lilly winwood time well spent

​Lilly Winwood (from the album “Time Well Spent” available as a self-release) (by Joe Burcaw) 
 
Being born into Rock’n’Roll royalty is never an easy mantle to bear, and an onerous task when the great Steve Winwood is your father. The offspring of famous musicians often fall victim to the age-old nepotism curse or mama-and-papa-bear coddling their baby cubs from exposure to industry snakes and cons resulting in failure to launch syndrome. From what I can tell neither scenario is the case with Lilly Winwood, a strong and empowered young woman who needs nothing more than a venue filled with people in order to get her point across and make heads turn simultaneously. Whether or not papa Winwood has assisted in her musical journey doesn’t really matter, the time has come for the world to hear Ms. Winwood and her arsenal of English born Country chutzpah. Time Well Spent is her debut album, a work-in-progress for close to a decade according to its creator. This collection of songs showcase how wise beyond her years Lilly Winwood truly is. The new single “Few More Records” has been getting heavy rotation on CMT’s Edge since its release in late December. I cannot help but think of Sugarland’s Jennifer Nettles when I hear the richness and strength of the vocal lines floating on top of lap steel guitars and Bluesy saloon influenced piano riffs. ‘Baby I’m a rolling stone, rolled over and I found my home’ from the story in “California; honestly, there’s a sense of Americana rawness in the words that conjures up feelings of nostalgia when listening intently to the words. I appreciate songwriters who can take folks on a four minute astral flight suspended high in the heavens above looking down with grace. No lie, I hit repeat almost 20 times trying to prevent this master piece from ever coming to an end. It’s something about the ebb and flow of the cellos in the chorus that grabs you instantly, I get chills just thinking about it! 
 
Switching gears, we get down and dirty with a slow Blues jam entitled “Seventeen”. I am not going to even think about making an attempt at deciphering the lyrics, it’s pretty evident what’s going on here, and Ms. Lilly creates a seductive vocal backdrop that has the listener ‘wrapped around her fingers’. The organ solo reminded me of something Big Daddy Steve would have played during his Traffic days or was it really him? “One Step Behind” is an uplifting number that creates visions of cruising down the Pacific 
Coast Highway en route to Carmel for a few beers. This sort of imagery is an example of great craftsmanship in song and melody. Lilly Winwood’s use of subtle vibrato inflections tastefully intertwines the harmonic outbursts of acoustic piano and electric guitar with such ease and control. This young rising star has a long career ahead of her and I predict big things in the not to distant future. Cheers to you, Lilly Winwood, cheers to you.......... (by Joe Burcaw)
Listen and buy the music of Lilly Winwood from AMAZON
For more info, check out the Lilly Winwood website

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