One person commented, “I had no idea that Winger was so close to Montreal in 1993!” MachuPikachu responded, “How is Montreal close to Toronto? It’s a 10 hour round trip.” Of all the things to comment on. But then, he went after another guy in the comments.
One commenter named Bryan, who I do not know, said that Winger had a real run of bad luck, which is undeniably true. MachuPikachu went at him, saying that they actually had incredibly good luck! Can both not be true? They started with good luck and good connections, and ended the first part of their career with some really shitty stuff, such as Beavis and Butt-Head and Metallica mocking them. Then they came back. A pretty cool story. Nothing to get into a piss match over.
I interjected and said that I thought the original commenter was talking about the early 1990s, Beavis and Butt-head, and there was no reason to harangue him for that.
MachuPikachu took issue with my comments, and also insisted that I or YouTube was deleting stuff on him. Most of the exchange is gone, but I saved what I could. Here he is complaining about his comments being deleted. He said “congrats on the censorship” and that he would not be coming back. “Best of luck,” he said.
I also mentioned I didn’t like how he harangued the original commenter. He then turned it around and asked Bryan, the original commenter, if he felt harangued. I am sure he didn’t expect the “yes” response that he got.
Now I’m mocking and ridiculing. What a fucking child. “Clearly this isn’t the channel for me.” Because you trolled, and got butthurt. Time to mock and ridicule.
Thanks for the content, MachuPikachu! Here are the rest of the comments, without his in between, since deleted them all like a baby.
My old friend and collaborator Tommy Morais passed away in 2024, but miraculously, I found this 2015 email from him. It contained a complete review of Twisted Sister’s Love Is For Suckers album that we never published, and a memorial for Twisted Sister drummer A.J. Pero, who had recently died. I am please to finally publish this final review that Tommy sent me to post. Rest in peace Tommy.
TWISTED SISTER – Love Is For Suckers (1987 Atlantic)
by Tommy Morais – written March 28, 2015
“The ‘Soft & Filler’ album…” Bought in 2012 in France for something like 17 euros!
Twisted Sister’s fifth and final studio album Love Is For Suckers (unless you count the band’s 2004 Still Hungry, a collection of re-recordings of Stay Hungry) is one that tends to divide people. Some hardcore fans dismiss it as too pop and lacking much substance, while others have a soft spot for it and thought it was an enjoyable release at the time. There’s some claims to be made about both opinions. The main problem with with Love Is For Suckers is that it really isn’t a Twisted Sister album. “Wake Up The Sleeping Giant” is deceiving in that it almost sounds like classic TS. Yet only Dee Snider as an original member remains, and then there’s Joey “Seven” Franco who was in the current lineup on drums. It really should have been a Dee Snider solo album which is what it was intended as and truly was, but instead the record company pressured this to be released as a Twisted Sister album.
Then it is plagued by a few big issues, besides the absence of the classic lineup. Did you ever see Reb Beach and Kip Winger receiving credits on a Twisted Sister album? Well, they played on this. Probably not a happy thought for most Twisted Sister fans, as it ended up taking an ultimately softer and a more pop direction. Then you have to consider that it may have been competitive and cutting edge in 1987, but Love ls For Suckers has not held up well with time. Also for an album title that claims love “sucks”, it’s ironic that most of these songs are well… love songs.
What’s with the drum sound?! The songs are wimpy but with a thunderous, big drum sound which leads to question that maybe Joey was a good drummer who ended up playing on the wrong album. The production by Beau Hill is about what you’d expect, very “1987” and time has not been too kind to its sound.
Opener “Wake Up The Sleeping Giant” is misleading. 1) It sounds like Twisted Sister and 2) It’s the best song on the album, and it leads you to think (and hope) the rest may be up to this standard. “Hot Love” was and is a great candy rock piece tailored for 1987; cheesy but fun and a good overall choice of single. It’s one of the most memorable songs (remember the video that went along?). The title track is actually not a bad rocker at all, it’s consistent as Snider does a good vocal performance and it’s somewhat catchy. This is where the album takes a slide in the quality department with “l’m So Hot For You” and “Me And The Boys” (this one especially is embarrassing) being generic filler tracks that halt any momentum the album had going for it. Sandwiched in between those songs is the slightly better rocker “Tonight” which showcases some aggression; not a bad tune at all. “One Bad Habit” is more filler material. “I Want This Night To Last Forever” has a Van Hagar feel to it, especially during the chorus but is nothing to write home about either. “You’re All That l Need” tried to be a big power ballad but it failed during the chorus, even though it had a nice build up. The keyboards prevent it from being a strong ballad like “The Price”, and as a result it sounds a little too soft and thin. The closing “Yeah Right” ends thing on a more positive note. It’s a solid upbeat rocker and one of the heaviest songs on an album that could’ve used more songs of this calibre.
