STEPHEN Lawrence Winwood, the English singer-songwriter and instrumentalist rock legend who was a member of the bands the Spencer Davis Group, Traffic, Go and Blind Faith, is back with his firstfull-length studio album since 2003.Nine Lives finds Winwood drawing on an amalgam of styles and influences. With laid-back grooves, deepvein bass lines, instantly singable tunesand loose, spiralling rhythms and percussion, the music has a fusionsound tinged with jazz and Latin subtleties.
In I'm Not Drowning, Winwood goes back to his blues roots with itsclick-clack percussion and chicken-picking guitar style.
The album's first single, Dirty City, features six-time Grammy-winning singer, songwriter and composer Eric Clapton on guitar. It jangles totumultuous grooves. You can spot a hint of the classic Traffic sound in Raging Sea, withits upbeat blues tempo and a bongo backbeat that pushes it into a strangemix of Latin and African rhythms.
Secrets has that progressive light rock feel. The flute replaces the sax here and gets into a nice, playful duel with the backbeat.
On Raging Sea and Secrets, Winwood's vocal fluidity evokes feeling sultimately more touching than the lyrics themselves. Along with a bedrock of bongos, supple interleaving guitar and bass,and a wash of keyboards swaying prettily behind lyrics that speak of being free and in love,
Other Shore is a sure hit with Winwood's fans. Winwood's voice remains his greatest asset, possessing the apparentcontradiction of being ostensibly thin and yet able to cut to the soul with telling effect.
While the songs on Nine Lives might not necessarily rush out to greet you, they certainly prove themselves a worthy company once you've had them around for a while.
And the album comes with a bonus DVD. – NST 15/06/2008
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