ALBUM: Jasmine Nightdreams (1975)
MVC Rating: 3.5/$$$
Well, he gets an A for effort but have mercy, this is a whiplash record. You get whiplash from the sudden shifts from smooth Top 40 style cuts to hard experimental jazz to soul shout outs and guitar histrionics.
Winter has his bluesy brother Johnny along for the ride. For that matter he has much of his regular band which records as the Edgar Winter Group, including Rick Derringer and Dan Hartman. That band was known for its top 40 hits ‘Free Ride’ and ‘Frankenstein.’
The brothers Winter were born with albinism (a deficit of skin pigment) and on the cover and on inside art, photos show both men sporting long white locks. Edgar started his career in a band called White Trash.
This album produced no break-out hits but had several cuts that seem like they could have — most notably the maudlin, but catchy, lead song ‘Tell Me In a Whisper.’
‘Hello Mellow Feelin’ and the rocker ‘Shuffle Low,’ also stand out.