Let Me In

Performer: Johnny Winter
Artist: Dr. John; Ken Saydak; Billy Branch
Engineer: David Axelbaum
Producer: Dick Shurman; Johnny Winter
Distributor: EMI Music Distribution

Notes: Personnel: Johnny Winter (vocals, guitar); Billy Branch (harmonica); Dr. John, Ken Saydak (piano); Jeff Ganz (bass); Tom Compton (drums). The WhoMe's Vocal Ensemble: Dennis Drugan, Margaret Drugan, Johnny Drugan, Brian Drugan, Dave Brickson, John Gabrysiak, Dick Shurman. Recorded at Streeterville, Chicago, Illinois. Personnel: Johnny Winter (vocals, acoustic guitar, electric guitar); Margaret Drugan, Dick Shurman, John Gabrysiak, David Brickson, Johnny Drugan, The Who Me's, Dennis Dugan (vocals); Billy Branch (harmonica); Dr. John, Ken Saydak (piano); Jeff Ganz (upright bass, electric bass, fretless bass); Tom Compton (drums). Audio Mixer: David Axelbaum. Recording information: Streeterville Recording Studios, Chicago, IL. Photographer: Mark Weiss. Let Me In is a star-studded all-blues set from Johnny Winter, featuring cameos from Dr. John, Albert Collins, and several others. Though the set focuses on blues material, Winters can never leave his rock roots behind -- the sheer volume and pile-driving energy of his performances ensures that. For most of the record, his enthusiasm is contagious, but there are a couple of bland, generic exercises that fail to work up a head of steam. But there is a lovely acoustic number called "Blue Mood," which shows Winter trying to stretch a bit by playing jazzy licks. It's a refreshing change of pace. ~ Thom Owens One of Johnny Winter's relatively few major-label albums since leaving Columbia in the late '70s, 1991's LET ME IN is happily free of any attempts to enhance his blues-rock sound with slick embellishments. Surrounded by a tight band featuring a full horn section, Winter plays and sings in his usual style, with a minimum of flash--Winter's probably the most economical blues-rock guitarist there is--and plenty of good humor. The surprise is in Winter's vocals. Stuck with a fairly thin and reedy voice, he has never been as adept a singer as he is a guitarist, but on LET ME IN, his voice has a newfound power and authority. His renditions of the standards "Illustrated Man" and "Life Is Hard" are so sure and true that they sound like originals. There's also the bonus of Dr. John adding his patented New Orleans voodoo boogie to four tracks.

Down Beat (9/92, p.39) - 4 Stars - Very Good - "...What's most impressive about LET ME IN is the variety of emotional and musical textures Winter can summon with the constraints of his primarily balls-out style...The Mad Albino is still at the top of his game..."

Texan blues guitarist Johnny Winter, surely the first albino blues guitar hero, was already a convincing artist in the '60s when still in his teens. At the dawn of the '70s, he embraced the sound of the time, adopting a louder, more frenetic blues-rock style. Backed by the McCoys, including guitarist Rick Derringer, he released a series of classic blues-rock albums, while his keyboard-playing brother Edgar, with whom Johnny played on and off over the years, achieved stardom in his own right. At the end of the '70s, Winter produced Muddy Waters, helping him make a triumphant comeback. In the ensuing decades, Winter maintained a prolific schedule of touring and recording.

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