Steve Winwood "Higher Love"

The 80s were not good to the our favorite keyboard players.

I hadn't really thought this through until I heard Steve Winwood mention something in an interview.  He was talking about his early 80s hits, and how some people write them off as too commercial, compared to his work with Traffic or Blind Faith.

He suggests that there really isn't a difference between the songs and the songwriting of those two phases of his career.  The difference is in the production.

I wish I could prove him right, because mvyradio would play more Winwood if we could.

But 1980s production just doesn't hold up, especially in the case of piano/keyboard artists.

Think about it.  What are some of the most reviled works of Elton John, Stevie Wonder and Billy Joel?  They are the records where these great players lean heavily on terrible-sounding synthesizers.  Couple with the use of drum machines and other synthesized instruments, the music of that era sounds painfully, embarassingly cheesy.

I'm sure I don't really have to convince you of this---the 80s don't exactly have a great reputation.  But it IS instructive to listen to "Don't You Worry 'Bout A Thing" versus "Part Time Lover," "Tiny Dancer" versus "I'm Still Standing," and "She's Always A Woman" versus "Pressure."  (All songs are posted below)

Don't the older songs actually sound more contemporary, or timeless, or, at a minimum, hold up much much better?

What's a little harder to be convinced of---though I think I believe it---is that tunes like Winwood's "Higher Love" and "Roll With It" and "Back In The High Life," if they were stripped of their 80s production, would hold up as equals to Winwood's earlier songwriting and playing.

I had this extended conversation with morning DJ Laurel a few months back.  She'd just gone to see Winwood live, and was enthusing about his playing and his songs.  I started thinking about his presence on the station.  We play 60s and 70s Winwood.  And we play more recent Winwood.  But we pulled the 80s songs out of rotation a good 10 years ago, because they just sounded dated.

I set Laurel on a task---to find some live or re-recorded Winwood material, where he plays those songs without the 80s trappings.  And like an Unplugged record.  Or a solo live performance.  Or a classic-rock-guy-revisits-his-old-songs record like Randy Newman and Loudon Wainwright have done.

But Laurel reported back that she couldn't find anything like that.

So here we wait, for Steve Winwood to prove this theory correct...

In the meantime, get a glimpse of how a synthesizer-less Winwood 80s track might sound, by checking out the James Vincent McMorrow cover of "Higher Love," below.


Hear Steve Winwood on Youtube.



Hear James Vincent McMorrow on Youtube.



Hear 70s Stevie Wonder on Youtube.



Hear Stevie Wonder in the 80s on Youtube.



Hear Elton John in the 70s on Youtube.



Hear Elton John in the 80s on Youtube.



Hear 70s Billy Joel on Youtube.



Hear 80s Billy Joel on Youtube.

Sinead O'Connor "Sacrifice"

I was writing about Elton John yesterday, and I had a little laugh remembering this.

I love reading liner notes (go ahead and say it: "NERD!").

And while I love the thoughtful essay, or the fine production detail, one of my all-time favorite liner quotes is from Sinead O'Connor.

She was part of "Two Rooms: Celebrating The Songs Of Elton John and Bernie Taupin," and was one of several famous musicians who covered classic songs.

In the liner notes, each artist wrote a few words about what Elton and Bernie's music means to them. Effusive stuff like "Elton inspired me to play the piano," "I remember the first time I heard this song," and "I love them dearly."

But it was Sinead O'Connor's pithy line that really made me laugh out loud:

"I can't believe no-one did 'Candle In The Wind.'"

Snarky, dismissive and succinct.


Hear the song on Youtube.

Elton John "Old 67"

You know how you used to like that restaurant a whole lot, and you ate there all the time, and then, I dunno, you heard it had cockroaches or there was a drug bust there, and you stopped going. Yeah, I mean, that happened 15 years ago, but you don't go there ever, but the place still seems to be in business?

That's how I feel about Elton John.

I just kinda lots my taste for his music, once he hit the cheesy 80s and the schlocky Disney 90s.

But I heard this song the other day, and I was reminded that somewhere in the last decade, Elton got back on track.

Sure, he's never going to match the level of work he hit in the 70s, but at least his last few albums have felt authentic. Like he was engaged with the work. Like he wasn't just trying to cash a Mass Appeal check.

So yeah, if you never go to that restaurant anymore, think about going back. The negative things you remember about it are long gone, and it's okay to reconsider, and even enjoy a modest, understated, but sincere return to form.


Hear the song on Youtube.