It was always a sense of annoyance for me that Winger were held in such derision by metal fans, it’s as though they were responsible for all that was bad about late eighties rock and metal. I’m sure a lot of this has to do with videos of Large Oilrig throwing darts at a picture of Kip Winger while Metallica were recording the Black album and muttering obscenities about the band. The truth is, that this album is a great album that is well produced, well played, and well written, and Ulrich was just being his usual egotistical self.
The band did not just appear from nowhere as they had been around the scene with bands like Alice Cooper, Dixie Dregs, and Aldo Nova to name a few, and they were great musicians. Opening track, Madalaine, is a great melodic rock track with a great chorus and melody. Hungry is, again, a great track with emphasis on the melody and the hook. Seventeen is a killer track with a great riff and a superb melody and chorus. It’s a bit like déjà vu as this band can sure write a rock tune, of that there is no doubt. The obligatory ballad is next with Without The Night, but it has a great solo from Reb Beach. It has to be mentioned that there were four singles released from this album in the US, and the album was certified platinum – so I guess they were doing something right. A very slick version of Purple Haze close out Side 1 and is a good attempt at adding something different to an all time classic.
State Of Emergency opens up Side 2 and is the most outright pop track on the album – it sounds very eighties. Time To Surrender follows and the opening riff is very Dokken in its execution (Reb Beach would actually play guitar in Dokken for a brief period). The middle eight is awesome, and is the heaviest sounding track on the album. Poison Angel is the up-tempo party rock track on the album, and grooves along nicely with some killer guitar. The very VH sounding Hangin’ On is next, and again it’s all about the melody and chorus. These guys have melody oozing through their veins and make it look so easy to write tracks like this. Headed For A Heartbreak was the last single released from the record, and is the big production track of the album. It’s a power ballad but not as we know it Jim. There is a bonus track on this Friday Music version of the album, Higher And Higher. This track appeared on the CD version and it has been added here. It is a nice rockin’ track with plenty of guitar to close out the album.
So contrary to what Large Oilrig thinks, this is a great late eighties rock record and is a worthy addition to any rockers collection.
9/10 from The Grooveman.
