Whatever you think about Kip Winger, you have to admit he’s a
\nsurvivor.<\/p>\n
Although he was in one of the more popular pop-metal bands of
\nthe late ’80s, just mentioning the name Winger to those who grew up
\nin that timeframe might produce looks of disgust — looks which, in
\nretrospect, are undeserved. Yet he has continued in the music
\nbusiness, although in a smaller, more introspective role. The death
\nof his wife in a car crash in 1996 was an incident that might have
\nsent lesser men into a tailspin of grief. Yet Winger was able to
\nlook upon his pain and loss and create a surprisingly powerful
\nalbum,
\nSongs From The Ocean Floor<\/i>.<\/p>\n
If you pick this up expecting to hear the same musician who
\nrecorded songs such as “Seventeen” and “Headed For A Heartbreak,”
\nyou’re going to be disappointed. However, if you pick this disc up
\nexpecting to hear the man behind the music, you’re going to be in
\nfor a treat… as well as one hell of an emotional
\nrollercoaster.<\/p>\n
The album teams Winger up with a diverse yet eclectic group of
\nmusicians, not the least of which is his former bandmates Rod
\nMorgenstein and Reb Beach. Also making a surprising appearance is
\nMoon Zappa, who contributes vocals on “Sure Was A Wildflower.” This
\nparticular track is not one which leaps out at the listener on the
\nfirst listen, but as you grow more comfortable with the disc, it
\nbecomes a hidden gem.<\/p>\n
There is no doubt that Winger uses
\nSongs From The Ocean Floor<\/i> as a way to deal with the tragic
\nloss he was dealt in 1996. Tracks such as “Cross” and “Two Lovers
\nStand” seem to deal with life before his loss, almost as if it sets
\nup a preface to the intense emotional scars that Winger rips open
\njust a short time later.<\/p>\n
“Song Of Midnight” seems to be the first track which begins this
\nprocess, though it’s more of a gentle love letter to one who was
\nlost too young. Yet Winger seems to begin exposing the raw nerves
\nin this track as he laments the lost chance to say goodbye: “My
\nsecret room… darkening \/ Eclipse my waking soul \/ Fuse the memory
\nof our lost goodbye \/ To a story never told.”<\/p>\n
Following the instrumental-based “Free,” Winger pulls out all
\nthe stops on “Only One Word,” a song which leaves no doubt that the
\npain is still fresh. Sample lyric: “A river of novocain \/ could
\nnever ease the pain \/ that I’ll never see you again.” Another
\nsample lyric, immediately following that line: “And I’m still so
\nfreaked \/ that we couldn’t even speak \/ If only one, only one word
\n\/ But no words were spoken \/ Your body lay broken.” Ka-pow.<\/p>\n
Yet Winger realizes that even in the sorrow, one must try to
\nmove forward with their life, and
\nSongs From The Ocean Floor<\/i> is as much a celebration of life
\nas it is a cry of pain. “Resurrection” is proof that Winger does
\nnot want to be locked in a cycle of grief: “All I know, I don’t
\nwanna be dead and done \/ All I know is I don’t wanna be a setting
\nsun \/ Find a way to paint the color in my heart.” As much as Winger
\nwill bear the scars of his loss, he boldly proclaims that he has
\nthe strength to continue — something many widows and widowers
\nstruggle with throughout their lives. The healing process continues
\non the album’s final song, “Everything You Need.”<\/p>\n
Musically,
\nSongs From The Ocean Floor<\/i> is an album that takes time for
\nthe listener to become comfortable with… but once you get past
\nthe awkwardness of listening to someone bear their heart for the
\nworld to hear, it proves to be a testament to the strength of the
\nhuman soul. This is not something that can be forced, and Winger
\nproves this comes straight from the heart even down to the musical
\narrangements. Encompassing Egyptian rhythms in many songs, Winger
\npaints a portrait which allows the listener to almost see the man
\ntrying to come to grips as he walks the streets of Cairo.<\/p>\n
Chances are
\nSongs From the Ocean Floor<\/i> will never spawn a hit single
\nalong the lines of “Seventeen.” Somehow, I don’t think that matters
\nto Winger. He can be proud that he’s created an album which
\nchallenges, as well as entertains, the listener, and is one which
\nhe could easily call his masterpiece.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":25570,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"tags":[],"artist":[6425],"rating":[5613],"class_list":["post-36776","review","type-review","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","artist-kip-winger","rating-rating-a-minus"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/review\/36776","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/review"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/review"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=36776"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/review\/36776\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/25570"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=36776"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=36776"},{"taxonomy":"artist","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/artist?post=36776"},{"taxonomy":"rating","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/rating?post=36776"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}