I began listening to Johnny Winter in March 2023.
The Progressive Blues Experiment (1969): B+
Johnny Winter (1969): C+
Second Winter (1969): C+
Johnny Winter And (1970): B-
Live Johnny Winter And (1971): C+
Still Alive and Well (1973): B
The Progressive Blues Experiment (1969):
Winter's debut was released locally in Texas in 1968 but after jamming with the great Mike Bloomfield in December, he was picked up by Columbia who re-released this project in 1969. Like the Paul Butterfield Blues Band, Winter's band is a highly gifted group who stretch the blues idiom and rock the crap out of it. Although Winter's voice doesn't have much power behind it, Winter impresses as a brilliant guitarist. With seemingly endless swagger, his monstrous, heavy tone and dizzying soloing often distracts from the band's lack of a great singer. Although the acoustic songs don't exact cut it, rockers as good as "Tribute to Muddy" or "Mean Town Blues" can keep a rock'n'roll fan satisfied for months. B+
Johnny Winter (1969):
Winter maintains the balance between covers and originals from his debut but he considerably lowers the volume on this one. As with the acoustic numbers on his debut, the lack of sheer power and blistering solos on this album means Winter has to rely on his voice to carry the music. C+
Second Winter (1969):
Winter is doing important work as a blues preacher but his voice just doesn't cut it and his talents are better on stage with a loose rock band than in the studio with horns and tightly rehearsed songs. And he could be even better as someone's sidekick. C+
Johnny Winter And (1970):
Johnny finally keeps the band small and the music heavy. He even loses a lot of the blues flavor and it's sounds pretty good although I'm not super enthusiastic about Derringer's vocals either. B-
Live Johnny Winter And (1971):
This is not the material from the previous album, "Johnny Winter And" is his new band name and this complies some of his better blues covers and my favorite "Mean Town Blues." Nevertheless, I'm fairly disappointed with the quality of the tracks. Most of it is to blame on his new band which isn't nearly as good on stage as his first. C+
Still Alive and Well (1973):
Winter took a hiatus from the music industry because of a heroin addiction but returned two years later and released his best album since his debut. Like his debut, it was mostly recorded by a trio of guitar, bass, and drums. The music isn't as good but it does have quite a few highlights--the two Stones covers and a country endeavor "Ain't Nothing to Me"--and Winter's voice sounds pretty good. B
