Second Winter, released in 1969, is the third studio album from albino guitarist Johnny Winter. It was recorded in Nashville during the blazing heat of August. It was completed on August 12, just five days before Winter and his brother Edgar performed at Woodstock. Maybe some of the excitement and energy from the festival had already crept into Winter’s music. The album is electric and manic, turning fairly traditional blues into an amplified onslaught of sound and intensity.
The album’s first track, “Memory Pain,” (originally a Percy Mayfield tune) is drenched in feeling. Winter’s guitar is heavy and stringy – tearing fat, rhythmic holes with every lick. This is rock and roll. His voice growls and howls in guttural passion. The song is barely recognizable from its smooth, Mayfield counterpart. There is no restraint or second-guessing here. Just the blues.
In fact, six of the eleven songs on the album are cover songs. There are two Little Richard numbers (“Slippin’ and Slidin’” and “Miss Ann”), a Bob Dylan tune (“Highway 61 Revisited”), and a great version of Berry’s “Johnny B. Goode.” I’m generally not a fan of cover songs (at least on albums), but Winter’s unusual voice fills them with fresh breath. Each song is infused with so much fury and spit that you might as well be hearing it for the first time.
It is Winter’s own compositions, however, that sell the album. The last four tracks are all originals. It is in these songs where Winter really settles into a deep, ugly groove. The combination of “I Love Everybody” and “I Hate Everybody” is great. The two songs oppose each other in subject matter and feel. Actually, they might have made nice bookends to the album. But whatever. They also give us some insight into the mind of the roaring bluesman…
I ain't tired and no I ain't hungry
But I'm horny as I can be
Been a long time comin' baby
Better come get some of me
An honest man if ever there was one.
The album closes with the monstrous guitar showcase that is “Fast Life Rider.” Endless, reverberating strings bouncing from channel to channel. It’s disorienting. It’s powerful. It’s a good way to finish the album.
Some albums succeed because they transport you places you wouldn’t otherwise go. Jimi Hendrix takes you to the fringes of a drug-addled freak-out, the Beatles take you to some psychedelic wonderland, Bowie takes you to the edge of the solar system. Johnny Winter doesn’t take you anywhere. He just throws you to the ground, pounds your face into the dirt, and tells you to breath. But that’s alright with me.
Listening Recommendations: After a long day and before a long night. Best served on a hot evening with cold beer.
Dylan, thanks for the reminder. I've been a Johnny Winters fan for decades, and your analogy of down on the ground, face ground in the dirt and encouraged to breath is picturesque and apt.
ReplyDeleteDylan, are you jealous that Johnny Winter is more tanned than you are?
ReplyDeleteThanks Richard. This is the only full album I've heard by Winter, but it has such a distinct feel. Winter is so earthy.
ReplyDeleteHayley, Winter's CMYK rating is 0, 0, 1. Mine is 0, 0, 0. It's something I'm proud of. Ridicule only gives me a big head.
I like how you evaluated your skin color by CMYK rating. B-Fawkes would be proud. Maybe as a reward he'd let you ride around in his kool truck?
ReplyDeleteMan, I hope so. Kool truck ride, or an invitation to his "Wild Tea" party. Both would be a dream come true for me.
ReplyDelete