Back in the High Life
Island - Island
Steve Winwood
Release date: 1990-10-01
Audio CD
Adult Contemporary, Album Rock, Blue-Eyed Soul, Pop, Pop/Rock, Pop/Rock Music, Popular Music, Rock, Rock/Pop
1. Higher Love
2. Take It As It Comes
3. Freedom Overspill
4. Back In The High Life Again
5. The Finer Things
6. Wake Me Up On Judgement Day
7. Split Decision
8. My Love's Leavin'
average reviews
0 vote
0 vote
React and review
Back in the High Life
Date undefinedFrom listening to this album, it's hard to believe that Steve Winwood used to be the lead singer for the great 60s rock groups Traffic and The Spencer Davis Group, and while some purists may call him a sellout, there's no denying that whatever kind of music Steve Winwood makes, he can do it good. Bouncy upbeat pop perfect for work, the car, or even just cleaning the house, this album made huge hits out of "Higher Love", "The Finer Things" and the title track, and all three of these (particularly Higher Love), still get played almost daily on adult contemporary radio stations. The slower paced "My Love's Leavin'" is also first-rate.
Back in the High Life
Date undefinedThe year I really started to take interest in music was 1986. It was the summer inbetween 6th and 7th grade and every song that I liked I would go out and buy the 45 single. Because I didn't have much money an album would really have to strike my interest to get me to buy it. "Back in the High Life" was one of those albums. The song "Higher Love" was a huge hit and I loved the song "Back in the High Life Again". Because there were at least two songs I liked I saved up the money and bought the tape. Every song sounded like a hit and I played the heck out of that tape until it wore out. When I got a CD player in the late 80s this was on my purchase list.
There were many albums and songs that I enjoyed in 1986 but very few albums that have held up well. Many albums had a lot of songs that sounded the same. You would have an artist that had a HUGE hit in one style and half of the next album would be trying to copy that style in order to get another big hit. Albums like this was an exception. Of course it helps that this is Steve Winwood's first big solo hit album. There is a lot of varity to keep this album interesting from the first to the last song and it is short enough that it doesn't over stay it's welcome. It is now 2007 and I have yet to get tired of this album and it has remained in my essential favorites for over 20 years.
If you are a fan of the 80s, even though you may have "Higher Love" on one of the many 80s compilations out there, the other songs are just as good and in some cases better (like "Finer Things" and "Freedom Overspill"). Give this one a chance.
My only complaint is this album is in much need of remastering. This is a minor complaint because all I have to do is turn up the volume a tad more than I have to do with other CDs.
Back in the High Life
Date undefinedDiscovered I liked "Higher Love" and "Finer Things" and that was it. The sound quality on my disk isn't great--I had to raise the volume and do some fiddling to get it to compare to the previous levels that had worked for months. Wasn't worth the price, IMHO.
