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WINGER
Better Days Comin’

Frontiers (2014)
Rating: 8/10

As the engine starts and the vehicle zips away a golden voice beams, “The moon is rising through the dust, a new horizon, sea of touch, down to earth flames are breathing like volcanoes”, and we’ve now entered the realms of Better Days Comin’, the new melodic rock experience of American veteran rocker Kip Winger.

Wow, I recall being less than impressed by Kip’s early shines although the glare could have been caused by his pristine white teeth which beamed out from those curly tresses… and I don’t just mean those on his chest! And yet, like so many 80s “hair metal” rockers, Mr Winger has stuck to his guns and outgrown the naïve jibes of discontent which were aimed at his cheesy classic rock songs such as ‘Seventeen’.

Although the 90s were not kind to Kip Winger (his last melodic metal album of the decade, Pull, came in 1993) he, like so many other established rockers at the time, probably never realised that their time would come again. Better Days Comin’ is a ten-track affair, following on from 2009’s Karma, and it’s further proof that artists of this talent don’t just fade away.

The album opens with the upbeat vibe of ‘Midnight Driver Of A Love Machine’ which, in spite of its dodgy title, is a racy little number featuring those driving riffs and Kip Winger’s notable croons. Lyrically, it’s a world away from Kip’s 80s cheese, although it can’t refrain from the “She runs on sex and gasoline” pomp you’d expect from an 80s hair metal icon, but complete with those “Whoh Whoh, yeah yeahs” and a staggering solo to match, this is a solid number to kick off an album that I’m really impressed with.

Kip Winger’s voice is still strong, but if anyone heard his performance on Donnie Vie’s 2012 album Wrapped Around My Middle Finger with the fantastic ‘Now Ya Know’ track, then this shouldn’t’ come as a big surprise. Kip offers extra weight on the fantastic rocker ‘Queen Babylon’, which has a Kiss-type strut about it and features a heavy riff and extra snarl in the vocal attack. ‘Queen Babylon’ is most certainly Winger at his darkest and robust, and features another ascending chorus that mixes melody and attitude. The crunch comes via the twin guitar attack of Reb Beach (Whitesnake, Dokken) and John Roth (Black Oak Arkansas, Starship, Giant) as Kip’s bass sneaks and snakes its way through the density of the chug.

Next up is the equally stirring ‘Rat Race’ which again features a killer guitar, although this track is of a more cheerful, galloping disposition as Kip barks, “Trapped in this town where the sun never shines, in a train underground we’re lost in the tunnel of time. Day after day at the sound of the gun we fight for positions, elbow to elbow we run”. This is serious melodic metal which speeds to a purposeful chorus; no messing here from Winger and his merry band of musicians, who are completed by drummer Rod Morgenstein (Dixie Dregs, Fiona, Steve Morse) who rattles through this record as if his life depends on it.

Morgenstein’s performance keeps the record hard and sturdy and nowhere is this more apparent than on the subtle plod of the title track with its grunge-tinged groove. ‘Tin Soldier’ provides the album’s most subtle hint, meanwhile, beginning with a simple tinkle and jagged guitar poke before the avalanche of bass, drum and guitar acts as a huge wave that gushes over the framework. Again, Winger plumbs darker, more thoughtful crevices, and those accustomed only to those pompous anthems of decades previous will find such an intricate and progressive jab more than just a shock to the system, but this is Kip Winger at his most reflective and creative and you can’t knock him for it.

And the album just gets better and better with the gorgeous ‘Ever Wonder’, the modern take on a classic hair metal ballad but delivered with such conviction. ‘So Long China’, ‘Storm In Me’ (again, another track offering a suave groove), ‘Be Who You Are, Now’ and the closing ‘Out Of This World’ are all priceless numbers which if released back in the late 80s or early 90s would surely have put Kip’s talent alongside the likes of the kaleidoscopic Saigon Kick etc.

Better Days Comin’ is a clever little record that may pass many by, but if you’re after a mean and moody slice of heavy rock then it’s time you looked to Kip Winger rather than those more allegedly hip acts who you’ve been force-fed over the last decade or so.

Neil Arnold

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