STEVE WINWOOD — Talking Back to the Night (review)

STEVE WINWOOD — Talking Back to the Night album cover Album · 1982 · Pop/Art Song/Folk Buy this album from MMA partners
0.5/5 ·
Sean Trane
Well after the rather-amazing success of arc Of A Diver, Winwood took advantage of this second chance and rode on the predecessor's wave and repeated the formula almost note for note, but with less of a success and a diminished inspiration as well. Indeed he played everything on this album again (apart from having his wife sing back up), which is sort inexplicable given the preceding album's massive commercial success. Sooooo whatever flaw you've found with AoaD, you'll find here, magnified by a lack of inspiration and the "surprise" now gone. Indeed, instrumentally the 70's are completely erased and stevie is quite adamant to forget his famed Hammond organ, and his relitively good guitar skills are limited to mostly strumming along to accvompany the general melody. Don't look for instrumental interplay (he plays with himself, but that's about it), because it was deemed a no-no back in those days and a reason for a red card from the massive FM-radio airplay.

Despite some very-much inferior songwriting, the music industry pushed the album and force-fed the public via massive radio airplay beyond reasonable reasons. Indeed we were faced with the uninspired title track and other bad songs (sorry Stevie, but calling a cat a cat) pouyred into our aching ears, album, which despite its low quality contents, still manage to hit the early-80's Yuppies syndrome and still sold enough to probably break even. Understandably Winwood carefully chose to wait a few years to come back with a relatively stronger album and actually bring back his famed Hammond organ into the fold. Best avoided, unless you like a second-league Arc Of A Diver album.
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