Winter Bootleg

Johnny Winter's fifth installment of his bootleg series brings together a host of his best cuts from the late seventies and into the eighties. With poor liner notes, it is hard to place when Live Bootleg Series Volume 5 was recorded or even if the recording is from one concert.

The legendary rocker and blues statesman Johnny Winter will forever continue to enthrall his millions of fans the world over. With his unique brand of blues/rock guitar and vocal prowess, Winter s style is truly unmatched in purity and artistry which will never be duplicated.

Like any life-changing, chromosome-rearranging event, all guitar fans remember their first time seeing Johnny Winter perform live. For me, the year was 1973, at Madison Square Garden in New York City. Johnny was then embarking on his Still Alive and Well comeback tour. Appearing onstage all in white, his platinum-white hair flowing down to his elbows and playing a blinding white Gibson Firebird V, Johnny beamed with the unbridled energy of a force from some distant galaxy. His performance a combination of earth-shattering guitar playing, searing vocals and wildly energetic stage presence–was nothing short of brilliant. He rocked the Garden so hard that night, the entire building shook in rhythm with the music. During the barn-burning boogie track Rock & Roll, I literally believed that the Garden was going to blast apart at the seams.

For Johnny Winter's Remembrance , Vol.1, the sorely missed artist shares a bounty of tunes from his Billboard charting Live Bootleg Series, (Disc 1), the 1st time CD release of his rare vinyl Live Bootleg Special Edition (Disc 2) & amazing unreleased tracks culled for Live Rarities (Disc 3). The legend works out on favorites like Hideaway, Johnny B. Goode, Jumpin' Jack Flash, Crossroads & new unreleased performances of Mean Town Blues, Sound The Bell & Wipe Out. Packaged in a stunning 3 CD Digi-pak with notes from Edgar Winter & Gregg Allman. Produced,authorized & owned by Johnny Winter.

This second volume in Johnny Winter's self-produced Live Bootleg Series is in many ways superior to the first. The reason is simple: Winter relies far more on his electrifying – sometimes just unbelievable – guitar-slinging interpretation of the blues as it meets hard rock more than re-interpreting rock tunes for the blues. There are only six tunes here, only one of them under six minutes and the rest ranging from seven to 14 and change. There are absolutely amazing readings of Mose Allison's "Parchman Farm," Robert Johnson's "Crossroads," and Jimi Hendrix's "Red House."

The most important thing to know about this Live Bootleg Series by Johnny Winter is that these are officially released tapes by him and he produced these recordings. These are not bootlegs in the sense of the word we have used it since the 1960s. That said, on this first volume, Winter goes back into his personal archive and pulls out various performances from his long career, and these are from the early '70s when he was so deeply drawn to the power of rock & roll that he and his band – both with and without Rick Derringer – tear through roots rock classics like "Johnny B. Goode" and "Jumpin' Jack Flash," as well as blistering versions of blues nuggets – Muddy Waters' "Rollin' and Tumblin'" and Robert Johnson's "Come on in My Kitchen" among them. Sound quality varies a bit but is generally very good and will not cause the listener any difficulty at all. These are great performances, and anyone remotely interested in the guy should check these out, perhaps above his studio albums. ~Allmusic

This CD is typical of what we have come to expect from Johnny Winter-a great selection of (mainly 12-bar blues) songs; strong, gritty vocals, and smoking hot guitar. Johnny is equally skilled at slide and non-slide playing. In fact, there aren't many people who can match him on the slide guitar. Listen to "Serious as a Heart Attack," and you'll hear what I mean. Other than "Just Like a Woman," the songs are mostly in the traditional urban blues form, but played with a hard edge. These tracks are very close to what Johnny did on his trendsetting "Progressive Blues Experiment" LP back in the late '60s. It's Chicago blues spiced with a dose of rock and roll.

Remembrance Volume II The Johnny Winter Live Bootleg Series Continues On Friday Music! Celebrate The Life And Times Of The Late Rock & Blues Legend With Johnny Winter'S Remembrance Volume II. Compact Disc Collection Featuring Bootleg Favorites, First Time Rarities & Super Rare Live Recordings Never Released. Produced And Authorized By The Late Johnny Winter. Remastered From The Johnny Winter Archives By Joe Reagoso.