New Winger album - Karma

Say all the fuck you want about this genre and this band but the level of musicianship Winger brings us is just too high to ignore. Reb Beach? He has never failed to melt me with his classical and jazz-influenced solos. Double that up with John Roth's blues-based playing and you got yourself a fine double-edged stab. Rod Morgenstein is one of the greatest on the skins out there and I heard he's revered as well by the Norwegian drummers (well, what difference does it make, both these genres are identified with make-up). Kip Winger? Damn that voice! Bas Bach may hit higher notes but Kip's is more of my league, not too top-of-the-instrument yet stone cold solid . And did I tell you he's a music teacher?

Though with every member almost at the top of their field, frankly I feel it was fairly reasonable why they became the subject of Beavis and Butthead's tall story and Lars Ulrich's dartboard. The initial record off this flank was just too glam gay with hits like 'Madelaine' and 'Seventeen'. The first and only time they got me hooked on their renewed style was through their '93 offering Pull. I just thought that they experimented way too far with Winger IV.

But that doesn't mean I'm gonna quit checking on new stuff out of their armory. Their MySpace profile just got updated with overwhelming promotional functions and side players with previews of every track off their upcoming new record Karma. Seen as a coming-full-circle move of some sort, Karma in the holistc sense sure sets to be the most appropriate title of all.

Set to be released this 16th of October, I've been playing in advance all the tracks to handle my expectations. Damn if I don't get any 5 stars for my playlist from this but I'm sure as hell there's a lot to be learned from here technique-wise.