Blackwood Creek date back to 1969 when a then 7 year old Kip Winger joined up with his brother Nate and Peter Fletcher to form a band. Between then and 1980 the band played a mixture of covers (Grand Funk, Sabbath, Skynyrd & Zeppelin) and original material in high schools and clubs. Kip went on to play with Alice Cooper and then form Winger. Nate played with a variety of LA bands including Ratt & Kix, plus Europe. Peter Fletcher formed Pigmy Love Circus, which included the drummer from Tool. Fast forward to 2007 when the band got back together to record these new songs.

 

The band were together during the 70's and this album has shades of this era mixed in with elements from the 80's, plus I guess inevitably modern day Winger, giving it a retro vibe.

 

Getting the Winger influence out the way first, I'll mention opener "Out in Outer Space" and "Dead Stung". From the 70's we've got tracks like "Nothing But The Sun", the 70's American hard rock of "Your Revolution" and closing lightweight number "Wooden Shoe". Also in the lighter weight division are the acoustic "After You Heart" and "Albatross", the latter having electric guitars chiming in to add more meat and a more modern feel. Clustered together we have "Jimmy & Georgia", which has almost a Thin Lizzy vibe, the metal of "Rack of Greed" and the Kiss-like "Love Inspector" representing the 80's. The variety inevitably means some tracks work better than others.

 

After I had listened to this a few times I found my curiosity aroused about the latest Winger and I've just started listening to "Karma". I have to admit that it feels a more natural fit to my personal tastes than Blackwood Creek. However, Blackwood Creek is an interesting and worthwhile project.