Still Alive and Well/Captured Live!

Performer: Johnny Winter
Distributor: Griffin

Notes: 2 LPs on 1 CD: STILL ALIVE AND WELL (1973)/CAPTURED LIVE! (1976). Includes liner notes by Tony Russell. STILL ALIVE AND WELL: Personnel: Johnny Winter (vocals, guitar, mandolin); Jeremy Steig (flute); Mark Klingman (piano); Randy Jo Hobbs (bass); Richard Hughes (drums). CAPTURED LIVE!: Personnel includes: Johnny Winter, Randy Jo Hobbs, Richard Hughes, Floyd Radford. Winter's first release after a brief retirement/drying-out period, 1973's STILL ALIVE AND WELL, from the title on down, has the feeling of a major comeback, although Winter really hadn't been gone for very long. Produced by longtime collaborator Rick Derringer, who leads the tight and flashy band--also featuring Todd Rundgren and his cohort Mark "Moogy" Klingman--the album is possibly the most pop-oriented release of Winter's tenure at Columbia. Winter's amiable versions of the Stones' "Silver Train" and "Let It Bleed," along with Dan Hartman's "Can't You Feel It," are among his most radio-friendly work. On the other hand, 1976's classic CAPTURED LIVE is straight-up blues-rock power. Fronting a scorching quartet featuring second guitarist Floyd Radford, bassist Randy Jo Hobbs and powerhouse drummer Richard Hughes, Winter plays compact, expressive solos with just enough flash. The six lengthy tracks feature as much solid ensemble playing as they do solo showboating, quite unusual for a guitar boogie album from the '70s. The set list is heavy on the covers, ranging from a killer rave-up on "Highway 61 Revisited" to a looser, good-humored take on Bobby Womack's oft-covered "It's All Over Now."

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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