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Rating: Time, flowing relentlessly with bittersweet melancholy, carries everything with it: bright and blurry memories, loves, passions, unrealized dreams, experiences both constructive and destructive. Yet, shortly before leaving this existence, the mathematician Gödel claimed that the illusion of the passage of time arises from a confusion between data and reality. Far from home... perhaps distant precisely from a memorable and indelible past that will hardly return, if not in memory. Perhaps... So also for the eclectic multi-instrumentalist Winwood and drummer Capaldi, the forward-looking creativity of the glorious '70s, now seemingly almost faded by the changing times and fashions, returns to shine in brief flashes in the present album.
A full twenty years have passed since the last release from the band. In the meantime, such numerous and vast changes and upheavals have occurred in music: impossible to analyze and list them all. With the intent to evoke the famous group, the two remaining musicians decide to dedicate the compositions to their prematurely deceased friend Chris Wood. At first, the music did not excessively thrill or move me. However, upon listening to it again, I had to admit I appreciated it, especially thanks to a pleasant and successful return to elaborate compositional patterns reminiscent of their early works. Long and intricate Folk Soul and Jazz Rock ballads blend with the much-loved Progressive, in a strong collection of ten musical piéces crafted with passion and technical skill. "Riding High", "Nowhere Is Their Freedom" and "This Train Won't Stop" with dense exuberant rhythms, the melancholic, intimate and relaxing "Far From Home", "Holy Ground" (Uilleann Pipes by D. Spillane) and "State Of Grace", and the electric "Here Come A Man" and "Mozambique". In all tracks, excluding the instrumental "Mozambique", the characteristic and unmistakable dusky voice of Winwood predominates. It almost seems as if the seasons have not passed for him, as his extraordinary vocal and instrumental talents have lost virtually none of their luster and impact. In my opinion, however, in some sections, the vocal parts are a bit too predominant and prolonged, where it would have been better to leave more space for the solid instrumental passages. An occasionally delightful album to listen to, particularly while traveling, especially when traffic is light.
The fold-out booklet is graced with the lyrics of the songs and a series of small photographs. The uninspired cover features a curious circular cadmium red symbol, also present in some previous works of the group. The frantic rhythms of contemporary life demand an incessant flow of artistic and musical traffic. Indeed, every product of human intellect is dragged, tossed here and there, submerged and swallowed up, often forgotten too soon. Instead, sometimes, we should pause to reflect more deeply on what surrounds us. However, at the same time, this endless flow allows body and mind to remain always active and in motion, thus assimilating new experiences in an attempt to improve and with the hope of reaching new goals.
Tracklist Lyrics and Videos
03 Far From Home (08:36)
(Winwood/Capaldi)
I can't afford to take a rest, I'm heading out towards the sun
And find the place where I once saw a new life starting
It's not so far to get there, it's waiting up around the bend
Don't know if I'll be back again
Through the night I'm flying, moving like a raven
To the night unfolding I call your name
To the night I whisper, to the night I pray
Through the night I'm racing
Far from home
I've always tried to do my best, I never cheated anyone
Not like the place where they once turned the wine into water
Running from all pretensions, nothing blocking up my view
No more feeling black and blue
'Cause tonight I'm not a lonely man, yes tonight, oh tonight
Keep holding on to false directions, they'll never set you free
You got to stop the world and let it be, then maybe you will see
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1994 FS Music Ltd./Freedom Songs Ltd. (PRS)
All rights administered by Warner Tamerlane Publishing Corp.)
