new WINGER album due in January 2021

[Captain Howdy]

Well finally got it, better late than never I guess. While initial listen I don't think its as good as the last two albums, I honestly don't hear anything that is dull or boring. Some cracking tracks on it.

Hell I was initially thinking, maybe it's because there are not really heavier rockers on it, then Stick the knife in and twist came on ... fuck that was pretty fucking great.

So far around half the tracks have been added to my playlist, which is pretty impressive for a first spin.

[metalmaniac777]

I think it's safe to say that Winger's best days are behind them, but that's okay. There's nothing on this new album that compares to the polished perfection of "In the Heart of the Young" but we are 30+ years on from that album. I always manage to find at least a few good tracks from these guys and this time around, I ended up with 4. But even the filler material wasn't horrible, just not on par with what you expect/hope from Winger.

Best song is "Stick the Knife in and Twist" by a long shot.

[Stefan]

Full album:

 

 

[Metal T]

His voice is still strong,but imo a lot of those songs sound pretty unremarkable for that big of an absence between records...i like 'Tears Of Blood'....granted i'm not a diehard Winger' fan so take that as you will.

[Captain Howdy]

On 5/5/2023 at 4:20 PM, Captain Howdy said:

Gotta wait til Tuesday apparently. Amazon just do not seem to be getting stocks from Frontiers on time. Nearly every Frontiers album I order from them arrives late.

 

And surprise surprise, Heavens Edge was sposed to arrive today (even though it came out last week) and it's not even shipped as they have had "issues". That's it, no more Frontiers releases from Amazon.

 

[Geoff]

It's a half decent album with a few solid tracks in the top half. Probably 4 or 5 make it to my annual playlist and I'll be 100% honest - they're pretty borderline and as is very rarely the instance, the band name probably gets the tracks over the line more than their individual excellence. 

And I have to say it. I know it'll annoy people, but I can't un-hear it. It's not a bad production job, but I don't like it. I especially don't like the fact that their album from 30 years ago, sonically, sounds 100 times better than this. And so do the albums 33 and 35 years older than this. 

It'd actually make a decent topic. Should an album with a big recording budget from 1988 sound better than an album in 2023, considering the advancements in those 35 years? And I don't know the actual answer. What I do know is that bands with much smaller budgets seem to be able to make albums that sound 10 times better than this. So why are Winger, who sounded amazing back in the day, so content to sound so "budget" these days? This album's half decent, but get Bruno Ravel or basically anyone half decent at their job to produce this and give it the punch it deserves, and you probably have a far better album on your hands immediately. Imagine 'Proud Desperado' with the production job of The Defiants. 

Anyway, just my personal gripe. I know 99% of people haven't even thought about the production job yet, but for me, personally, it sticks out clear as day. Song-wise, the album is okay. 

 

[Glen]

5 hours ago, Geoff said:

It's a half decent album with a few solid tracks in the top half. Probably 4 or 5 make it to my annual playlist and I'll be 100% honest - they're pretty borderline and as is very rarely the instance, the band name probably gets the tracks over the line more than their individual excellence. 

And I have to say it. I know it'll annoy people, but I can't un-hear it. It's not a bad production job, but I don't like it. I especially don't like the fact that their album from 30 years ago, sonically, sounds 100 times better than this. And so do the albums 33 and 35 years older than this. 

It'd actually make a decent topic. Should an album with a big recording budget from 1988 sound better than an album in 2023, considering the advancements in those 35 years? And I don't know the actual answer. What I do know is that bands with much smaller budgets seem to be able to make albums that sound 10 times better than this. So why are Winger, who sounded amazing back in the day, so content to sound so "budget" these days? This album's half decent, but get Bruno Ravel or basically anyone half decent at their job to produce this and give it the punch it deserves, and you probably have a far better album on your hands immediately. Imagine 'Proud Desperado' with the production job of The Defiants. 

Anyway, just my personal gripe. I know 99% of people haven't even thought about the production job yet, but for me, personally, it sticks out clear as day. Song-wise, the album is okay. 

 

so I was intrigued by this so checked out a few personnel. 

Basically every album from Pull onwards was produced by Kip Winger.

Ted Jensen has handled mastering on every Winger album.

First 2 albums were produced by Beau Hill but they don't sound as good as Pull.

Only difference I can trace is that on Pull Kip was assisted by a guy called Mike Shipley.

He sadly committed suicide in 2013.

The mix on Seven is Justin Cortelyou whose credits include Safetysuit, Alice Cooper & Taylor Swift so hardly crap lol.

My opinion is that the new album sounds OK but is a tad muffled through the drum / symbol combo, hardly bad though and heard a lot worse this year.

Nothing will ever compare to Pull. 

[tts42572]

5 hours ago, Geoff said:

It's a half decent album with a few solid tracks in the top half. Probably 4 or 5 make it to my annual playlist and I'll be 100% honest - they're pretty borderline and as is very rarely the instance, the band name probably gets the tracks over the line more than their individual excellence. 

