Johnny Winter
Still Alive and Well

THE REVIEW

"Still Alive And Well".

Johnny Winter wanted to tell the musical world that he was back, still alive, and doing well.

In fact, he had just finished his tour with the And, of which he left an excellent testimony with the album "Johnny Winter And" (already excellently reviewed on Debaser); and the tour had left him exhausted, not only because of the travel involved with a tour but also due to the growing abuse of hard drugs, specifically heroin. In mid-'71, he stopped live performances and retreated to the countryside near Woodstock, but he realized he was risking even his life and admitted himself to the River Oaks hospital near New Orleans to detox. He felt so bad that for several months, music was abhorrent to him, and he couldn't even pick up a guitar. But fortunately, he managed to pull through unharmed and in '73 he came back strong with one of his best studio albums ever, namely this "Still Alive and Well". He returned to collaborate with Rick Derringer, who wrote the title track and "Cheap Tequila" and produced the album.

But let's talk about the record. As is now tradition, the repertoire consists of a large number of re-interpreted covers and some new tracks performed by Winter with his usual six-string mastery and "slide" technique, in which he truly proves to be a virtuoso. The style ranges from wild rock n roll to the purest blues and even ventures into country. All of it is supported by a solid rhythm section consisting of Randy Hobbs on bass and Richard Hughes on drums, giving an almost hard rock touch to everything. The covers range from the classic "Rock Me", to "Can't You Feel It Baby" by Dan Hartman reinterpreted in a very rock key, to the Rolling Stones' "Let It Bleed".

As mentioned, Winter is a great guitarist, but perhaps less virtuosic as a singer. However, it should be noted that although he may not be technically excellent, he is to be appreciated for the grit and heart he puts into his very personal way of singing. The best tracks on the album, however, are new ones written by Winter or others but explicitly crafted for him. I'm talking about his "Rock And Roll", which despite its name is a rock-blues supported by a superb slide and a compelling rhythm. Then there is an excellent song written by none other than the Jagger-Richards duo, and I am talking about the compelling rock-song "Silver Train" which is truly captivating. But in my opinion, the real gem of the album is the very song that gives the album its title: "Still Alive And Well", written by Rick Derringer. The song is indeed a concentration of hard rock energy where great riffs follow a highly fitting chorus. Worth mentioning is the incursion into country with "Ain't Nothing To Me" and the new acoustic blues composed by Winter "Too Much Seconal", which, in addition to great guitars, features a flute solo by Jeremy Steig. Another unreleased piece written by Derringer is "Cheap Tequila", a ballad featuring none other than Todd Rundgren on the mellotron. In the remastered version of the album, there are excellent versions of Little Richard's "Lucille", played in a raw no-frills manner, and Bob Dylan's "From A Buick 6".

Certainly an unmissable album from our artist, and perhaps one of the last noteworthy ones, before a dark period that saw him rise again in '77 with "Nothing But The Blues".