STEVE WINWOOD – PORT CHESTER 2015 1ST NIGHT SOUNDBOARD (2 CD-R)

Description

Capitol Theatre, Port Chester, NY, USA 24th April 2015 SBD
★First-ever appearance of this soundboard!!

　Port Chester’s new soundboard series, which consistently produces masterpieces and highly acclaimed works, presents its latest installment: a Steve Winwood edition.

　This recording captures the “April 24, 2015 Port Chester performance,” and it’s the first-ever soundboard recording of that performance. For those unfamiliar with this series, let me briefly explain: it features soundboard recordings made in the 2010s at the renowned Capitol Theatre near New York City. While the artists span various genres, they all share a common characteristic: a direct sound directly connected to the mixing console. We’ve featured many classic albums from this series, including those by Steely Dan, Reo Speedwagon, Yes, and Duran Duran. This week, we’ve simultaneously released the J. Geils Band edition, the Peter Frampton edition, and the Steve Winwood edition (this release).

　In the 2010s, Winwood released several singles, but primarily focused on live performances. Our store’s classic pro-shot recording of the North Sea Jazz Festival 2013 (Uxbridge 2388) is a staple of his stage work during this period. This is a good opportunity to take a broader look at his tour schedule and get a sense of his activities during that time.

● June 17th – July 18th, 2013 : Europe (17 performances) ← *NORTH SEA JAZZ FESTIVAL 2013
* August 23rd – 31st: North America #1 (6 performances)
October 17th – 26th: North America #2 (7 performances) December
4th – 15th: North America #3 (9 performances)
● June 14th – 29th, 2014
: North America #4 (11 performances)
August 3rd – November 11th: North America #5 (37 performances) ● April 17th – May 3rd,
2015 : North America #6 (11 performances) ← ★HERE★

[A completely official-quality soundboard comparable to the official GREATEST HITS LIVE]
　This is Steve Winwood from 2013 to 2015. 2015 was a year with few live performances, consisting of only “North America #6”. The Port Chester performance featured in this release was the sixth of those shows, a concert held approximately 1 year and 9 months after the ‘NORTH SEA JAZZ FESTIVAL 2013′.

　This recording, which captures such a show, is an incredibly impressive soundboard recording with amazing sound quality. While all of the new Port Chester unearthed series are directly connected to the mixing console, this one is so vivid and beautiful that it can only be described as “officially official quality,” surpassing even “unearthed official quality.” For example, the audio from the masterpiece pro-shot “NORTH SEA JAZZ FESTIVAL 2013” is incomparable after listening to this. From the nuances of Winwood’s voice to the overtones of Paul Booth’s saxophone and José Netto’s guitar picking, everything is raw, lustrous, and beautiful.

　Its exceptionally high quality rivals even the genuine official live album, “GREATEST HITS LIVE.” In fact, if you shuffle this album and the official album, there’s absolutely no sense of incongruity, and it becomes difficult to tell which is the official one. It’s literally “completely official-quality.”

[A full live album that surpasses official releases]
　No, this album might even be better than official releases, or even “surpasses official releases.” While “GREATEST HITS LIVE” was an edited live album that pieced together footage from several shows over many years, this album is a single, uninterrupted live performance from just one night. In terms of realism, it “surpasses official releases.” So, let’s take a look at the contents of this full set.

●TRAFFIC (5 songs)
– The Low Spark of High Heeled Boys: The Low Spark of High Heeled Boys / Light Up Or Leave Me Alone
– Others: Pearly Queen (★) / Glad (★) / Dear Mr. Fantasy
●Others (6 songs)
– THE SPENCER DAVIS GROUP: I’m A Man / Gimme Some Lovin’
– BLIND FAITH: Can’t Find My Way Home
– Solo: Them Changes (★) / Dirty City (★★) / Higher Love
*Note: Songs marked with “★” were not included in the acclaimed pro-shot recording of ‘NORTH SEA JAZZ FESTIVAL 2013’. Songs marked with “★★” were not even included in the official ‘GREATEST HITS LIVE’.

…And that’s how it goes. It opens with “I’m A Man” and closes with “Gimme Some Lovin’.” In between, there’s the gentle beauty of “Can’t Find My Way Home,” the gradually heating up jam of “The Low Spark of High Heeled Boys,” and the exhilarating feeling of “Higher Love.” While the concept is similar to the official “GREATEST HITS LIVE,” the fact that it can be experienced as a single concert makes it all the more compelling.

　And it’s great that you can experience “Pearly Queen,” “Glad,” and “Them Changes,” which weren’t available on the classic pro-shot version. In particular, “Dirty City” was not even on the official “GREATEST HITS LIVE” repertoire, and you can enjoy it with a quality that surpasses the official release.