Edgar Winter – Rebel Road – 2007

I kinda always considered Edgar Winter to be a lesser-known musician than his brother Johnny Winter. And I think he is, but that doesn’t mean that he cannot stand on his own merits. It would be unfair to compare the two since they don’t represent the same kind of music at all. We all know Johnny Winters’s blues approach but Edgar sounds more like regular blues-rock. That is true at least for Rebel Road. It was only recently when I decided to explore Edgar Winter that I realized that.

There are a few guest artists on Rebel Road, Edgar’s brother Johnny Winter, Slash, and Clint Black all participate. Sometimes you can actually hear that the musical direction differs based on who is guesting on that particular track. Like the title track for instance. It’s pretty obvious that Slash plays the guitar. It becomes more straightforward hard rock than the core blues-rock that most of the album belongs to. Likewise is it with Clint Black, there’s some more country in there and Johnny Winter, of course, contributes blues.

It didn’t take long for me to fall in love with Rebel Road. It’s hard and heavy at times and it’s soft and gentle at the same time. Edgar Winter stands for true musicality. Apparently, he’s a multi-instrumentalist and does, apart from being the main vocalist, contribute Synths, piano, saxophone, and percussion. And probably something more that I missed right now. Oh, yes, he’s the producer and main composer as well.

I’m glad I decided to explore this album. It’s very good. I can highly recommend it.