I own the remastered version with four extra songs. “Statuary Date” is the worst of the bunch. “Feel Appeal” is better than some of the songs that made it onto the actual album, it’s more straight up rock and a little catchier. “I Will Win” is rocking but the chorus doesn’t get it right; close but no cigar. “If That’s What You Want” became “Me And The Boys” although it’s earlier incarnation was stronger and had better lyrics. If you ask me this version should’ve made the album instead!
There you have it. Any way you slice it, Love Is For Suckers is definitely, without a doubt, the worst Twisted Sister album. It suffers from the production, is full of fillers and it doesn’t feature Jay Jay French, Eddie Ojeda, Mark Mendoza, A.J Pero (who left before this was released), even though the liner notes say they were a part of it (minus Pero, replaced by Joey Franco). The first two songs, and the album cover, are the only things that are truly memorable about LIFS. The rest is really unfocused and sub-par. Twisted Sister’s decline had already begun with their previous effort, 1985’s Come Out And Play which would show cracks of the band’s implosion, but this one was a commercial disappointment failing to reach gold status or chart successfully. Simply put, Twisted Sister was no longer a band at this point and the album did nothing to stop them from breaking up and was quite frankly just not very good.
It was grade six. I was 11 years old, and it was the Friday before a holiday, which meant the whole class got to do nothing but chill and watch a movie. For the rest of the day our teachers let us hang out and do nothing. We each brought pop, chips or both to share. One of my friends Maxime brought one of his dad’s CDs. That CD? Twisted Sister’s greatest hits. He asked the teacher if he could play it for us, and the rest is history. I was introduced to my first taste of Hard Rock and Metal. I distinctively remember telling one of my friends “this is not bad huh?”, to which he agreed. I glanced at the album cover. It said “Twisted Sister Big Hits & Nasty Cuts“. Then l proceeded to tell Maxime that this (ugly) “girl band” was pretty good. I wasn’t familiar with Glam/Hair/80’s metal at that point and even less so with the look. Truth is l had been exposed to some AC/DC, Loverboy and Metallica prior to that but this was the first time it really clicked. Maybe it was just just the right age, the right time. There you have it, Twisted Sister was the first band I recall really taking a liking to. From then on l discovered my dad and his brother’s LPs and played them on the turntable (I remember digging the first Van Halen a lot). I definitely have a soft spot for Twisted Sister.
It is with sadness that I learned of longtime drummer and classic lineup member A.J. Pero’s unfortunate passing. Pero was a crucial part of the band and its sound, and a great drummer too. I approached Mike about maybe doing something Twisted Sister related on his blog to which he was very enthusiastic. I wanted to review something AJ played on, like Come Out And Play as l plan to review all of TS’s material in the upcoming days, but with time restraints l had to settle for my (still brand new) Love ls For Suckers. The band has said that were to make some big announcement next week. One can only assume that it is regarding Twisted Sister’s future as a band. Jay Jay said on social media that they were already thinking about hanging it up prior to Pero’s passing. Then Dee Snider said it would be profitable to the Pero family if the band kept playing and that they were thinking about winding down in 2016 for the band’s 40th anniversary. I’m not against them continuing performing live and going out on a final tour to honour AJ and the anniversary of the band just as l am not opposed to the band calling it quits. I have a feeling they’ll at least play a few more shows and maybe do one last concert CD/DVD (that would be cool). Rest in peace A.J., the rock world lost a great drummer.
Fantastic interview by Erica Ehm once again, with Reb Beach and Kip Winger. Lengthy session too, 23 minutes in total! Starting with some country riffs (Reb on 6-string, Kip on 12-string), the boys defied the expectations of the early 90s and proved they could really play — and how! For the Winger guys, it was already “first thing in the morning”, otherwise known as “mid-afternoon” to us; Kip had his cup of coffee ready! (Really good coffee, according to Erica.)
