Arc Of A Diver

I like his voice a lot. Songs are groovy and fun to listen to. Aside from that, nothing spectacular.

Ça se laissait écouter, mais c'est un peu trop clean à mon goût. 6/10

Decent. Nothing incredible about it, I do like the synthesizer tho. Good ambiance music 6/10

Very chill.

Pretty bland except for the one hit

2.5/5 Just an average album. Not bad but none of the songs jump out for me and the sound is quitte the same all the time.

Just…so many synths

I mean, it's fine. While You See A Chance is really quite good, but also settles into well worn grooves in my brain so who knows, maybe it is just familiar. The rest is, you know, fine. Easy to listen to.

Seemed ok

My first Steve Winwood album. It was a nice change of pace, easy to listen to and enjoy. I am excited to listen to more of his discography in the future.

Yesterday, upon the stair, I met a man who wasn't there! He wasn't there again today, Oh how I wish he'd go away!”

🚷

This was alright. I kinda dig the 80s bluesy pop synth vibes. Probably not something I’d return to.

I didn't care for this one.

While You See a Chance is awesome and Arc of a Diver is very good. The rest of the album is just in the "pretty good" range for me. 3/5

Yeuhh

Surprised how much I enjoyed this. Some groovy cuts here.

A definitive Steve Winwood album

Bring me a higher love! Oops wrong album, but his voice is unmistakable so it was fun to hear an album full of new songs. A fun little 80's album but I don't think I'd come back to any of these songs.

Cool one! I know the big Steve Winwood hits, we all do, but I've never heard this album (and always wanted to check it out). The synths that open this are really funny, part of me wishes it was that bonkers throughout. But ultimately it's just a good "adult contemporary" sort of rock project. He's got a cool voice and the instrumentals are really well done. I enjoyed it! Favorite tracks: While You See a Chance, Arc of a Diver, Spanish Dancer. Album art: Honestly adore this one, I've been seeing it for years and years, always intrigued. Not until today, seeing it large on the website, did I realize the diver's head was at the bottom left and not the top right. Total mindfreak moment, I thought he was flipping backwards. Love this art style though. 3.5/5

Puro pop de los 80. Agradable de escuchar y muy asociado a la época

The opening track is the strongest point of the album, but that isn't to say the rest of the album is bad. Just average and nothing new. Enjoyed it as an introduction to Steve Winwood. Interested to listen to his other work, but definitely not excited. 3/5

Spanish dancer is so cool when the beat drops. The intro reminds me of Vida Blue’s first album. When You See a Chance is maybe my favorite. The synths are so expressive and pair really nice with the gospelly piano and organ. On Nighttrain I realized he is great as a guitarist too. I knew him as keyboard player and singer but he is super talented as a multi instrumentalist. Synth bass sounds just like a fretless jazz bass. Actually love all the synth bass on this album. Least favorite song is definitely Second Hand Woman. The lyrics are just so terrible. I dig about 80% of this record.

I’m a fan of Steve winwood, I listened to a lot of traffic and blind faith growing up. He has a great voice/feel and is a great player. There were some really good moments on this album. I enjoyed listening but it wasn’t super memorable for me and idk if I’d listen again

I liked this though I got bored at the end. I like the production of the album.

Nice

Top 3 Songs: 1 - While You See A Chance (1) 2 - Night Train (6) 3 - Second-Hand Woman (3)

I liked the sonorities of the album... Even if it is not particular there is something to it with the synth sounds that I liked. 3/5

I was scared of this album because it was labelled country, but I ended liking it quite a bit. It starts out pretty strong. It kinda loses me towards the end of the album. I did not like Dust very much compared to everything else, and it's a bit hard to overlook that when there are only seven songs on the album and it's almost seven minutes long. I was gonna give it a 4, but I'm going to barely give it a 3 instead. My favourite song was Second Hand Woman.

