Steve Winwood


Robert Christgau says Steve Winwood, when left to his own devices, is vague. I mean it's Blue-Eyed Jazz Funk, why would you expect concise and direct prescience? Also, i think you'll notice, he's leaning against a tree, and James Hutchinson painted him less like a Florida landscape and more like a passing extra in the opening credits of a Cheers episode. 

I'll grant you it's not exciting, but i wasn't led to believe it would be. I was led to believe it would be an album from a guy leaning against a tree. The real question is "is that a crazy guy leaning against that tree, or is he just a normal guy taking a moment to think a little deeper, however meanderingly, than normal?" This turns out to not be particularly insane or disturbing, so seems fine to me. 

I say Jazz-Funk, and it is, but it's like the Soft Rock version of funky. Everything by Steve Winwood sounds like it's going to break out into Higher Love (or possibly Back In the Hard Life Again) at any moment. Granted, Chaka Khan is nowhere in sight back here in '77, and that's a bummer, but left to his own devices he has a highly refined and immediately identifiable sound. 

I guess what i'm saying is be prepared for 40 minutes of expecting the next song to be the original (not the Whitney Houston) version of Higher Love, but never achieving that catharsis. You'll have to go listen to it yourself to get it out of your system. Other than that the self-titled debut from Steve Winwood is quite lovely. Forgettable, but lovely.

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