Sad observation: We’ve seen past interviews with groups like Bon Jovi, where throngs of fans were banging on the big MuchMusic windows. Winger only got a couple curious onlookers pulling faces. Too bad.
Songs played:
“Can’t Get Enuff” (at the 5:30 mark)
“Who’s The One” (17:30 in)
Topics covered:
Why were Winger not as big in Canada as they were at home?
Playing for musicians
Videos / “the image”
The art of songwriting / lyrics
Why was the new album called Pull?
Reb’s instructional guitar video
Chris Robinson, Lars Ulrich, Beavis and Butt-head, and other critics
Playgirl magazine!
Being “rock stars”
Winger ends the session with a blues jam.
Awesome acoustic tunes and a fantastic interview. Check it out below.
This blue Scotch tape has seen a lot of use over the years. It was my first blank tape, 120 minutes. This cassette was well loved. Back in ’83, it contained open-air recordings of songs like “Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap” and “The Mighty Quinn”. At some point in history (early 1991) I must have recorded over it. Let’s have a listen.
Play ►
I have a feeling I know what it is now. Sounds like something I recorded for a girl! It would have been for my long distance crush Tammy.
This tape was never anything more than a cheap cassette, and it sounds awfully horrendous today. The contents, however, are still identifiable. The reason I never sent it to her was that it didn’t pass the sound quality test when I played it back. That was the shitty thing about cassettes. You could pour hours into making something, and then abandon the entire project.
I’m writing this in real time as I listen. If I’m right about my original intentions with this cassette, then I know that I’m going to find a specific song buried somewhere in the track list. Let’s find out.
Side 1
1. Tesla – “Love Song”
The acoustic intro to the song made a perfect run-in for this lovey-dovey tape. I’ll spare the identity of the poor girl who this was made for, but she knows! This Tesla ballad is still utterly perfect. Off to a good start.
2. Kiss – “Shout It Out Loud”
Whew, I sure am glad it’s not all ballads. This track took me by surprise. I’m glad I used a classic Kiss rocker as the second track, instead of pandering for romance with “Reason to Live”. Good for me!
3. Cheap Trick – “The Flame”
I read a lot of hate for this song today. In the 80s, it was my favourite Cheap Trick and it’s still in my top five. It may be a ballad but like the Tesla one, it’s utterly perfect. This tape is now clearly made for a girl. I’d never do 2/3 ballads for my opening trio otherwise.
4. Warrant – “Thin Disguise”
Here I go again with the rarities! She loved Warrant but there is no way she had this song unless she had the cassette single for “Cherry Pie”. I did — I collected that stuff even back then. Turns out the B-side “Thin Disguise” is one of the best Warrant tracks, even today. It’s an acoustic/electric killer. Jani wrote some incredible songs in his time. This is one.
5. Warrant – “I Saw Red (Acoustic version)”
Another rarity, this time from the “I Saw Red” cassette single. I think this simple acoustic track (just Jani and a guitar) is better than the bombastic A-side version. Even then, I was trying to impress a girl with my music collection — how comical is that?
6. Kiss – “Reason to Live”
Ahh shit, there it is! That is hilarious.
7. Cinderella – “Nobody’s Fool”
OK, I’m getting a little sick of the power ballads now. The cool thing is, I know for a fact that I taped this off a cassette that she gave me for Christmas called Rulers of Rock. I wanted to show that I appreciated the gift by including this song. Kind of like when your favourite aunt gave you a sweater and you had to wear it when she was over to visit.
Enough with the ballads though. Let’s get a rocker next. Let’s hope for a rocker.
8. Kim Mitchell – “Easy to Tame”
Well, it’s not a ballad, but it ain’t a rocker either. Kim Mitchell was a good way into a girl’s heart in the late 80s and early 90s. Everybody loved “Patio Lanterns”. “Easy to Tame” was kind of like it’s cooler, lesser known cousin.
9. Paul Stanley – “Hold Me, Touch Me (Think Of Me When We’re Apart)”
Jesus fuck! I went full ballad. This was probably my favourite ballad of all time back then. Stanley’s guitar solo is flawlessly written and executed. And I got three Kiss songs right there on side one.