I'm impressed that he sang, played every instrument, wrote all the songs and produced this. Will Jennings writes good lyrics and Winwood has an instantly recognizable voice, that makes me think of the eighties. The music is often referred to as blue-eyed soul, but it sounds a bit white bread to me.

Its funny how some albums age gracefully, and some simply don't. While you see a chance has an iconic synth intro and just screams the 80s! But it's still a fine song though as Winwood's soulful tenor voice is one of the hallmarks of this song. The best song on the album IMO however, is Night Train, with some great guitar and keyboard playing. However, as typical for the 80s when CDs were all the rage, this recording its very "tinny" and compressed so there is almost no bass. Boo. There is some nice album artwork by the prolific artist Tony Wright though.

Solides poppiges, rockiges, jazziges Album. Klingt teilweise sehr nach Phil Collins.

Was looking forward to this as I like Steve Winwood's stuff even though I don't really seek it out. I was only familiar with "While You See a Chance" which opens the album. Strong start but everything else just sort of blends together in a mediocre sameness. Nothing too bad but nothing really stood out either.

Solid

Delightfully 80s, but not my thing overall

If a less talented Steely Dan threw it more synths and mimicked George Michael's singing style. It's relatively inoffensive (gives off yacht rock / adult contemporary vibes), and has enough variation to keep you engaged, with some added quirks thrown in to give it a sense of identity. Some disco vibes would make a good addition to an 80s dance mix. With only 7 songs, it's a very digestible listen that I wouldn't mind listening to again, but also it's not interesting enough for me to seek out again. Favorites: Arc of a Diver, Spanish Dancer, Night Train

An alright album, nothing outstanding. Very Phil Collins-esque

2.5/5. Not a big fan of this. It is boring and not that enjoyable. I found the music to be subpar as well, very 80s.

He’s a great musician and has been in a lot of groups I’ve liked over the years. There were a couple of classics and I enjoyed the whole album, 3or 4*.........?

Yeah it was alright. Something to listen to at least. Nothing particularly stood out but it was pleasant enough.

In the spirit of Todd Rundgren, we have another musical genius putting together solo efforts that is amazing to behold in terms of scope. The music is late-70s disco inspired, but strays far enough from those beats to keep it sonically distant from "disco," except for Second Hand Woman and Night Train. While You See a Chance is a good groove for sure. I went into this thinking I wasn't going to like it, but there's enough to like here for sure. Winwood's vocals are distinct, and as I mentioned, there's a lot to listen to here, and he did it ALL. Slowdown Sundown is a lost Bob Dylan/Rod Stewart/The Band song none of them ever wrote. The album enters its final act with the Peter Gabriel-esque Spanish Dancer. Night Train has to have appeared in some 80s cop buddy movie right? I mean it has to have? If it didn't that was a lost opportunity that must be corrected immediately! Dust is fine. Decent album.

Pretty solid

Laid back synth 80's but not compelling enough

Not bad. A little repetitive sounding.

Solid

Some pretty tracks on here, although we have been getting a lot of 'white guy soft folk rock' lately on the list

Only ever heard Winwood's two most notable hits - Higher Love and Valerie - prior to listening to this album. He definitely has a unique "80's sound" that resonates through all his songs, be that his voice or multi-instruments (which I was surprise to learn he played all of on this album). I never had him as multi-instrumental talented, so big new found appreciation there. I think this album kind of grew on me with a few listens through..(also found the album artwork distinctive). Flet the opening track - While You See A Chance - had a nice positive and upbeat in tone, which fed into the rest of the album. 3/5 from me, and will gladly listen to again.

Good soft rock, early Winwood without the hits though. Why this album over others?

I was surprised at how much I enjoyed this one. A great album to cycle to!

A couple of pretty great songs ("While You See A Chance" and "Night Train") the rest ranges from ok to not that great.

This was nice, easy listening stuff but with a little more oomph than most easy listening. Lovely background music, there's a bit more there if you choose to listen to it, but not a huge amount. Just scrapes a 3. 

