with “Heaven’s Falling,” a mid-tempo minor-key rocker that could have been right at home on the “IV” comeback album. Pissed-off anarchist content is always welcome. Not only is it worth watching for the high-value production, but the thematic elements underscore the lyrical content, some authentically rock-and-roll stuff about rebellion and political deception. The music video for this one is worth a watch. Speaking of brevity, the track itself comes in just under four minutes, making it a perfectly bite-sized introduction to the band’s 2023 sound. Speaking such things, the whammy-wizard Reb Beach has all his chops intact, as is evident from the Floyd Rose abuse he delivers in the solo on the first track, a technical yet tastefully concise little number. Already possessed with world-class pipes, it is clear he has taken care of them, or been very fortunate, but whatever the case, he is still firing on cylinders at least 90% as well as he was in 1990. When the first verse of Kip’s vocals is added, it is apparent by the time the first chorus arrives that Kip Winger is very much in control of his voice. This goes through four repetitions before surprisingly disgruntled gang vocals join the fray with some “heave, ho” sort of action going on. Winger’s seventh album comes right out with its hard-hitting first single, “Proud Desperado.” There is no steady buildup here from the moment the needle hits the wax, Rod is slamming the drums, and all instruments are pounding away with a heavy riff. ![]() Paul Taylor and John Roth continue to round out the keyboard and rhythm guitar functions, often doing the heavy lifting as the unsung heroes of the band’s massive sound. Rod Morgenstein, another proggy luminary in the band, alumnus of acts such as Dixie Dregs and Tabor/Myung’s Jelly Jam, commands the drums as well as ever. The one, the only Reb Beach resumes his duties as lead and rhythm guitar wizard. Kip remains not only the namesake of the band, but the voice, the bass, and the principal songwriter. Good news first as is mostly the tradition of this band, the lineup remains intact. The “heyday” of Winger was really not all that long, and, arguendo, the music has improved in the years since.Īnd so it is that we come to 2023 and the release of “Seven,” the latest and possibly greatest Winger album. In the subsequent years, the band went on to do the equally substantive “Karma” and “ Better Days Comin” albums, and while the 90s exile and hiatus remain the most defining moment of Winger history, it is interesting to note the band has done more recording and touring since their 2006 reunion than they did before the hiatus. Thankfully, the band only had to keep their heads down and stay busy with other projects for about ten years before reuniting to do their “IV” album, a rocket-fueled monster which continued to direction of “Pull” but with more polish and maturity. This somewhat unique juxtaposition, paired with a few other wrong place/wrong time factors, led to Kip Winger’s eponymous rock/metal project becoming one of the first and most heinous sacrifices to the nihilistic volcano god of 90s the music scene. A bit like the Ray Lomas character of the aforementioned Tull album, Winger is too prog for rock and roll, and a bit too rock-and-roll for a Cruise to the Edge. Actually, this is a commentary on the strange twilight state of being where we often find some things, like a sort of Fish-on-a-Bicycle, where yes, that’s neat, but what’s it do? Winger, the band, despite incredible mammoth talent, has always suffered from being too good at too many things at the same time. Once upon a time, Ian Anderson of Jethro Tull mused lyrically about being “too old to rock and roll, and too young to die.” Don’t panic, Kip, this is not about you.
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