By Stephen Kasenda
WINGER "In the Heart of the Young" (1990)
Winger extended the success of their debut and eventually reached their height with this album. "In The Heart of The Young" was also certified platinum and featured a more serious approach in the lyric department and displayed a more complex composition as well as even better guitar playing by Reb Beach. Three singles that became their hits back then are also among my all time fave Winger tracks. "Can't Get Enuff" is such a huge uptempo rocker, "Easy Come Easy Go" blows high with its catchy groove, and "Miles Away" is definitely their best ballad ever written…but funny thing is that the author of the track isn't Kip Winger, who basically wrote almost all of their songs.
There are two other great power ballads inside: "Rainbow In The Rose" that featured the trumpet of Chris Botti and Beach's fantastic outro solo, and "Under One Condition", although this one isn't as good as the others, it is still a very good emotional piece. "In The Day We'll Never See" is also an underrated uptempo tune - it has the big power and hooks. However, tracks like "Little Dirty Blonde" or the title track are relatively weak and can be considered filler. "Baptized By Fire" actually is quite good and I highly admired the insane intro, but when the weird rap came in, it's all over.
Winger is one of the few bands that never disappointed me. I love all their albums and this one is also surely loved by many glam fans. If only a couple of the tracks were better, I wouldn’t hesitate to give this a perfect five stars. Reb Beach is the ultimate highlight of the band but Kip Winger's warm voice is unique, calming, and comfortably blended with their music. Great stuff and four-stars is warranted, I just can’t get enuff of this classic!
Read more of Stephen’s features at MetalMusicArchives.
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