Not bad. Some of his later material might be better.

A really talented musician. The white Stevie Wonder, if you will. But not after '77... (6/10) FT: While You See a Chance

Cool synths that passed the time

I think Steve has a great voice and his singles are uniformly great. But the gap between the good and the meh is pretty big.

Ok

A few of the songs were a little catchy (Slowdown-Sundown, Spanish Dancer), but most didn't stand out for me.

Like Winwood's vice. Sounds very much of its time.

3/5 there are some interesting songs here

Easy listening MOR pop

Love Steve Winwood with traffic. This album is ok. First song when you see a chance is popular.

Hey, it's this song! I didn't know this song was called this and was from this album. Kind of love the pitch bend keyboard buzz here. This isn't a grabber of an album for me except for a sort of nostalgic time capsule, which I do dig.

So I have to slog through all these clunky keyboard tones without even a "VALERIIIIEEE - CALL MEEEE" as compensation? Fair play though, Winwood played every note on this album. Suits a certain mood, a fairly classy but anonymous collection overall. An absolute Rolls Royce of a voice.

Phill Collins soundin mofo.

Straight to video 80's movie opening credits music.

80's synths date it, but some well crafted songs

fine and dandy

Rock ochentero un tanto tostón. Ni fu ni fa.

Rock ochentero melódico. Parecido a Phil Collins o Electric Light Orchestra

Nice, not bad On the Peter Gabriel to Phil Collins vocal spectrum, his voice is dead center between the two. There's some very tasteful keyboard work here. But sometimes the keys made it sound like Mario Kart online lobby waiting music

As other reviewers have commented, this is 80s AF. The synth is heavy. It's a decent album - not one that I'd turn to again, but definitely representative of its time, and very well produced.

Hey, late 70s/early 80s was my era, so I don't hate the 80s sound like so many of the reviewers here. Still, this probably doesn't quite manage a 3.5 for me, despite the comforting familiarity of While You See a Chance, Arc of a Diver and Night Train.

3?

Its all very pleasant. All very 80s. Nothing stand out, though

It's nice pop-rock I guess

This is the most generic 80s album I've ever heard. It's like they trained an AI to generate the most inoffensive, boring 80s synth music imaginable. It's the perfect 3/5. There is nothing wrong with this album, it's just nothing special.

Låter som en lite R&B/soul/jazz version av moderna Genesislåtar? Definitivt ett bra album men vettefan om det är ett av 1001 album man bör höra innan man dör? Kan se mig själv återkomma hit. Skulle fan föredra om senare genesislåtar drog mer åt detta håll, håller jävla bra. Låter lite som Rod Stewart? Innehåller inga klassiker och verkar inte ha något historiskt värde i musikkanon. Bra låtar, kan inte säga så mycket mer?

Mysigt album! Låter extremt mycket som Phil Collins?? Både musikaliskt och som sångare. Tydligen skrev han allt själv, spelade allt själv, sjöng allt själv, och proddade allt själv. Imponerande!! Tyvärr tycker jag skivan tappar fart mot andra halvan, och soundet är lite för slickt för att jag ska bli intresserad på riktigt. Men första låten var kanon!! Går in i feelgoodlistan dirr

An interesting LP that sounds surprisingly modern at times - the opening track especially called to mind modern electronica artists like Porter Robinson with its structure and synth tones. Does meander from where its best in some more questionable tracks, but there’s enough here to warrant another listen.

Rock suave melódico

For what it is it's phenomenal but this 80s synth, I just can't

Pretty cool that Winwood did everything on this album, but while it’s fun, I probably won’t revisit this album.

