WINGER – Karma
Winger – Karma [Limited Edition] (2009, Frontiers Records – German Import)
1. “Deal With The Devil” … 3:00
2. “Stone Cold Killer” … 2:45
3. “Big World Away” … 3:50
4. “Come A Little Closer” … 2:50
5. “Pull Me Under” … 3:20
6. “Supernova” … 6:17
7. “Always Within Me” … 4:15
8. “Feeding Frenzy” … 3:00
9. “After All This Time” … 6:24
10. “Witness” … 6:59
BONUS TRACK
11. “First Ending” … 2:07
Band:
Kip Winger – Lead Vocals, Bass, Keyboard
Reb Beach – Guitar, Backing Vocals
John Roth – Guitar, Backing Vocals
Rod Morgenstein – Drums, Piano
Producer: Kip Winger
This was another 2009 release that snuck up on me, I wasn’t even aware Winger had even been working on a new album until they announced the release date for Karma! I’ve never been a huge Winger fan, but I’ve always thought they were decent. 2006’s IV was fairly bland and boring though so I had no desire to hear any more albums from Winger until reviews started coming in and I’ve yet to read a negative review for this album, with one critic even going as far to say it is a career best! Positive reviews alone weren’t going to entice me though, but when I read there was a bit more of an ’80s sound to the album (Reb Beach says they were going for a “Motley Crue sound”, they didn’t get it, but I still appreciate the effort) it piqued my interest.
It took me a couple of spins to get into this album, but it is probably one of the better albums of the year and definitely a lot better than IV which was too progressive and too forced sounding when it came to having an updated sound. What we have on Karma is a blend of an old school fun pop metal approach (“Deal With The Devil”, “Stone Cold Killer”, “Always Within Me”, “Witness”) and a more modern serious style (“Come A Little Closer”, “Supernova”, “After All This Time”) that was seen on Pull (which the band references by using the logo from that album for this album) and IV.
“Supernova” is definitely my favorite song on the album, it’s got a cool dark slow groove and I just keep playing it over and over.
So, I gotta say — Winger has redeemed themselves in my eyes and all the praise they’re getting for this album is well deserved. Surprisingly, one of the year’s best releases.
The limited digipak “enhanced” edition (which as far as I know is only available as an import) features a documentary on the album and also contains the bonus track “First Ending”, which is a piano instrumental. Decent instrumental for what it is.
Highlights: “Deal With The Devil”, “Stone Cold Killer”, “Come A Little Closer”, “Pull Me Under”, “Supernova”, “After All This Time”, “Witness”
November 30, 2009 at 2:13 pm
[...] band’s best. When I decided to give the band a chance to prove themselves to me again with Karma (I didn’t care much for IV), I decided to finally give this one a chance as well. The end [...]
December 28, 2009 at 9:04 am
[...] 5. Winger – Karma [...]