And I have to say it. I know it'll annoy people, but I can't un-hear it. It's not a bad production job, but I don't like it. I especially don't like the fact that their album from 30 years ago, sonically, sounds 100 times better than this. And so do the albums 33 and 35 years older than this. 

It'd actually make a decent topic. Should an album with a big recording budget from 1988 sound better than an album in 2023, considering the advancements in those 35 years? And I don't know the actual answer. What I do know is that bands with much smaller budgets seem to be able to make albums that sound 10 times better than this. So why are Winger, who sounded amazing back in the day, so content to sound so "budget" these days? This album's half decent, but get Bruno Ravel or basically anyone half decent at their job to produce this and give it the punch it deserves, and you probably have a far better album on your hands immediately. Imagine 'Proud Desperado' with the production job of The Defiants. 

Anyway, just my personal gripe. I know 99% of people haven't even thought about the production job yet, but for me, personally, it sticks out clear as day. Song-wise, the album is okay. 

 

Agree with you on the production.  I had heard the same thing but thought it was just me.  It's not terrible production but it definitely lacks punch and kind of has a little bit of dullness or something.....Kind a hard to put a finger on it.   I'm hearing the same sort of thing on the new Extreme songs I've heard....Just kind of lacking punch and clarity.  Granted, maybe some of that is due to lower quality streams or something but the Defiants sound fine to me on the same streaming.  The Defiants is a nice example.  When I listen to their new songs, they just have a nice crisp, clear, vibrant sound to them.

Overall though, don't feel like the production on Winger is swaying my opinion any.  I think it's just more that the songs just aren't that interesting and catchy. 

 

[Geoff]

Yeah, completely agree, dudes. It's not a massive thing and I 100% agree that if the songs were great it would be an even smaller issue. But it is something that sadly gets in my ears and then grates on me because I don't understand why it happens. 

And further to Glen's post, I actually believe it is possibly a conscious choice by the band to maybe purposely try and ditch their "overly" (?) polished sound of the 80's/90's and go for something a bit more "raw," which some bands seems to think is a good idea. I don't actually think the production these days isn't an intentional choice, but I could be wrong.

 

[Captain Howdy]

[KarpetRydOFunk]

This album's definitely a grower. I'm liking it a lot more today than I did three weeks ago. 

[auslander]

7 hours ago, KarpetRydOFunk said:

This album's definitely a grower. I'm liking it a lot more today than I did three weeks ago. 

Sometimes those are the best albums. In the age of Spotifies though it is rare for people to stick with albums they don't initially like in order for them to become a grower. I honestly think if you fork out your cash for a cd or vinyl you tend to give an album more time. That being said, cause I still buy discs, at the moment the Winger album is priced at $37 and that is too much. I will wait until it is closer to $20. I don't understand why there is such variation in cd costs these days. Some are released at $19 and some go all the way to $39 for the same standard cd types. 

[whiplash1972]

7 hours ago, KarpetRydOFunk said:

This album's definitely a grower. I'm liking it a lot more today than I did three weeks ago. 

Me too. I was initially underwhelmed, but it has gotten muuuuuch better with repeated listens. 👍

[KarpetRydOFunk]

1 hour ago, auslander said:

Sometimes those are the best albums. In the age of Spotifies though it is rare for people to stick with albums they don't initially like in order for them to become a grower. I honestly think if you fork out your cash for a cd or vinyl you tend to give an album more time. That being said, cause I still buy discs, at the moment the Winger album is priced at $37 and that is too much. I will wait until it is closer to $20. I don't understand why there is such variation in cd costs these days. Some are released at $19 and some go all the way to $39 for the same standard cd types. 

I would argue they are usually the best albums. But, yeah, I agree that the streaming age, while increasing accessibility and possibly discovery, is hurting the overall listening experience.

[Captain Howdy]

On 6/8/2023 at 4:08 AM, auslander said:

Sometimes those are the best albums. In the age of Spotifies though it is rare for people to stick with albums they don't initially like in order for them to become a grower. I honestly think if you fork out your cash for a cd or vinyl you tend to give an album more time. That being said, cause I still buy discs, at the moment the Winger album is priced at $37 and that is too much. I will wait until it is closer to $20. I don't understand why there is such variation in cd costs these days. Some are released at $19 and some go all the way to $39 for the same standard cd types. 

Frontiers are just overly expensive.

In the UK pretty much every Frontiers release is around £14, which is why I am now picky and choosy what I order, and they rarely drop in price over time like they used to.

As an example of what I mean by overly expensive.

I just got Godsmack - Lighting up the sky which only cost £8 brand new.

New Avenged Sevenfold was only £11

New Steel Panther £9

Metallica was a lil more at £13 but still less than most Frontiers releases.

Edited June 14, 2023 by Captain Howdy

[Stefan]

New video for 'Voodoo Fire'.

 

 

Edited August 18, 2023 by Stefan