Duidelijke 80's sound. Veel synth, maar weinig animo

Bon disc per iniciar els 80. Pop sofisticat amb melodies elegants i tocs jazzy, allunyat del rock de Traffic de la década anterior. Un disc sorpresiu a la llista, que m'ha vingut de gust escoltar (començaments setembre '21) i no m'ha decebut el més mínim

Solid 3 stars. Understandable addition to the list, but didn’t do much for me

Contains maybe the most 80’s synths that have ever been synthesised

Ihan ok kuulosta menoa. Osittain kyllä meni ohi enkä jaksa enää toista kertaa kuunnella, muttei ainakaan paskaa ollut.

Pretty rad. Voice far from enticing, but not too shabby.

very dated but sill enjoyable fav tracks: while you see a chance, arc of a diver, night train least fav tracks: second hand woman, slowdown sundown, nigh train 5.8/10

A very well crafted album. Thoughtful and interesting.

its alright i guess, nothing special really

Esta pasable a ratos

Ta bueno.

Weird but fun

A solid 80's album. Fun but probably won't revisit.

Great melodies.

not really my taste, too dramatic and wimpy, smells like cheese and hairspray, yikes. Feels too much like I'm in a scenery where I'm a suburban housewife in the 80s, or like a white dude in gym clothes, lots of sweaty chest hair, idk.

I really liked parts of it. Some of the synthesizer use definitely was ahead of its time and sounded almost contemporary. Unfortunately, with such heavy reliance on synthesizers to simulate brass and other instrumentation, the music sounds incredibly dated. The songwriting is of course great, but it's hard to be able to listen to this album without the synths getting in the way.

80s, slightly bangerous, but not a headbobber

Syntikka, scuffed Phil Collins, literally kasari

One banger, otherwise kinda weird, started off really good but petered out into weird stuff

it was good, I think I enjoyed it more when I learned Steve played all the instruments himself

Dos horazas de disco sinceramente Steve Winwood de qué vas. Second-Hand Woman está guapa. Night Train también. Las canciones son demasiado largas y se vuelven pesadas al rato.

Great album... Impressive that Winwood played all the instruments on the album

Meh. Phil colins sounds, organs and synth stringy fluff. We get it, it's 1980 and the keyboard synthesizer has been invented. Maybe do something more interesting than standing around in a loose linen shirt in front of a fan rubbing your nipples and singing about romance.

Love Steve Winwood but let's be honest...there's one good song on this album.

Meh

I gave this album a listen and honestly it's not my thing. It's a nice album though, it's just not my thing.

First song is awesome. Otherwise not very impressive

да норм дженерик восьмидесятнический роцк, на группу воскресенье порой похоже было. музло ок, просто совершенно не в настрой сейчас

With this album, Winwood explores a more flowing and relaxed sound. That sound is still of course present in his other works and even his pop hits, but this is a more refined and smoother sound - full lean into it.

Voice sounds like a mix of Peter Gabriel and Phil Collins. Or maybe I'm just going insane? Pretty good album, kind of middle of the pack for me, but nothing i dislike about it

Pretty decent

I don't think this dude knows what riding the night train means. Ok, I've heard of this guy, but this is the first time I've heard his stuff. It sounds a little corny, a little adult contemporary, but it makes for good background music or something to put in a movie. My favorite song is Spanish Dancer. It has a genesis vibe to it. They could open for genesis haha.

Genre felt a bit confusing. Two songs sounded very out of place. But those two were my disco favorites.

Easy listening, chill.

This is a nice little listen! Nothing groundbreaking or subversive, just an enjoyable pop rock record kind of reminiscent of Genesis later into their career. Pretty good!

phil collins irl

Fine

Mellow 80s album. 1RS

Steve Winwood plays keyboards and guitar. Good pop music.

Inoffensive eighties soft-rock pop - reminds me of Phil Collins. It’s ok.

A really enjoyable listen. Could be accused of being cheesy, but I like the 80s TV theme vibe.

This dude was like what if I made Steely Dan but cornier. Wasn't a huge fan of this, which disappointed me because like Tom I was super geeked about that opening synth line. If I was pressed to describe this album in one word I think "Fine," would be most apt. Decent soft rock.

