All-Reviews.com Music Review
Songs From the Ocean Floor

When the name Winger is usually heard, of course there are those decadent folks who imagine the passe hair band era or the Beavis and Butthead nerd that wore the Winger t-shirt. Then there are the people who know better - the ones who respect Kip Winger's works of art. Granted, some of Winger's music was simplistic, straightforward, pop/hard rock, but the band still created several Billboard-charting hits and then went on to release some even better tunes on their excellent swan song "Pull" (obviously overlooked by an industry too quick to kiss up to the new flavor of the times - grunge). The primary focal point of Winger's music was the talent of Kip himself, with his well-rounded vocal, instrumental and songwriting abilities. After Winger seemed to fade into obscurity, Kip continued to record and write primarily solo acoustic music, some very good work that also went primarily unnoticed. His latest solo effort "Songs From The Ocean Floor" should be the album that re-solidifies Kip as a true musical artist. "Songs From The Ocean Floor" is a concept album that reaches deep within Kip's soul and blossoms out through his heart almost in the form of a musical healing as he dealt with the tragic loss of his wife. And while a plethora of emotions went into this songwriter's treasure, the music is by no means mopey or morose. On the contrary, you can feel a particular life force throughout the CD. There is a profound ballad "Two Lovers Stand" with beautiful string arrangements and reverently breathless vocals by Kip, but the album has a healthy amount of driving rock instrumental work that is very complementary to Kip's stellar vocals and lyrics. The lead track "Cross" is a haunting cry of pain set to an intense rocking groove. "Landslide" has a new-age flavor with perhaps Kip's most solid vocal rendition on the album, mirrored with a backdrop of mystical percussion and luscious piano. As the CD progresses, you can feel the cathartic impact writing this music had on Kip as "Faster" turns up the power featuring passionate vocals with a potent guitar attack. "Songs Of Midnight" weaves hard-driving rock, ambient string passages and a Middle Eastern tinge. "Resurrection" is an intense slow-tempo tune with multilayering that may also have a prophetic title, for joining Kip on this song is Winger's own Reb Beach on guitars. The final emotional release is "Everything You Need", an uplifting song of hope with a catchy light rock pulse. And let us not forget to mention the talented Winger drummer Rod Morgenstein lends his brilliant skills to Kip's songwriting arrangements throughout the CD. Foremost however, we find on this collection of music a man with plenty of talent stripped down to his emotions who lets his soul loose with amazingly wonderful results. These results manage to touch your heart without overzealousness and hold your attention with an intensity symbolizing an aura of new-found inner peace. That is the mark of a versatile and truly gifted songwriter-musician which - face it, all you cynics - Kip Winger is. For more info, visit Kip's web site at www.kipwinger.com.