Charlie Winton: “The Soul And The Shadow” (2022) CD Review

Charlie Winton is a singer and songwriter who put out his solo debut, Hold On Tight, in 2020. He followed that a couple of years later with The Soul And The Shadow. This album features all original material, written by Charlie Winton. It was produced by Scott Mathews, who plays drums, bass, electric guitar, keyboards, pump organ, lap steel, pedal steel, and dulcimer on it, as well as provides some backing vocal work. Tom Leukens is on strings. The album is full of strong material, with a focus on the lyrics.

The album opens with “True To You,” which has a great vibe and a bright, catchy rhythm. It contains some excellent work on guitar and organ during the jam in the middle. “Let’s go where we’re gonna go/We’re gonna do what we want to do/If we’re blue, baby, we’ll get through/Be true, be true to you.” Ah yes, sometimes a good rock song will set us on the right path, cutting through the nonsense seemingly effortlessly. Sometimes it’s a line, and sometimes there are certain phrases that stand out in a song, that grab me the first time I listen to an album. From “Pandemic Blue,” these bits stood out: “Strange days without a doubt” and “the long road out.” Yes, the song is about the pandemic, but those lines work equally well in relation to our insane political climate. Even when Trump is finally imprisoned (and that has to happen if they wish anyone else to follow any rules at all), it will be a long road out of this lunacy. I’ve mentioned this before, but I really do hope that someone will write a book about how musicians adapted to the pandemic, and about all the songs that came as a result. I love his delivery. There is passion and an edge in his voice that works perfectly with the lyrics. “The time have changed, we missed the mark/There’s a deep unease in a world so stark.”

“The Rider” has an interesting, haunted sound at the start, like a mysterious box spinning in a desert sun, and when it opens up will we step out or step inside? The percussion is like tiny earthquakes just below the surface of the skin, popping and causing bruises. I also love how it digs deeper. “It’s hard to believe the clown had the wheel/Hard to believe we’re even alive.” Oh yes, that about sums it up, wouldn’t you agree? “Sooner or later, gonna feel all the rage.” Rage has its own pulse, and can burst up in electric yellows and take sharp strides. As the track nears its end, the work on keys makes me think of rain slowly falling in a lonesome alley. That’s followed by “The Soul And The Shadow,” the album’s title track, a rock song that sounds a bit like summer with that guitar work and that beat and that energy. But this is a summer that might still be on edge. Things could go either way for us. “Everyone wants to believe/It’s gonna be all right, be all right, we’ll see.” I do want to believe it will be all right, and I suppose we all have to, in order to maintain some piece of sanity. But don’t worry, this song doesn’t have a somber sound. In fact, it is the music that is making me believe it will be okay. We’ll see.

“Wild In The Streets” has a full and exciting sound as it starts, fitting with its title. “Runnin’ around, got nothing to lose/Looking for something to light that fuse/Well, it’s wild in the streets every day.”  I like how this song sometimes is powerful and tense, a force pushing forward, and other times moves into lighter pop territory. But mainly it’s a solid rock number, and is one of the disc’s highlights. Then “Sad Song Singing” has a prettier sound as it opens, and features some wonderful percussion. “Don’t think twice, don’t believe a word,” Charlie Winton sings at the beginning of this one. The sound and general vibe of this track hooks us and holds us. This is one of my favorites. That percussion carries me through, and there is also some really nice work on keys.

Even as “Burning The Past” starts, with Charlie singing “Everything comes, everything goes,” you can feel the song ready and eager to kick in, to become a delicious rock song. And it does just that. That guitar part takes me back, appealing to that thing that the best rock songs tap into instinctively. “A river of joy, a river of tears/Don’t hesitate when the trickster appears/Grab that bundle of dreams, jumble of fears/Lay down that burden, it’s time to change gears.” I love the way those lyrics comes rolling at us. That’s followed by “Runaround,” which also has a strong rhythm, a driving beat that seems to promise that things will be okay. “You’ve got to fight for the light/When darkness swirls around you.” Yes, but this music is like a great force of light. And you can aim it, if you dance just right, at that darkness and dispel it. Charlie Winton then changes gears with the final song, “Autumn Leaves Are Falling,” which begins as an acoustic number with something of a cheerful and traditional sound, and builds from there. “We try to fight the sorrow of yesterday’s tomorrow/Old friends lost in the shadow round the bend.”

CD Track List

1. True To You
2. Pandemic Blue
3. The Rider
4. The Soul And The Shadow
5. Wild In The Streets
6. Sad Song Singing
7. Burning The Past
8. Runaround
9. Autumn Leaves Are Falling

The Soul And The Shadow was released on April 8, 2022.