Really Phil Collins-y. Reeeeeally. At some point I even had to look Steve Winwood up, just to be sure they were two different people. And they are! I enjoyed it overall, but after a while I grew a bit tired of the same sound.

This album has a nice, synthesizer-heavy sound to it with slight variations in style from song to song. Some sound more disco and others more psychadelic. Steve Winwood does a good job of keeping each track interesting. Overall a nice slice of the year 1980.

Sounds like a better version of Phil Collins who sucks butt. Album was interesting and it definitely had 'welcome to the 80's' vibe but without all the coke

Bon album! Pas grand chose a dire de plsu. 3.25

I knew some of the songs and liked it better than I thought I would

Steve Winwood is obviously incredibly talented. Interesting that he did everything himself on this album - played everything and produced. I like most of the music here, but it doesn't really stand out as anything special on listening. 3 stars.

Solid 80s cheese

false

also big 80's feels.

fine.

Album is cheesier than the Wisconsin State Fair. Decent though, first half is definitely better than the second.

Enjoyed listening but pretty forgettable

A bit dull 80's pop-ish. Okay, and maybe new for it's time, but not really my taste

En fattigmans Springsteen. Americana utan nerv. En tvåa

The night train pulled up to the rain blasted platform, slowing, sun down, the sodium lights dimmed by the incessant downpour, casting the concrete into spots of black and white. The train door opens and a man steps out, tall, lean, a long tan trenchcoat wrapped around him, a brimmed hat tipped slightly forward. His feet make small splashes as he briskly strides out of the station to hail a cab. Oh Valerie, why aren't you here? But why, why are his thoughts stuck on her, now of all times? Just a second hand woman, dust in her hair. But there is no Valerie, just a spanish dancer spending too long on the stage, the same moves going nowhere. Going nowhere. Much like most the songs here - starting with something, but overlong and going nowhere.

#985. Putting a Steve Winwood album on here, but not the one with Higher Love on it is... an choice. Not the choice I would have made, mind you, but an choice. 2/5: meh

Graat voice. Dull tunes

Soft rock, blue-eyed soul, pop.

Definitely not one for me. Too middle-of-the-road, too yacht rock, too bland, too beige. My mate Hoppy and I would argue the merits of this kind of music over several beers in the wee hours of the morning. He loved it, I hated it and 30 years later I’m still in the same camp

not that great

I thought I was going to love this album, but I'm not sure why, I think his name was steeped in nostalgia. I listened to the album twice (accidentally) its such a cheesy, average bunch of songs delivered in a cheesy way. He has an awesome voice, but a bit like Lou Gramm from Foreigner, probably too perfect, sounds like an auto-tuned instrument, which doesn't help the 80s super saturation. Disappointing Meh. Unfortunately, I also listened (twice) to the radio track interviews track (56 mins) on the deluxe edition. What an absolute wankfest.

How to make 40mins sound like 4 hours - not in a good way.

I feel like finding good yacht rock is tricky. The songs need to be both good songs and breezy and cheesy in just the right way. You fail at either and they become tedious. A few songs here land in the sweet spot, but a lot also miss the mark.

Forgettable dad rock.

I knew the first track, which is, in a way, ok. The rest is forgettable and very dated.

Man... you could've added Back in the High Life. That one at least has a hit, unlike this.

dude

RATING: 4/10 HIGHLIGHT: Spanish Dancer LOWLIGHT: Dust

Hueva

While there are a handful of catchy melodies, on the whole this is disposable, 80s era, adult contemporary pop that sounds incredibly dated. A curious choice for this list.

Meh

155. ok

This just feels a bit goofy. Not because he intended it that way, but the quirky synths just have a shoulder dancing vibe while drinking a glass of rosé (with an ice cube) in the suburbs. It's like the 80's theme song to every family sitcom of the era. If I ever hear this again, I'll pop that rosé and get my shoulders loose.