10. Kiss – “I’ll Be Back”
Four! Four Kiss songs! What a wild inclusion, too. This is a brief, very quick, Beatles tune done a-cappella for Kiss eXposed on VHS. I dubbed this from the video for a “soundtrack tape” that I made, and then recorded it here tape to tape. Just a filler between two other songs, but fuck…that’s cool.
11. Killer Dwarfs – “Doesn’t Matter”
At least this ballad has balls. We played this song a lot the previous summer. Bob had the cassette for Dirty Weapons, and he loved this song. A couple years later it was still good enough to include on their next album Method to the Madness. It’s still great.
12. Triumph – “Let the Light (Shine on Me)”
I’m getting steadily more and more disgusted with myself as the ballads play on. This one was recorded from the 7″ single, but at this point I don’t care and I just want the side to be over so I can flip the tape.
13. Quiet Riot – “Don’t Wanna Let You Go”
I’ll let myself off with a warning here, because this electric song is still pretty great. Truthfully, I included it hoping she’d like it, as Quiet Riot wasn’t really her thing. I was feeling nostalgic for the early 80s, the simplicity and quality of the Metal Health era. You didn’t need a ballad to have a hit then, and indeed “Don’t Wanna Let You Go” isn’t a single. Even in this shitty tape, Carlos’ guitar sound incredible.
14. Slaughter – “Fly to the Angels (Acoustic version)”
I put this on because she loved Slaughter but didn’t have a CD player, and this was a CD bonus track.
Side 2
I need a break from all the balladeering, but I have a feeling the mush will be just as relentless. On the whole of side 1, there was only one track that you could call a rocker!
1. Judas Priest – “Out in the Cold”
Here it is! Yes, I sure do remember making this tape. The main motivation was — get this — to trick her into liking Judas Priest.
She hated Priest. Meanwhile, we were in the Painkiller era and I was riding a Priest high. I planned to write this song on the cover as:
1. Exciter – “Out in the Cold”
I used an alias (disregarding the thrash band with the same name because I know she wouldn’t recognize it) because I wanted her to hear this awesome Priest song with no preconceived notions. I wanted her to love it. I never found out since the cassette sounds so terribly bad and I never sent it, but this proves that I remembered my intentions correctly.
This sheds a new light on all the balladry. I was trying to really lull her in. I figured I needed a tape with nothing but the best soft songs in the world to really get her with the mighty Priest. It’s all coming back to me now.
2. Frehley’s Comet – “It’s Over Now”
I didn’t think she would know this one, but I hoped she’d like it. I was a big proponent of the second Frehley disc, appropriately called Second Sighting. I always thought this song should have been a huge, huge hit. I was hoping she would agree. Unusually for a Frehley song (but wiser from a commercial ballad point of view), it has both lead vocals and lead guitar by Tod Howarth.
3. Frozen Ghost – “Promises”
This one takes me completely by surprises. It’s a great song, but I didn’t have it back then. My sister did — I must have poached it from her collection for this tape. Bob played this a lot in the car over the last couple summers, so our whole gang would remember it fondly. She would have been in the car when we were rocking Frozen Ghost. Lead singer Arnold Lanni later went on to become quite a successful producer. Guitarist Phil X made it even bigger, now touring the world with Bon Jovi!
4. Lee Aaron – “Only Human”
I don’t think this is one of Lee’s finer moments, but I thought she’d like it, so on it went.
5. Winger – “Miles Away”
Putrid. Just awful. Fast forwarding.
6. AC/DC – “Moneytalks”
Holy shit! Finally a rock song. AC/DC were huge in ’90-’91. I couldn’t have gone wrong with AC/DC. Then why the fuck didn’t I include more? “Who Made Who”. “You Shook Me All Night Long”. Everybody likes those songs. Holy shitballs.
7. Motley Crue – “Home Sweet Home”
Tammy had Dr. Feelgood before I did, but I don’t know if she would have Theater of Pain back then. There was no such thing as a Motley greatest hits (can you imagine such a world?) so I thought this would be nice for her to have.
8. Van Halen – “Dreams”
OK, probably not a ballad. Very keyboard-heavy. Very easy to enjoy, and Van Hagar were still cool as fuck.
9. Van Halen – “Dancing in the Streets”
Some folks that are not necessarily Van Halen fans really like their version of “Dancing in the Streets”. It’s probably better than Bowie/Jagger, at least. I’m pleased with myself for including both Sammy and Dave on this tape, and one after the other no less!
