Soundstage Presents Steve Winwood
October 2005 Reviewed by: Joseph Taylor Format: DVD	(all ratings out of 5): Overall Enjoyment Picture Quality Packaged Extras Sound Quality

PBS’s decision to return Soundstage to its schedule in 2003 after a hiatus of more than 15 years was good news to anyone who enjoys seeing live music on television. The network brought the show back with style. Though presented here in fullscreen editions, the performances were filmed widescreen in high definition and the sound is multichannel. So far, the emphasis has been on musicians from the classic rock era or performers who fit that mold (Sheryl Crow, Chris Isaak), with the only surprise being a broadcast that featured Wilco and Sonic Youth. Soundstage usually presents each performer for a full hour, which gives the viewer a good sense of what the artist’s live shows are like.

Steve Winwood appeared on the show in October 2003, when he was touring in support of About Time, his first release in six years. His five-piece band included two players from that recording, guitarist Jose Neto and drummer Walfredo Reyes, plus Randall Bramblett (Sea Level, Gregg Allman) on reeds and Edson A. Da Silva on percussion. This is the kind of band that’s so heavy on skill and inventiveness that it’s a pleasure to watch them. They can take a tune out to ten minutes and never descend into mindless noodling. Reyes and Da Silva are particularly effective on the four Latin-influenced tunes from About Time and on a radical reinterpretation of "Rainmaker." Bramblett plays Chris Wood’s parts perfectly on the Traffic songs Winwood covers, but his solos are unique and fresh.

Winwood looks and sounds terrific, and the recording captures nicely the spinning Leslie speaker on his Hammond organ. A key to the band’s overall sound is Neto, a fine soloist and an absolutely swinging rhythm player. The song selection leans heavily towards songs by Traffic and tunes from the then recent disc. It would have been nice to hear more songs from Winwood’s solo career, but otherwise this is an outstanding live performance, well captured by director Joe Thomas and the camera crew at WTTW in Chicago.

I do have a couple of minor quibbles with this disc. The bonus material is not accessible through the main menu. You have to go to the song list and click through to the extras. The three extra tunes on are listed incorrectly. On the plus side, it is beautifully shot and the recording captures the crackle and spark of live music.

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