Edgar Winter

Edgar Winter delves into a newfound fascination with sci-fi, and the resulting two albums are the end product. A confusing mixed bag of lyrics, this sounds unlike anything Winter has produced before. Considering his immense body of excellent work, from White Trash to the Edgar Winter Group, Standing On Rock comes across as something of a disappointment. That is, until Mission Earth came along in 1986. While there are a few good moments on Standing On Rock, its successor doesn't fare nearly as well. Thankfully, Edgar got back on track later in his career, and the "sci-fi" years became nothing more than a bad memory.

The live follow-up to 1971's Edgar Winter's White Trash finds the group running through a handful of the tunes from their debut album, as well as rocking things up a bit with "Still Alive and Well" (a track later recorded by Edgar's brother Johnny) and "Back in the U.S.A." One of the most immortal lines for any live rock album has to be "People keep askin' me - where's your brother?" The introduction of guest artist Johnny Winter by his brother Edgar sets the stage for a rousing rendition of Rick Derringer's "Rock & Roll, Hoochie Koo." The extended version of blues classic "Tobacco Road" is one of the finest moments on this album, which is itself a classic.

Aside from the fact that Rick Derringer seems to have lost the biggest part of his voice prior to this recording, the album serves as a rocking documentation of Winter in Japan, where he is revered as a star of the highest magnitude. And why not? After all, it was Edgar Winter who led that powerhouse rock & roll band called White Trash in the early '70s. Here, he recreates the sound of that band with "Fly Away" and "Keep Playing That Rock and Roll." And who can forget "Frankenstein" and "Free Ride," both played live here. Rick Derringer pulls out one from his All American Boy release, "Teenage Love Affair," and walks through his earliest hit with the McCoys, "Hang On Sloopy."

With this release, Edgar Winter was faced with the question that haunts many a superstar following a highly successful album – how can he outdo himself? While Shock Treatment falls short of outdoing himself, it still manages to rock pretty righteously. Beginning with this album's answer to their previous "Hangin' Around," "Some Kinda Animal," the band moves into the excellent blues torcher "Easy Street," which is painted with highlights from the substantial saxophone talent of Winter, not to mention some of his finest singing. Like They Only Come Out at Night, this recording includes a pair of haunting ballads, "Maybe Someday You'll Call My Name" and "Someone Take My Heart Away." "Queen of My Dreams," along with "River's Risin'," showcase the Edgar Winter Group doing what they do best – rocking out with passion and lots of drums and guitar. Not as good as their previous album, but still a winner in its own right.

Not since his debut, Entrance, had Edgar Winter appeared in a solo capacity. This time out, he reverts to his heavy jazz and gospel influences to produce an album that merits much more attention than what it ultimately received. Winter is decidedly laid-back on tracks such as "Hello Mellow Feelin'" and "Tell Me in a Whisper," which serve as the finest of the nine tracks here. Winter puts on his party hat once again with the rocking "Out of Control," the final track on a pretty nice little rock & roll document.

Recorded live in concert on July 14, 2000, during the 'Odd Couple Tour' at the North Sea Jazz Festival in The Hague, Netherlands.Steve Lukather started as a studio musician before becoming a founding member of 'Toto'. His guitar style and influence can be heard on numerous albums such as Michael Jackson, Eric Clapton and Paul McCartney. Edgar Winter is the younger brother of Johnny Winter.