Wino - Adrift
Rating
RIYL
The 70sRelease Date
03/08/2011
Label
Exile on MainstreamTracklist
AdriftI Don't Care
Hold On Love
Mala Suerte
Old And Alone
Iron Horse/Born To Lose
Suzanes Song
D-Bear
Whatever
Shot In The Head
O.B.E.
Green Speed
Users Rating |
Your RatingCreate an account or log in to rate this album |
Recent Ratings |
|
|
|
“He is six feet two inches tall, 210 pounds heavy, with massive arms, a full beard, shoulder-length black hair and a wild, jabbering demeanour not calculated to soothe the soul of of any personnel specialist.” -Hunter S. Thompson, Hell’s Angels, 1966.
Now imagine that same man, sans beard and 30 years senior, with an viking decal laden acoustic guitar belting out this line: “An iron horse he flies / for an iron horse he’d gladly die / iron horse his wife / iron horse his life!” These are the images and descriptions that first came to mind after taking on the challenge of the latest album, and first acoustic solo effort, from the champion of 70s psych-rock, Wino. I caught a YouTube clip of him in full biker regalia howling one of the tunes from his new album Adrift to a tiny bar full of like minded folk, and was thrust headfirst in to the world where Tenacious D surely get some of their inspiration.
“Wino is a man on his own in a boat without sails,” so says the accompanying bio of Adrift. So as far as I can tell, Wino is a man going nowhere fast. But perhaps that just means he is happy where he has ended up. At 49 years old and having fronted eight separate bands since 1976, including doom metal pioneers The Obsessed, and having contributed to the work of more than 10 other post rock, stoner rock and classic metal groups of the last three decades, it is fair to say that maybe he isn’t trying to get anywhere anymore. Whatever his intentions, though, that is where Adrift leaves him, stuck in the middle of the music industry giant with an acoustic guitar and some lyrics that wont for dragons and viking burials.
To give credit where credit is due, however, with minimal production and little more than his own genre suited voice, his songs do create a stadium atmosphere that might open the sky for the late, great Ronnie James Dio. You get the feeling that as Wino bridges any one of his songs, Meatloaf could stroll in and take on the harmonies. And it would hardly be surprising for an acoustic cover of Steppenwolf to be hiding in amongst the originals. I think that is where Wino has truly succeeded with this album. It is not attempting to be anything more than an acoustic tribute to the greatest music of his generation and, to a degree, his own career in a niche market of the industry. Whether I have misinterpreted his intentions, I’ll probably never know, but hopefully Wino can be happy knowing that his album has at least inspired one music lover to get balls deep into his father’s old vinyl collection.
--Sandy Powell
Comments
Brooklyn, NY
I really liked Wino's first solo album but this one is fairly boring to me. Acoustic isn't really the realm I like to find Wino in.
www.explodinginsound.com
Reno, NV
Not as good as Spirit Caravan, but very laid back and melodic grooves going on.
Current Listenings:
Psychollywood - Psychollywood
Royal Thunder - Cvi
The Next Hundred Years - Troppo
Kyng - Trampled Sun
Kill Devil Hill - Kill Devil Hill