10. REZ – “Shadows”
Woah! Deep cut. This was a tape, of a tape, of a tape, of a tape. You can imagine what it sounds like today. Bob and I loved this song by the Christian rock band REZ, formerly Resurrection Band. You can see that I snuck in a few unfamiliar songs like this, hoping she’d get into them. This one is pretty easy to like. Total shock to find it here.
11. Kiss – “Hard Luck Woman”
Kiss Count: five.
12. Brighton Rock – “One More Try”
This also comes as a surprise. Then I think to myself that my music collection wasn’t very large back then and I would have to pull a few obscure ones out. If I remember the details clearly, Tammy had MTV and so didn’t necessarily hear as much Canadian content like Brighton Rock.
13. AC/DC – “You Shook Me All Night Long”
Ah, good. What’s interesting to me about this is that at this point of the tape, the right channel is completely inaudible. So all I get is Angus (no Malcolm), Brian, and maybe half of Phil Rudd.
To my surprise, that is the last song. Usually I snuck something short and goofy at the end of a tape. “You Shook Me All Night Long” does make a good final song….
Wait!
I didn’t erase the tape to the end! There is something left at the tail. Older contents; older than 1991.
It’s “On the Road to Rock” by Kick Axe! It is a mystery how that song got on this tape in the first place, as I didn’t own it back then and don’t even own it now. I must have recorded it off someone. Who, I have no idea. Perhaps my next door neighbour George had it. It was him or Bob, but I’ll never know for sure. George is gone now and Bob wouldn’t remember.
Knowing when I made this tape, and all the motivations behind it doesn’t forgive it for being a piece of shit. I did a shitty job here folks! Too many ballads, not enough variety. It’s a real slog to listen to without a fast forward button. At least half of those ballads could be axed, and replaced with something else that I had in my collection at that time.
Usually when you make a tape for someone, you give it away and never hear it again. In this case I had the rare chance to play back a mix tape that I made 28 years ago and never sent. It’s just as bad as I feared though not without some surprises and the odd cool inclusion.
That blue Scotch tape, an ancient C-120, goes back to at least 1983 making it 36 years old at minimum. 120 minute tapes are never any good, and this one was always particularly cheap. Now that I’ve satisfied my curiosity, I will never play this tape again.
Kip Winger and Reb Beach were on MuchWest with Dixie Dregs fan Terry David Mulligan to talk about their second album In The Heart of the Young. It’s kind of sad, really. Kip says that Winger are pretty close to being a headlining band, not foreseeing the turning tide of the 1990s.
Check out this interview on location in lovely Vancouver.
Winger broke up in ’94, but reunited in 2001. Part of the reunion entailed new music. Before they finally released a new album (Winger IV), they tested the waters with one new song on The Very Best of Winger. Yes indeed, you had to buy a “greatest hits” to get the new song. At least Winger also gave you a Japanese bonus track for your money too.
New tune “On the Inside” was written for Pull (their third album and last before breakup) but recorded for Very Best Of. It’s a chunky, heavy tune with splashes of anthemic keyboard in the chorus. It really underlines that Winger could write and play with integrity when they wanted to. Reb Beach’s solo is unorthodox and outside the box. “Hell to Pay” is listed as an outtake, but it was actually released as a Japanese bonus track to Pull. Stuff like this saves collectors for shelling out mucho dinero for a Japanese import. Good sassy tune, and listen for that scorching outro.
Pull was a record that never got a shot, so it’s OK that the first chunk of tunes are from that album. It deserved a second chance. These are standout songs: “Blind Revolution Mad” smokes white hot, and with depth. “Down Incognito” has a bright, memorable chorus contrasted with groovy verses. 90s-style riffing worked perfectly on the track “Junkyard Dog”, a seven-minute thrill ride through different textures. Winger were not playing it simple. Even their ballads from that era have more heft. “Spell I’m Under” has edge under those layered melodies. Few songs are as starkly lovely as “Who’s the One”.
The Very Best of Winger takes a dive after the Pull material. The CD is in reverse chronological order, which almost never works. Yes, it highlights the most current sounding music, but at the cost of consistency. Winger II: In the Heart of the Young was, let’s be honest, not good. The ballads were sappier and the rockers too cheesy. Only “Rainbow in the Rose” really fits on this set. Past the dreck, the four singles from album #1 are included. This means the CD at least ends on an up, though the ballad “Headed for a Heartbreak” is a bit anti-climatic.
