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ivan@stellysee.de
| From | "sjm" <susna@comcast.net> |
| Subject | Re: Edgar, anyone? |
| Date | Mon, 2 Feb 2004 14:44:29 -0800 |
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> Now there's someone who I don't ever see mentioned on this list - Edgar
> Winter. I have one album of his - "They Only Come Out At Night". In
> addition to the "Frankenstein" instrumental, there are some good pop/rock
> tunes on the lp, such as "Free Ride", "Round and Round", "Autumn", "Hangin
> Around, along with some forgettable boogie rock. Does he have any other
> albums that throw pop in the mix?
----------
Probably not ~quite~ pop....but...
I've been carrying around his LP, "Entrance", for the last 30+ years, from
one change of residence to the other. It was one of the first LPs I ever
heard under a set of headphones ...courtesy of a friend's older brother. I
was totally blown away by it, complete with the tingles and neck hairs on
end. I still pretty much have the same reaction, even though I have never
been able to convince others about him. I'd never before heard anything
like it. Changed me forever.
I didn't know how to categorize the LP then, with its contemporaries (I
think "Tommy" came out about the same time.) And I was all-about the
Beatles in the late 60's, a tunnel-visioned 17 year old. "Entrance" got me
into exploring music.
Side one, my preference, is a thematic work, of about 5 long tracks. A
soundscape of jazzy-prog-rock, recurring melodies and emotional vocals with
hazy, esoteric, mystical lyrics. Poetic. Sexual. Charged. Blue-eyed soul.
Terrific songwriting, production, instrumentation. (I think he did all the
stuff by himself.)
Side 2 with back-up musicians is more as people recognize the Winter
brothers...southern blues-tinged, boogie gospel rock with a bit of glam. A
crazy mad version of "Tobacco Road", a shorter take than the 17 minute
version on _Collections_ from '86, is a memorable track.
The New Orleans-ish "Easy Street" from the aforementioned _Collections_
is one of my favorite all-time tracks ever.
The "Best of Edgar Winter" from 2002 I see listed on allmusic.com , has two
tracks off the rarity "Entrance". A shame that the tracks have to be taken
out of context, but better than nobody ever hearing this side of Edgar.
susan
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