JOHNNY WINTER – Let Me In CD Album

- Johnny Winter’s triumphant 1991 return to rootsy blues on Pointblank Records

Johnny Winter: Let Me In
Pointblank/Charisma 91744-2
1991
4 / 5 Stars

For more than 20 years, Johnny Winter has fueled his Texas-bent brand of blues/rock with rapid-fire guitar solos and coarse vocals. The high-octane combination has kept the motor to his hybrid music machine running through good times and bad. Thus, it comes as no surprise that Winter's first album in more than three years (and his debut album for Charisma's Pointblank blues label) roars with the same guitar/vocal energy of the best of Winter's previous studio efforts.

What makes Let Me In fare better than its predecessor, the disappointing Winter of '88 , is the material and the clever production strategy devised by Winter and Dick Shurman. Smartly selected songs such as "Illustrated Man" (a dandy of a rocker that deals with Winter's tattoo fetish), the rather hectic "Hey You" (with its surprise ending), and "Sugaree" (an old Marty Robbins number that's been reworked from top to bottom with a hard-driving rock'n'roll rhythm) not only bring out the best of Winter's guitar playing but also exhibit a noticeably relaxed confidence and sense of flow.

Shurman and Winter also have fun on the title track, an acoustic Delta blues ditty written by Winter, and "Medecine Man," a tune that would have sounded at home on the classic Second Winter album of two decades ago. The song's slow yet biting groove and tightly controlled guitar solo are in marked contrast to the more rollicking tracks on the disc.

All of this is to say that there's plenty to enjoy on Let Me In. With a sound that's bold and bright to complement the strong material, Let Me In ought to keep Johnny Winter at the forefront of the blues/rock scene.

– Robert Santelli

Johnny Winter
Let Me In
Point Blank

By Bill Milkowski

After three rootsy blues albums with Alligator— Guitar Slinger in 1984, followed by Serious Business and 1986’s excellent 3rd Degree —Johnny Winter parted company with the Chicago label for what he hoped would be greener pastures. The result was The Winter of ‘88 , an overblown arena-rock project which disappointed Winter’s hardcore fans. Clearly, the big-time label (MCA) and big-time contempo-rock producer (Terry Manning) had no idea of what Johnny Winter was all about.

On Let Me In, his debut for Point Blank, the Texas guitar slinger returns to gritty form and serves up some of his most honest work since 3rd Degree. Not coincidentally, behind the boards for the album was the respected Chicago bluesologist Dick Shurman, who co-produced all three of Winter’s Alligator sessions. Unlike Manning, Shurman understands that Winter is more at home with raw Chicago shuffles, gritty boogie workouts, slow blues and twist music than he is with homogeneous, pumped-up arena-rock. Shurman’s production isn’t nearly as dense as that of The Winter of ‘88. Instead, the drums are kept at an acoustic level, creating a loose, blues club ambience.

Guitar-wise, Johnny holds nothing back on this album. He comes out of the gate screaming with a particularly fierce attack on “Illustrated Man”—an autobiographical song in which he enumerates all the various tattoos on his body. And his slow blues playing with Dr. John on the minor key lament, “Life Is Hard (And Then You Die),” is full of great playing and deep feeling, Winter’s best ballad in about 20 years.

Nothing on The Winter of ‘88 felt as good as carefree rockers like “Sugaree,” “Barefootin’” or “Hey You,” a rowdy studio jam boasting an authentic South Side Chicago sound, courtesy of Billy Branch’s raunchy harmonica and Johnny’s lively licks. He is equally at home on deep blues on “You Lie Too Much” and the fiery Texas-Louisiana boogie “You’re Humbuggin’ Me,” a tune he cut his teeth on as a teenager. “Shame Shame Shame,” which features more gutsy harp work from Branch, is another highlight. (Highly recommended is Harp Attack, Alligator’s Chicago blues harp summit featuring Branch, James Cotton, Carey Bell and Junior Wells.)

“Blue Mood” is an easy-going T-Bone Walker shuffle played on a National Steel, while the soulful “Trouble in Mind” is a duet with a rich Johnny and bassists Jeff Ganz sticks to upright and grooves his way through familiar Willie Dixon-type lines, while drummer Tom Compton propels the ride right home. He taps out swinging brush work. The title track has Winter all alone on National Steel as he sways his slide guitar like a juke joint, and lets his tapping foot supply the rhythmic pulse for a loose, front-porch jam ambiance.

For most of this session, Winter rips it up on his Gibson Firebird for his signature solo sounds on “Medicine Man,” a swamp rocker, and “If You Got a Good Woman,” a down-home Elmore James-flavored slow blues.

Johnny makes no apologies for the sheer speed of his single-note lines or the cutting intensity of his slide work. He just rears back and wails. Let Me In is a welcome return to form for this Texas guitar slinger.

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His drug-related career slump is long in the past, and tireless touring with the excellent rhythm section of Compton/Paris on bass and drums has proven to be a real fountain of youth for blues veteran Johnny Winter. His latest album, Let Me In, overflows with untamed energy and brilliant technique. However, it shines less in terms of new ideas. The only variety comes from the occasional, sparsely used harmonica and piano tones.

Guitar king Johnny Winter himself picks up the dobro (“Let Me In”) and acoustic guitar here and there, but these moderate intermezzi feel rather uninspired and somewhat restrained. The frenetic Johnny is still at home in the electric speed department, where he energetically fires off turbo songs like “Shame, Shame, Shame” or “Illustrated Man,” adding a few new pictures to the wall.

Without unnecessary frills, the album is sparsely produced, sung with his familiar raven-black voice and traditional throughout. Let Me In probably won’t shake up the blues world too much, but Robert Cray’s milkshake is sure to sour after this.

Original German Article

Bluesrock
Pointblank 261 851 (Virgin)
Duration: 49'55"
Recorded: 1991, AAD

How does he do it? Johnny Winter has been playing the blues for over 30 years now, and he still sounds as fresh as if he just stepped out of the supermarket freezer. Therefore, I didn’t have to think long about whether to accept his invitation ("Let Me In"): Of course, I let this Winter in because no one can touch him when it comes to playing the six strings of his guitar. He’s still in a league of his own, delivering a completely different style of blues that is always fun to listen to.

Johnny’s lyrics are also entertaining, like when the albino talks about his many tattoos, which cover almost all parts of his pale body. Or when he bluntly states: "Life is hard—and then you die." But before that, we should all give his album another listen, right?

— Frank Heckert

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