KIP WINGER - SONGS FROM THE OCEAN FLOOR

'Songs From The Ocean Floor' is Kip Winger's third solo album from the ex Winger bassist and vocalist. Winger were pretty popular in there time and wrote some cracking tunes such as 'Headed For A Heartbrake', 'Down Incognito' and 'Battle Stations' but ultimately they became one of the major casualties of the grunge movement and most fatally the scorn of Beavis & Butthead and split shortly after the release of 'Pull'. Things went quiet for a couple of years until Kip resurfaced in 1997 with his fist solo album 'Thisconversationseemslikeadream'. Teaming up with guitarist Andy Timmons (ex Danger Danger) and fellow Winger drummer Rod Morgenstein, Ken Mary [ex Fifth Angel, Atlantis Rising and House Of Lords] is the guest drummer on a few tracks, Kip has cut this 3rd solo album and it picks up from where the previous two left off. Gone is the pop metal of Winger to replaced by Kip the artist. This is very mature sounding material, primarily led by acoustic guitar, with the emphasis on songs rather than virtuosity or making that perfect summer album. This album shows Kips influences with hints of Peter Gabriel, Thomas Dolby, The Beatles, Sting and David Bowie all cropping up. No this is not your typical rock album but this album contains superb songs and it is an ideal late night album to chill too.

Opener 'Cross' is a good example of what to expect throughout the release and its an extremely good track. Gradually building with 12 string acoustic work over which Morgenstein lays a steady groove and Timmons throws in atmospheric fills rather than rampant axework gives you a taster of what to expect. Fans of Dream Theater's more laidback moments (Speak To Me, Lifting Shadows Of A Dream etc) will embrace this album with open arms at its warmth is easy to pick up on even the first listen. This sort of sets the tone for the rest of the release, their is not a huge amount of deviation in the nature of the tracks except for some being either sparser or more elaborate in orchestration. All however feature Kips exceptionally strong and melodic vocals and mature lyrics. Gone are the 'looking for babes' lyrically content that Winger portrayed, with these on 'Songs From The Ocean Floor' being more in tune with life journeys and experiences. This should not be seen as a sign of selling out as these kind of lyrics were the backbone of the last 'Winger' album 'Pull'.

Highlights of the album include the aforementioned opener 'Cross', the Page & Plant-ish 'Song Of Midnight', the dark rock of 'Broken Open'. A great piano led ballad 'Only One Word' which fuses Savatage with James LaBrie vocal phrasings. 'Resurrection' could be seen as a 'Headed For A Heartbrake' for the new millennium only with a less commercial chorus and more mature lyrics, Reb Beach makes a guest appearance and throws some weight into the track with an emotive solo. Apart from these tracks mentioned a variety of other moods are ventured on: Orchestrated ballad - 'Two Lovers Stand', melancholy - 'Landslide', eastern tinged instrumental - 'Free' and flirtations in Sting jazz tinged areas - 'Everything You Need'. Overall a variety of bases are covered and covered well, the one glaring omission is anything remotely like the upbeat rocking Winger material.

'Songs From The Ocean Floor' is a bold and mature album by Kip Winger. He knows that he can write good songs and this is shown throughout the album. The album is a good one and certainly achieves what it sets out to do but I would love Kip to go back to the Hard Rock of Winger at least once more. As stated earlier this is an album best suited for winding down or relaxing to. Its not going to make you want to play air guitar or party all night but it will get you thinking about life. All in all its a great slice of songwriting that will reap benefits in the long-term.

RATINGS
Production - 8.0, Songs - 7.8 Lyrics - 8.0, Performance - 7.5
OVERALL
7.8
Review By Andy Craven.
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