A highschool guy named Rob Petersen recommended Winger to me. Rob was one of the only kids with long hair. I was so jealous of him. He had the Rick Allen curls and everything. Girls thought he was cute. I thought maybe some of his cool could rub off on me. Luckily I sat next to him in Mr. Lightfoot’s history class.
I recorded the music video for “Seventeen”, which was OK, but didn’t particularly stand out. Kip Winger’s abs did. Towards the end of the video, he did this weird thrusty-dance with his bass. This is memorable to me because the tape that “Seventeen” was on, was also used for a school video project. I made a music video for “Nothing But A Good Time” by Poison with friends, for a school award. I recorded my copy on the same tape as “Seventeen” — immediately after it, actually. When we presented the video to the film teacher, she caught the tail end of “Seventeen”, and Kip’s thrust. “Oh,” I heard her comment, and I sensed it was more disgust than titillation.
Kip Winger mid-thrust
Despite their image, Winger possessed a rare rock pedigree. Classically trained bassist and singer Charles “Kip” Winger was fresh from Alice Cooper’s band, as was keyboardist Paul Taylor. Kip also performed on Twisted Sister’s Love is for Suckers LP in 1987, with future bandmate Reb Beach. Most impressively, drummer Rod Morgenstein was an alumnus of Steve Morse’s Dixie Dregs. Yet all these massive players went and made a commercial hard rock album with, let’s face it, pretty juvenile lyrics at times.
It’s hard not to be critical of Winger for this. Knowing what these guys are capable of, the debut album Winger seems like pandering. They did sneak in a few progressive hints, such as a string quartet on “Hungry”, but the impression was that they were just another hard rock band with big hair and candycane hooks. They were underachieving, from a certain point of view.
Winger was in the batch of the first CDs I ever got, for Christmas of 1989. This was based almost entirely on Rob Petersen’s raving. Another reason I chose it was the “CD bonus track”! One of the incentives for buying a CD player was to finally get songs that were only on the CD release. I had mixed impressions. The first “side” was decent but the second was a little filler-heavy.
I’m sad to admit this, but Winger’s version of “Purple Haze” was the first time I ever heard the song. Ozzy’s version was the second. Go ahead, judge me.
Winger could have taken it further on their second album. In a way, they did: progressive songs and complex rhythms stood alongside the pop rock tracks. While they advanced in that regard, they took a step backwards in another. Some songs were even dumber: “Can’t Get Enough” for example, was a transparent re-write of “Seventeen”, and the ballads were dreck. Worst of all was Kip’s very unnecessary rapping on “Baptized by Fire”.
Two songs, “Rainbow in the Rose” and “In the Heart of the Young” (the title track) were so far above and beyond the pack, they could have come from a different album. These two epics drip of the kind of progressive rock you know these guys can play. Yet they kept it radio accessible, somehow, even while Rod Morgenstein is playing rhythms my brain can barely compute.
While Winger II charted higher and sold as well as the first, 12 months later it was hopelessly outdated by the birth of grunge. Winger then fell victim to two of the 90s greatest antiheroes, Beavis and Butt-Head. A black Winger shirt was worn by nerd character Stewart, and the band were repeatedly mocked. This eventually killed Winger off as a business. Gigs dried up. Fortunately for fans, Kip Winger and Mike Judge of Beavis and Butt-Head recently had a make-up session. Even Kip admitted, “Winger was a band that was popular for some of the wrong reasons, man.”
The third album, Pull, is a reference to skeet shooting. Kip knew that for all the chances they had, they may as well throw the album into the air and take shots at it. “Pull!”
It was a lose-lose situation and both Winger and the public lost by Pull‘s commercial failure. Keyboardist Paul Taylor had left, and so Pull features less of the instrument and a far heavier sound. Taylor was eventually replaced by John Roth, a guitarist. The message was pretty clear. Pull featured some of Winger’s best tracks: “Down Incognito”, “Blind Revolution Mad”, “Junkyard Dog”, and “Who’s the One”. Had Pull come out in 1990 instead of 1993, things would have gone very differently. Instead, Winger broke up.
