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Summary: (4.5 stars) THE BAD BOY OF BLUES/ROCK IS STILL ALIVE AND WELL ! (Rick Derringer produced one of Johnny's best albums ever)
Comment: One of the most important things about Johnny Winter's rugged brand of the blues is that Johnny isn't afraid to go to places where the blues actually live in real ways. Places where people's lives aren't what they should be. Places where booze and drugs offer temporary relief from hopelessness, where bad relationships wreck dreams, and working too hard for too little pay wears people down and out. Without acknowledging the pain and suffering that gave birth to the blues, the music becomes an "art form" and a sanitized imitation of the real thing. Johnny Winter is definitely not about sanitized imitations.
On Still Alive And Well (1973), not only does Johnny play the blues in an authentically rugged way, but he plays high energy rock n' roll and hippie barstool country the same way. Among the rock songs here are great rousing and rocking versions of Rock Me Baby, Rock & Roll, and Can't You Feel It. Blistering guitar licks and screaming vocals abound. Cheap Tequila is a very strong ballad (and a rare treat, as Johnny doesn't do many ballads), and one of my favorites here. Winter does two Rolling Stones covers, Let It Bleed and Silver Train, and they're both just as good (even better in some places) as the originals. Too Much Seconal is down and dirty acoustic blues, with acoustic slide, mandolin, flute, and lyrics from life on the wrong side.
Oh baby, I don't believe you're no good at all
No, you keep drinkin' too much whiskey
You're takin' too much seconal
Of course, Winter's guitar work on Still Alive And Well is also outstanding, to say the least. Johnny is one of the very best guitarists in a generation of rock's greatest guitarists. Rock n' roller Rick Derringer (Rock & Roll, Hoochie Koo) produced this album, and really brought out the rock n' roll side of Johnny Winter. The album has all of the energy of a rock n' roll production. The bad boy of blues/rock is rugged, raunchy, and screaming loud on this one, and if you don't mind a little harsh reality with your blues/rock, then you really can't go wrong with Still Alive And Well. AND TURN IT UP LOUD!!
Customer Rating:
Summary: 4.5 stars
Comment: Man does Johnny Winter fire on all cylinders on this one, or what! This album is non-stop energy, front to back, and just an all around rockin' good time.
Covers of B.B. King's "Rock Me Baby" and The Rolling Stones' "Let it Bleed" play well as bookends on an album that's chock full of great tunes, as Winter's playing breathes new life into these songs.
This is a can't miss album for blues fans and rock fans. Top notch!
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Summary: winters best
Comment: without a doubt, in my humble opinion, johnny's best work. not a runt in the litter. if you like texas based guitar riff blues oriented up tempo rock, this is for you.
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Summary: got evthing uncle john needs
Comment: johnny live is always good , very strong blues and hard rock , makes me want to time trip back to the 70s. johnny used to play at washington monument , he is a legend and one of the best in acoustic and hard rock blues
Customer Rating:
Summary: Just About His Best
Comment: Johnny Winter made a lot of great albums but, to me, "Still Alive and Well," produced with Rick Derringer, stands out as even better than the rest. This album marked tbe high point of his career.
"Rock Me Baby," "Rock N' Roll" and the title track are probably his most remembered from this album, but "Cheap Tequila" has always been my favorite. Another great track is the country and westernish "Ain't Nothing to Me": Like most great C&W tunes, it's all in the lyrics. And I don't want to leave out mention of the two covers of Rolling Stone songs, "Let It Bleed" and "Silver Train." Although it appears on the Stones' "Goats Head Soup" album, "Silver Train" was actually written by Jagger and Richards specifically for Johnny Winter.
There isn't a weak song on the album and, with the CD, you get two excellent bonus tracks that weren't on the original LP: "Lucille" and a raunchy version of Bob Dylan's "From a Buick Six."
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