It worked the last time, so here was Steve Winwood back after a short (for him) break with another one-man band album driven by synthesizers and drum machines with lyrics by Will Jennings, whose other big success that year was co-writing “Up Where We Belong”. Talking Back To The Night covered the same adult contemporary pop ground, even if it didn’t make the same splash. He knew to start with the single, and “Valerie” is a good one. “Come and see me/I’m the same boy I used to be” is a fairly universal sentiment, though “Big Girls Walk Away” is a little too preachy, with a modern melodic twist on the chorus that just jars. “And I Go” is a nice slice of blue-eyed soul, complete with organ swells and less electronic keyboards. “While There’s A Candle Burning” would also seem to be about a romantic relationship, a closer gaze at the lyrics have us thinking it’s more a challenge to a once-fervent audience, a sentiment better delivered on “Still In The Game”. This wonderful tune was the other single, and for whatever reason, it seems to have been forgotten, having been left off every one of his compilations. Maybe because it features prominent harmonies from his then-wife?
Side two unfortunately doesn’t have the same breadth or even daring. “It Was Happiness” has good dynamics in recalling something of a romance that spanned continents. “Help Me Angel” would be pure pop if not for the canned clavinet, and drives the same hook into the ground for five minutes. The uptempo title track exudes a certain, welcome drama to match the impressionistic nightlife of the cover art, where we think we see rain-drenched streets somehow. “There’s A River” provides something of a spiritual conclusion, albeit with synthesizers instead of piano or organ.
There are nice ideas throughout Talking Back To The Night. The synths are very stuck in their time, but he did have something of a signature sound then. Outside a few moments, there’s nothing overtly awesome or terrible about the album, making it difficult to do a more in-depth analysis. It just is.
Steve Winwood Talking Back To The Night (1982)—3
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