Customer Reviews

Talking Back to the Night

5 star:		(9)
4 star:		(6)
3 star:		(5)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

This is Steve's third solo album and second with Will Jennings as co songwriter. The main problem with this album is that Steve chose to go it alone instead of using a band. Many of the songs on here would come across better if he was using real players but just about everything is done with synths which gives the album a very dry feeling to me. Several of the songs would come across pretty well had he used a band-Valerie, And I Go, While There's A Candle Burning, Still In The Game and Help Me Angel shows signs of being really good songs.

This album is interesting (1982). It sounds like he sat down at a keyboard and drum machine and simply recorded the entire album. It's very raw and simple (complex at the same time) with little production and it is almost entirely steve winwood, a drum box, and keyboards. There's good stuff on here includinghelp me angel, valerie, and talking back to the night. Chronicles(1987) features versions of those songs listed above and are much more produced and much more powerful. Valerie, from chronicles, has been played on mainstream radio since then. I love winwood's vocal range and his keyboard patterns and it's interesting to hear a rock album so stripped down. This album is much better than 1980s arc of a diver (while you see a chance). Winwood is also renound for doing many different things and this album was much different than back in the high life (1986) which was much more organic but still electric. Overall, good album and a must for winwood fans.

Talking Back to the Night hearalds the reemergence of Steve Winwood to the fold of innovative music. Many of his prior albums deserve recognition and naturally, Back in the High Life is a stellar offering, but Talking Back is a special high mark for Winwood and music. The release is clothed in the innovation, preparation, feeling and mastery which comes once in a musician's lifetime. It is his masterpiece. The beautiful, introspective compositions supercede the melodic ante of the time and the brilliant chord progressions offer new material to a decade which was largely blaise and repetitive. Steve raises his head from the safe bilk of 80's money music to create, sing, play and deliver a major contributor. I had to have it from the moment I heard it. Especially enjoyable is Steve's keyboard. He is intimate with it in a way that no mainstream keyboardist has been since (Ray Manzarek?) the Door's Light my Fire. Don't expect intricate ten-thousand-note lead rides. Expect the most soothing inspired keyboards and vocals of the decade. This is MUSICIANS' MUSIC. You won't be disappointed. Dim the lights a little before listening to it. You've discovered a truffle hiding in the mulch. You heard it from ME first!

This is one of very few albums that I can put on and play from start to finish; there are no "skip-over" songs. My favorites include the well-known "Valerie" and "Still In The Game," along with "Help Me Angel," "Big Girls Walk Away," "It Was Happiness," and the hymn-like closing song, "There's A River."

Musical purists may not like the heavy keyboard and synthesizer sound (there is very little guitar work on this album), but Winwood plays and sings with such a bluesy feel that the sound does not come across as mechanical even when the percussion is provided and/or enhanced by drum machines or other electronic augmentation. Winwood has a soulful voice and a soulful keyboard style, and these qualities elevate the album beyond the level of mere electronics and studio composition.

... it is unbelievely wrong that it cost $50! How about a nice $15 domestic release of this fine disc for us Stevie completists? I don't think that's asking a lot.

Steve Winwood's 1982 solo album, "Talking Back To The Night," is a breezy, cheerful delight. Winwood plays all of the instruments himself, and the very-catchy songs on this album are among Steve's best, including the classic "Valerie," and other winners like "Big Girls Walk Away," "Still In The Game," "Help Me Angel," and the excellent, made-for-cruising title track. Yes, this is unquestionably Steve's most synthesiser-heavy album, (after all, it was made in 1982), but I think his synth sound here is simply wonderful and uplifting (as is his singing, songwriting, performing & production chops). I love the charming "do-it-yourself" vibe that Steve gives the music on this disc! So go ahead and pick up "Talking Back To The Night," one of my personal favorites from the multi-talented Steve Winwood.

I actually like this one better than Arc of a Diver (unlistenable?!?) and Back in the High Life. While I love Winwood in all his guises (Spencer Davis Group, Blind Faith, Traffic, etc), this album has always been my personal favorite. Valerie (this version is much better than later one with revised drum track and vocals) and Still in the Game are the highlights for me (if you're of a certain age, you'll recall seeing the videos on MTV), although the ballads are also excellent. I can't recall how many papers I wrote in high school and college with this album on repeat in the background. The guy's talent is limitless.

Not Steve's best work, by any means, but I think the song "Still in the Game" is one of his best. Why do so many people overlook this obvious gem? The disc has a couple of hits and some other interesting tunes, but overall it's only average. "Still in the Game," though, deserves five stars by itself.

The's something in the album for everyone. If you've come to Steve Winwood through 'Back in the high life' (like me) or 'Chronicles', you can't go far wrong with this album, which'll show what a talented singer songwriter he is.

British rock legend Steve Winwood follows up his landmark comeback album "Arc of a Diver" with another collection of bright, danceable `80's techno-pop. Winwood still possesses one of rock's iconic voices: bluesy, raw, and powerful, and if you are among those who just don't care for it (I realize some don't) then read no further - there's just no hope for you. His skills on keyboards have improved substantially since his Traffic days, and the addition of synthesizers has broadened his color palette to fine effect, but maybe the real key to this era in Winwood's career is that he's taking his time in the studio again, crafting his music to a fine polish. By tracking all the instruments himself, he's avoided the occasional bum notes and lame solos that marred "live in the studio" releases of the past. Gone are the nonsense rhymes of yesteryear as well - the lyrics to these songs are clear, heartfelt and soulful. My personal favorites include the opening "Valerie", "Still in the Game", and the awesome title track, all featuring irresistible dance grooves. There are a couple of weaker tracks, particularly the gospel-tinged "There's a River", but the hits well outweigh the misses. If you like `80's Winwood at all, you'll love this one. Four and half stars.