The happy news is that like many bands, Winger reunited (the John Roth lineup occasionally with Paul Taylor as a fifth member), and started putting out albums again. Good ones, too. Their last Better Days Comin’ is pretty great.
As further proof of Winger’s greatness, Reb Beach went from there to Alice Cooper, completing the circle. Winger, after all, was originally founded by two ex-Cooper players. He was then picked to replace George Lynch in Dokken. And Kip? His 30 minute symphony “Ghosts” should speak for itself.
Those who are curious but sceptical should check out Winger’s Pull, and the albums that followed. Go ahead and wing it!
WINGER – II – In the Heart of the Young (1990 Atlantic)
Another awful album cover; another Winger album! The ambitious follow-up, still sonically mutilated by producer Beau Hill, was several steps forward and a few steps backwards at the same time. The year was 1990, and while most bands were starting to toughen things up and go a little heavier, Winger turned on the tap marked “syrup”.
Truly awful is “Can’t Get Enuff”, which Winger admitted took about five minutes to write, when he decided they needed to “make a video about sex”. Because that’s never been done before. Nor has a song called “Can’t Get Enough” (spelled correctly). There is nothing new or necessary here; the talented band are neutered by programmed rhythms and cheesey, generic lyrics. Not good enuff, although the second tune “Loosen Up” is better. There could have been some rock and roll groove with “Loosen Up”, but the plastic and thin production removes its teeth.
Keyboardist Paul Taylor, who left the band after this tour, wrote the ballad “Miles Away” by himself and it hits all the bases that a power ballad needed to hit: Big chorus, sad keyboards, and sappy lyrics! “Miles Away” never quite felt like it fit on the album stylistically, but it’s actually a decent ballad. It’s well written and arranged, but so pigeonholed to its time.
I hate synth horns, therefore I hate the single “Easy Come Easy Go”. There is no substitute for real horns. Keyboards are quicker and easier, but there is no comparison to the real thing. Thankfully Winger did utilise real horns on “Rainbow in the Rose”, the first of two epics on the album. Where “Can’t Get Enuff” was written in minutes, “Rainbow in the Rose” took a year to compose and arrange. Its complexity is admirable, but a better producer could have given it the finish it deserved. It’s a shame that with a complicated track like this, you can barely hear what drummer Rod Morgenstein is doing. He’s one of the best in the world, but he’s buried under keyboards. When you do listen to what he’s doing, it’s quite incredible work. As for the song? The chorus kills!
The second side was more of the same, including another epic at the end. “In the Day We’ll Never See” was Winger’s attempt to write more serious lyrics, and that’s all well and good. With a peppy riff and serious tone, it’s a good enough song for a car tape. Reb Beach’s anthemic guitars are the highlight. Another side; another ballad — “Under One Condition” sounds like a Warrant song, although that’s probably being unfair. Warrant could never play like Winger.
Side two has a slew of annoying songs in the middle. “Little Dirty Blonde” is as putrid as it sounds, but let’s face it folks, it’s not as bad as Kip Winger rapping. The story goes that they wanted to get Tone Lōc to do his thing over “Baptized By Fire”, but that didn’t happen so Kip rapped it himself. It’s as annoying as you expect. One of the most impressive moments on the album is just a short instrumental break, sounding like speedily tapped guitar and bass, right before “Baptised By Fire”, but it’s over too soon before MC Kip takes over. “You Are the Saint, I Am the Sinner” improves the outlook mildly, annoying title aside. That leads to the final epic track, “In the Heart of the Young”. Like “Rainbow in the Rose”, this is a more ambitious arrangement, done with skill and care. Once again, focusing on Rod Morgenstein allows you to hear the complexities within. The melodies are strong and Kip’s singing is under-appreciated.
Winger were on to something with the more progressive material. Where they lost fans was with the dumbed down sounds of songs like “Can’t Get Enuff”, and they paid for it during the grunge onslaught down the road.
When Winger started out, they really played down to their audience. Kip Winger was a classically trained musician. Reb Beach was already a virtuoso guitar player whose talent can’t be under-stressed. Keyboardist Paul Taylor had been around the block a number of times, including a stint with Kip Winger in the Alice Cooper band. Most impressively, drummer Rod Morgenstein is best respected for the rock fusion combo Dixie Dregs. To hear guys with that background singing a song that goes, “She’s only seventeen, Dad says she’s too young but she’s old enough for me,”…well it’s just embarrassing.
