Steve Winwood - Nine Lives

His ninth solo release, comprising nine songs

There’s been no radical changes in Winwood’s MO since his last album, About Time, five years ago. He’s still lightly embracing myriad musical styles without ever being bold enough to give any of them a really good snog, offering the listener not much more than a solid lesson in polite and perfectly palatable AOR.

He tries his hand at Van Morrisonesque soft soul mysticism on Flying, all neatly plucked acoustic guitars and drifting woodwind, while I’m Not Drowning threatens to be an angry blues shouter, but always seems to have a shy apology on its lips. Even the sly crawl of Dirty City, with Eric Clapton beefing up the strings, is more reserved than it should be, like a generic soundtrack piece for a stakeout in an episode of Miami Vice.

We’re All Looking is just about the only place where Winwood lets his hair down, marrying a Curtis Mayfield strut to the kind of fiery Hammond workout that elevated the best of his early work with the Spencer Davis Group. Ultimately, it’s the lack of any aggressive adventure or curiosity that lets the record down. Surely the whole point of having nine lives is the luxury of being able to risk a couple of them.

2 stars 2 stars

Columbia, | tbc

Reviewed by Terry Staunton
<< Back to Issue 350

Login Here

Free Newsletter


Subscribe to
our email newsletter by emailing:

anna.bowen@
metropolis.co.uk