One record at a time: 461. Steve Winwood - Steve Winwood

Although I’m not a fan of blues, R&B, or blue-eyed soul—the genres most often associated with Steve Winwood—there’s something about his solo work that genuinely intrigues me. I suspect it’s the undeniable brilliance of his songwriting and musicianship that draws me in. Still, I have to admit, it’s his albums from the 1980s that truly capture my interest.

I picked up my copy of this album on eBay about six years ago. Interestingly, it turned out to be an American pressing, which I hadn’t realised when I bought it. The sleeve has a deletion cut in the bottom right corner—a telltale sign of how it ended up here in the UK.

Since this album dates back to 1977, it isn’t among my favourites. The tracks lean heavily into the style of seventies soul, filled with funky clavinet, electric piano, and wailing guitars. The Minimoog makes a few appearances as the only synth, and, as you’d expect from Winwood, there’s plenty of Hammond organ throughout. There are just six songs on the record, but with each running between five and eight minutes, listeners would have felt they were getting their money’s worth.

While most of the album doesn’t quite resonate with me, I did find myself paying closer attention to “Midland Maniac” and “Vacant Chair.” The opening track, “Hold On,” features a Minimoog patch that I instantly recognised from Winwood’s later work, and its strong energy did win me over to some extent. Still, overall, this album isn’t really my cup of tea. 1/5