I call bullshit, Mr. Clarence R. Winger. He’d been studying classical music since the age of sixteen. You know he could do better if he wasn’t trying to write cliche rock lyrics.
Musically, Winger (the debut album) isn’t half bad. In fact it’s more than half good! The opener “Madalaine” is cheesey rock, but it’s above the bar due to the intense guitar shreddery of Mr. Beach. It was an era when it was OK to just get up there and tap tap tap away. There is some musical integrity contained herein, but it’s not in the lyrical department. The single “Hungry” begins with a string quartet (only 22 seconds’ worth), arranged by Kip. See? Flashes of the talent within, but cloaked behind a typical rock power ballad with one of the most overused titles in the genre. Good songs both…but written down to a specific audience by guys who can do better.
Chief offender “Seventeen” wouldn’t be half bad if it had a different title; any title. Call it “Buttermilk”. Instead of:
“She’s only seventeen (seventeen), I’ll show you love like you’ve never seen, She’s only seventeen (seventeen), Dad says she’s too young but she’s old enough for me.”
Change that to:
“I love my buttermilk (buttermilk), Makes my pancakes as smooth as silk, I love my buttermilk (buttermilk), Mom says it’ll make me fat, stop that buttermilk!”
See? My lyric had depth that theirs doesn’t. It’s light and shade. Yes, buttermilk will make your pancakes extra tasty, but what of the health costs? I could go on and on about the brilliance of my lyric vs. Kip Winger’s. But I won’t. You get the point.
Shredding musicianship aside, “Seventeen” is not a good song.
“Without the Night” works well enough as a Bon Jovi-esque power ballad. What should have been deleted, because they already had enough original material, is a cover of Jimi’s “Purple Haze”. This is dreadful, overplayed, oversexed, with the only saving grace being a guitar battle with Reb Beach on one side and Dweezil Zappa on the other. Two monster players going at it is right on. Kip Winger “ooh ahh-ing” all over “Purple Haze” is blech. Just focus on Reb and Dweezil, and try your best to ignore Clarence.
The original LP had a side break here, and I think that’s a good idea. I need to take a moment to get some fresh air. Something stinks in here….
“State of Emergency” has a little progressive complexity to it, some chops and lyrics that are not about seventeen year old girls, so that is good. “Time to Surrender” shreds impressively over a slow Ratt-like riff. All considered, “Time to Surrender” is one of the strongest tracks on the album. Sadly, “Poison Angel” is the worst. This one could have been dropped. “Hangin’ On” is good enough, again boasting some impressive playing from Reb Beach. The key to listening to Winger is to focus on the instrumentation.
The most impressive track is the ballad “Headed for a Heartbreak”. Cheesey, yes. But listen for a moment, to the arrangement, and to the playing. It’s a hit power ballad, yes…but there are progressive complexities to the arrangement. Listen to Rod Morgenstein’s drumming. His patterns are not simple rock cliches. Too bad it’s so hard to hear what he’s doing. Winger has a brittle production, thanks to schlock-meister Beau Hill, ruiner of many an album. Over-processing and harsh gating on Rod’s drum sound gives the album a plastic feel. Some tracks such as “State of Emergency” should have more heft, but it is lost. “Time to Surrender” needs less gloss. The album has hardly any bass, and the thing about that is that Kip Winger is actually a pretty good bassist (not to mention singer).
The CD only bonus track (oh 1988, I miss you so) is a short rocker called “Higher and Higher”. It’s a better track than the similar-paced “Poison Angel” and should have swapped places with it. There’s also one other interesting little track to be found. Another short rocker called “Out for the Count” made an appearance on the soundtrack to Karate Kid III. I picked that up at a Zellers store, I think, on a clearance sale around 1992. It was an odd find, but being a collector I grabbed it for the one track. (Also on the CD is “48 Hours” by a band called PBF, better known as Pretty Boy Floyd!) Swap “Out for the Count” for “Purple Haze”, and the Winger album would have been far stronger.
It’s really hard to boil this down to a simple number rating. I’ve come up with an equation based on your valuing of playing and songcraft,
Where x = a scale from 0-5 on how much you value shredding,
and y = a scale from 0-5 on your importance of song craft,
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