Search - Johnny Winter :: Winter of 88

Nothing really wrong with this one at all.

P.J. Le Faucheur | Canada (ex- U.K. resident) | 09/27/2005

(4 out of 5 stars)

"This was the way Winter and most Blues artists sounded in the late 1980s. I can't see why some people disregard this album since alot of Blues artists were jumping on the commercial bandwagon e.g Robert Cray, Son Seals,Eric Clapton in 1988-1990. The sound has been mixed low and perhaps is abit overproduced/gimmicky but then even J.L. Hookers stuff in 1990 sounded the same.

At times the concept reminds me abit of Johnnys 1975 "John Dawson Winter the 3rd" and the choice of material is similar as it's right smack between rock & Blues. But there are plenty of high points and some scorching guitarwork. My favorite track is "I Looked Away" which has a slight Tony Joe White "swamp" feel and a long guitar solo.(abit like "Suzie Q" in places) "Rain" is a minor blues /rock song with some nice lyrics. "Close to Me" and 'Anything for your love" are typical of the type of output from most Bluesmen in 1988...infact Eric Clapton covered the latter song on his album "Journeyman" maybe a year or two later.(didn't do it as well as JW)

"World of Contradictions" has Johnny stepping back into the Muddy Waters mode. A slow , slide guitar blues. One of the extra tracks is a number that Johnny had as part of his repertoire back in 1974 i.e. the Memphis Slim hit "Mother Earth". One of the greatest Blues songs ever written by Willie Dixon. Winter pulls out all stops on this one and burns up his fretboard. Nice to see a song once covered by Jerry Lee Lewis ."It'll Be Me" being done by Winter. A touch of country in this song.

All in all a nice, but perhaps, dated album by todays standards.

But there's still LOTS of great guitar work done at a time when he was in his element and prime."

As Good As It Gets

Philip Clift | Knoxville, TN | 03/06/2007

(5 out of 5 stars)

"If you are a fan of contemporary, electric blues guitar this album is as good or better than anything on the market. Many fans consider Winter's first album to be his best, but the playing on Winter of '88 is much more refined and sophisticated. Winter plays and sings with incredible grit and passion, and his guitar tone is much meatier and heavier than many previous albums. His encyclopedic knowledge of blues licks is displayed with beautiful touch and spontaneity, much of the content seemingly unique to this work. The evolution of Winter's slide playing manifests fully on a number of cuts, most notably "Lightnin." If only Duane Allman had played for 20 more years, Winter might have had an electric slide rival. Awesome, face-melting blues baby."