Steve Wynn
Here Come the Miracles

Brilliantly started in 1990 with the release of the excellent "Kerosene Man", the solo career of Steve Wynn, the man who practically forged the Paisley Underground music movement in the eighties with his fabulous Dream Syndicate, has never been lacking in satisfaction and surprises. The American artist has managed to produce, over the span of the decade covering the nineties, a series of varied, well-crafted albums that were absolutely successful despite carrying the glorious legacy of his former group, responsible for epochal works like "The Days Of Wine And Roses" and "Medicine Show". From the minimal "Fluorescent", to the sunny "Sweetness And Light", passing through the noisy "Melting In The Dark", the decent "My Midnight", and the fluctuating project with Gutterball, Steve Wynn has always maintained a satisfactory performance, with only a slight decline with the uncertain "Dazzling Display" in 1992.

However, when the double "Here Come The Miracles" was unexpectedly released in 2001, the astonishment was truly great. Recorded in Tucson, Arizona, "Here Come The Miracles" marks Steve Wynn's return to form, akin to the Dream Syndicate days, thanks to excellent songwriting and good compositional versatility that knows no bounds. Comprising nineteen tracks, the album does not have a single drop in tone throughout its duration thanks to a songwriter in sparkling form and inspired like in the good old days of "Burn", "Merrittville", or "Boston" and especially due to a series of very talented collaborators who assist Wynn during the recording phase, bearing the names of his friend Chris Cacavas, the beloved and talented Linda Pitmon, and Howe Gelb.

"Here Come The Miracles" is a total, emotional, complete work, devoid of fillers, vibrant with a fresh, vigorous sound where grit and technique blend with truly genuine results. An album that retraces all the musical passions and influences of Our man in a sort of personal greatest hits made of entirely new tracks never heard before. An expected joy not only for his very devoted audience but also for those who know him only by reputation. The album, in fact, although not innovative, has the rare and enormous merit of having a compactness and a depth increasingly rare in the rock music scene. In this work, miracles really happen.

From the psychedelic noise and Dylan-esque opening title track to the airy closure with the sparkling "There Will Come A Day", there is much to rejoice in. Between these two extremes, in fact, there is plenty of excellent music to slowly savor, which becomes impossible to resist after repeated listens. The exciting electric ballad "Shades Of Blue", the seductive "Sustain", the Velvet-like "Blackout", the rarefied "Morningside Heights", the bitter blues of "Butterscotch", the hypnotic "Let's Leave It Like That", the Doors-like "Sunset To The Sea", and the jungle-beat Diddley-like "Strange New World" are rare gems hard to forget.

If the acidic and desert-like "Death Valley Rain" and "Topanga Canyon Freaks" evoke uncomfortable nightmares of the past, "Watch your Step" and "Crawling Misanthropic Blues" are almost punk songs of explosive intensity, while the long "Good And Bad" is one of the album's peaks thanks to a searing guitar solo by Wynn himself. It's pointless to mention all the tracks composing this brilliant work, as "Here Come The Miracles" overflows with so many musical solutions that it is impossible not to fall hopelessly in love with it and bestows upon this great musician an artistic stature of rare significance in today's age.

It deserves five stars. Without a shadow of a doubt.