Pickleloaf.com : Music : Arc of a Diver


Music : Arc of a Diver In association with Amazon.com Rating: - Great sophomore effort for Winwood During my MTV days, Steve Winwood's big 80's splash with songs from Back In The High Life didn't go unnoticed by me. After discovering that album and Chronicles, I had the good fortune of someone loaning me her tape of Arc Of A Diver, which I copied. My interest in his second solo album was due to the upbeat "While You See A Chance." Winwood's sweeping organ-like synths open his first Top Ten solo hit-it reached #7 in 1981-along with the accompanying lively piano that gives it a radio-friendly beat, with some downright introspective lyrics on if one is truly free from the past and ready to take another road one blue morning with a gray wind blowing. I find myself enjoying this song more than "Higher Love." The title track reached #48 on the singles chart, a slower midpaced affair. "Spanish Dancer" along the same languid lines, may be an example of what many called "lazy music" to describe Winwood's early solo stuff. This song was included on the Chronicles compilation made to cash in on the success of Back in The High Life. I wonder why "Second-Hand Woman" wasn't a chart-topper, as it's a more lively affair with Winwood's trademark keyboards set to a disco beat. Some racy imagery is present with the title woman being "a slot machine to take my dime" but it is quite the danceable track. The same holds true for the near eight minute on-the-run opus "Night Train" with its funky beats mixed with guitars, particularly a solo around the six minute mark, and the usual keyboards. A single mix of this could've done well, but alas. Two non-singles in particular strike me and both are slow songs. They are "Slowdown Sundown." A wistful ballad, calling wine that "glassful of memories" and something to soothe the balm of yesterday's pain. The tempo goes up during the bridge, which is a toast to whoever can understand this madness of life. The closing track "Dust" is the other song which also deals with memories one wants so bad to go away, in this case meaning time with a woman, yet how to deal with a love that's gone, but a friendship that still remains? Indeed, "a feather duster is no substitute for the real thing," meaning time, "the universal healer." That brings to mind the Dr. Who quote "the sands of time wash us all clean." Mellow, but not "lazy music" as was described by some, Arc Of A Diver shows that Winwood still had some life in him following Traffic. Considering the turn-of-the-decade changes going on in the music scene, i.e. punk and new wave, it's fortunate that Arc found an audience. And Winwood played all the instruments on the album, much like Prince had done his own debut For You. Despite having only seven songs, Arc benefits from a consistent synth-keyboard style, upbeat dance tunes to reflective ballads. Rating: - Great As I see it, one of the best albums I purchased in college in the early 1980's. Yes, I did say "album." I'm sure the CD has better sound quality!! :) This music is smooth and graceful, just like me(just kidding.) Rating: - not bad, but marred by distracting synthesizer use Steve Winwood had been experiencing a feeling of frustration with his self-titled debut in 1977--basically, he was disheartened by contractural obligations, feeling that making the album was too much for the record company and not enough for his own enjoyment/ satisfaction. With "Arc of a Diver", originally released on the last day of 1980, Winwood wanted to turn things around--he made the album entirely at his own pace, and he wanted it to be something of a rebirth for him. He played all the instruments on the album himself, and he also handled all the producing and engineering chores. The one musical area where Steve did get assistance is songwriting--every track is written by Winwood with a co-writer. For a majority of the tracks, the co-writer is Will Jennings who would remain Winwood's primary writing collaborator for all of his albums through 1990's "Refugees of the Heart". The opening song here is the big hit "While You See A Chance"--it's a perfectly good song with a strong melody, but the sugariness keeps it from being truly transcendant--that said, this song immediately establishes the Winwood/ Jennings "feel-good formula" that would yield huge commercial success later on in the decade (i.e. "Higher Love", "Roll With It", etc.). Overall, "Arc of a Diver" is a frustrating missed opportunity. It seems Winwood was trying to "update" his sound by going really heavy on synthesizers and electronic percussion. Problem is, on several tracks the synths are used to really lousy effect. The title track, co-written by Vivian Stanshall, is a strong composition, very catchy and melodically crafty, but the blaring, grating synth takes away from its impact. There's also dreary synth on the corny, somewhat aimless uptempo tune "Second-Hand Woman"--it gives you a "what the heck is this?" feeling the second it starts. And the wavery synth is really headache-inducing on the album-closing ballad "Dust"--it seems he was trying to simulate an orchestra/ string section; he'd have been way better off just sticking to a real piano. He goes easy on the synths--'plays it straight', if you will--on "Slowdown Sundown" which features acoustic guitar, piano, organ, and even mandolin, but unfortunately the tune itself is rather dull and sluggish. "Night Train" goes for edginess, but it's hollow and rambles on much too long, although it does totally point the way to the far superior title track from "Talking Back To the Night". Winwood does hit the mark big time though with the wonderfully melodic, intricately-arranged "Spanish Dancer", co-written by Jennings--on this track, the combination of synths, dreamy lyrics, & Winwood's smooth, soaring vocals result in a terrific, ethereal track. You get a sense of Winwood just "going for broke" with this album, hoping that the then-modern production values would catch people's ears; apparently, it worked, since this was reportedly a major critical success, as well as a big hit commercially with the "While You See A Chance" single obviously having a key impact on the latter. Trouble is, with much of the new-ness that got people's attentions at the time having been in poor taste, the album ends up being quite dated, a word I generally hate to use since I feel it gets thrown around a lot and is often misused, but it's fair to use it here. Still, there is some really good music on "Arc of a Diver"--it's easy to wish more of it could be of the same caliber as "Spanish Dancer", a great piece of songwriting and a brilliant song that balanced the technology with tastefulness and imagination. Rating: - It was a groundbreaker for Stevie When this puppy hit the charts, it hit them hard. Is it really that good? It was, and it isn't. But it's part of the Winwood catalog. Back in the Highlife was the same. For the period (1980's) it sent a message that Winwood wasn't just a Traffic fatality, and didn't rest on the Blind Faith laurals. Arc and Highlife told us that he was a musician (so did Blind Faith and Traffic) but in case you forgot, these two instilled in the minds of the listening public that he was "into it" (the biz, thatiz). Put this release and Highlife into context; what's that? He was putting the product into the record bins and earning a good living! Maybe it's just part of the soundtrack of people's life's... I dunno! But they sounded fresh then, but maybe a bit dated now. Rating: - Winwood Sees His Chance Steve Winwood's second solo album, 1980's "Arc Of A Diver," remains one of his most popular releases, and it is indeed an excellent album. Winwood produced it, co-wrote all the songs, and plays all of the instruments himself. And, of course, he sings with that marvelous Ray Charles-ish voice. The album is a keyboard-heavy platter of pop, and it's all good. The catchy "While You See A Chance" was a big #2 hit for Steve on the U.S. singles chart, but there are also other goodies including the atmospheric title song, the breezy "Second Hand Woman," the great grooves of "Spanish Dancer," and the up-tempo funk-pop of "Night Train" (featuring some fine electric guitar from Winwood). Steve also slows things down a bit for the cool mellowness of "Slowdown Sundown" and "Dust." "Arc Of A Diver" is a great Steve Winwood album.