05 Holy Ground (07:50)
(Winwood/Capaldi/Spillane)
What are we doing to this holy ground, this land that God gave to us all
'Cause everywhere I hear that crashing sound that trees make when they fall
Why can't we understand when it turns to sand
There's no way you can bring it back again
Why don't we change the plan, and try to save this land
And make a promise not to hurt again this holy ground
What are we doing to this sacred heart, this heart that's beating for us all
'Cause everywhere I see it torn apart as tears like rain will fall
Why don't we take the time, take a look inside
Try to understand what's going wrong
Stop trying to change the tide, overcome our pride
Take off our shoes, this place we're standing on is holy ground
Get out of doing the things you do in the dark
Keep the flame alive in your heart
What are we doing to the children's lives, the ones we shouldn't hurt at all
'Cause in the night I hear their lonely cries, so frail and small
How can we just stand by and watch them fade and die
Before they even reach the age of ten
Why don't we heal the pain, take away this shame
And make a vow to give them back again this holy ground
------------------------------------------------------------------------
1994 FS Music Ltd./Freedom Songs Ltd. (PRS)
All rights administered by Warner Tamerlane Publishing Corp.
Sony Music Publishing UK administered by Sony Songs Inc. (BMI)
06 Some Kinda Woman (05:28)
(Winwood/Capaldi)
Heats the message that you send
One look at you, I'm burning up inside
You know that I'd give up anything
I can't get enough when you get next to me
Oh you, hey, some kinda woman
You some kinda woman
You cut a notch every time a heart is breaking
One time and then you, oh, never let 'em off
Once you've fixed your sightsv Oh, I want you, I want to tie you to me
Oh, don't hesitate, you got the touch to set me free
I'm like a kid standing outside your door
You make me feel like never before
I feel the heat rising up in my soul
I'm burning out of control
Oh, break down this heat 'cause what you're doing just makes me weak
The way you stand there in your clothes, giving me a look like Edward G.
And then you start to shake the place
And then you lock on tight to the groove
Oh, I want to get it on, looking for the chance to make a move
Look into my heart for what you want
Saying that you will and then you won't
Look into my heart for what you want
Saying that you do and then you don't
------------------------------------------------------------------------
1994 FS Music Ltd./Freedom Songs Ltd. (PRS)
All rights administered by Warner Tamerlane Publishing Corp.)
08 This Train Won't Stop (05:26)
(Winwood/Capaldi)
In the city streets where I was born
People bowed their heads from dusk till dawn
Never realized the potential of their lives
Till the reaper came to cut the corn
Some were born to live a life of ease, never knowing suffering or disease
Till that final day when judgment comes their way, then they fall down on their knees and pray
This train won't stop ... Till we reach the end of the line
In the golden fields of yesterday where the children used to laugh and play
You can hear the sound of hammer breaking steel
When you take more than you give it never heals
I can see it rolling 'cross the sky on the holy mountains where eagles cry
Far from earth below where poisoned rivers flow where I'm free to let my soul and spirit fly
This train won't stop ... Till we reach the end of the line
And will the road find it, and will the soul guide you down
When will we really see that higher love, when we reach the end of our lives
This train won't stop ... Till we reach the end of the line
See the reaper in the field, time to get your spirit healed
Now the doors are open wide, there's no place that you can hide
Tell your children
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1994 FS Music Ltd./Freedom Songs Ltd. (PRS)
All rights administered by Warner Tamerlane Publishing Corp.)
09 State of Grace (07:18)
(Winwood/Capaldi)
Sometimes your life can be sidetracked, getting lost in things you don't need
But we all lose direction in a world of greed
Some people's lives end in ruin, some people's lives never start
Someone knows what you're doing deep in your heart
In the hour of need you stood ready, looked danger right in the face
Your heart is moved by the spirit when you're living
Living in a state of grace
There's a world never ending, sorrow and pain don't exist
We can live there together, you can't resist
Just when you think you can't take it, dreams disappear into space
Trust in your heart, you can make it, when you're living
Living in a state of grace
There's nothing worse than the sorrow of loved ones you have lost
You can't face tomorrow, you can't bear the cross
But just remember that darkness in this world has no place
You've got so much to give now
------------------------------------------------------------------------
1994 FS Music Ltd./Freedom Songs Ltd. (PRS)
All rights administered by Warner Tamerlane Publishing Corp.)
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