2/5. Only two things keeping me from lowering this to a 1 is that I quite liked a lot of the bass lines on the album and the synths aren’t as awfully produced as they are on a lot of other 80’s pop albums. Beyond that though I got nothing out of this one. I really just don’t like this style of vocals, they’re just so cheesy and not in the fun way. And outside of the basslines the instrumental arrangements on here are in one ear and out the other, nothing offensively bad, but also nothing of particular interest.

On paper it's pretty impressive, frankly, if you know anything about music production it's very impressive, this is a real one-man-band. There's a slight funk which evolves even more choppy from here on out. As far as the actual sound he produced, I'm not a huge fan, funky blue eyed soul still feels like it's missing the 'soul' part. 2.4/5

Started out cool but the instrumentation and songwriting got pretty weak as the album went on.

Too light for me. ★★

It was okay

There were two go to session piano players in London: Nicky Hopkins and Steve Winwood. Winwood played with everyone from Howling Wolf to Hendrix to Paul Weller. He was in two hit making groups; Spencer Davis and Traffic, as well as two "Super Groups": Blind Faith and Ginger Baker's Air Force. (Three Super Groups if you count the band Townsend put together to support Clapton in his come back Rainbow Concert.) So what happened here? As a solo artist he proves to be a sort of less interesting Phil Collins, just as Collins is a less interesting Peter Gabriel. The first song - While You See a Chance - is perfectly fine, but after that it just becomes a dull soup of synths, keyboards and assorted instruments. Winwood plays and sings every note and you have to give credit for the virtuosity. But it's a pretty dull affair.

Not my style idk.

Reminds me of Peter Gabriel, just not as good. The only songs I know from Steve are Valerie and Higher Love, both really catchy numbers. Neither are on this album. 2/5.

I literally have nothing to say about this album. Ok....cool album cover

Windows is a great musician, no doubts about it. But this was unfortunately boring

I think I have decided that you can only start a song with an organ if your name is George Michael. I’ll be honest, the first track of this album (While you see a chance) sounds like the generic backing tracks you would get on a keyboard (which I incessantly played with at the age of 10 to the chagrin of my parents). It gives knock off Daft Punk? I definitely prefer the more soulful songs like Arc of a Diver and Second Hand Woman and the more groovy Night Train. At the same time, the album gives divorcée seduction, nostalgia, but an acceptance that your best years full of youthful excitement are behind you.

One okay song. The rest are tolerable and/or irritating. Spanish Dancer is downright cringey. 2.5

That’s a gift for you, bumblebee. Enjoy it, Coach Dick-and-Balls.

Actually forgot about it *while* listening to it.

I have to imagine this was squarely in the bargain bin by 1981. The 1001 is really testing my patience again.

i remember the hit

Phil Collins but mid

I like the more experimental 80's music. This style is not for me. Just boring, similar sounding soft rock/pop.

Amiga 500/Comodore 64/ Spectrum ZX vibes in the first 20 seconds of track one. Sadly, that was the best bit.

If you told me this was Peter Gabriel I would have believed you.

Cliché is especially bad when it's incoherent, as the following snatch from the first track brings to light: 'Stand up in a clear blue morning / Until you see what can be / Alone in a cold day dawning / Are you still free? Can you be?' It's hard to tell what that means, tho you know it's not much & not all that interesting. I quite dig the Steve Winwood of Blind Faith but confess to knowing little about his work w/ Traffic or the Spencer Davis Group. On this record, he gets more and more annoying, especially that high tenor voice, which had been endearingly soulful w/ Clapton, Baker, & Grech. Often, he just sounds like a far less poignant Van Morrison. Also, you know that cat Bobby Caldwell J Dilla sampled for 'The Light'? That guy's better as well.

I know Steve Winwood can make songs I love—higher love, Valerie—but these were all just fine. Spanish dancer gets a point for putting DJ to sleep.

Steve could do a lot better than this.

I was expecting to like it more tbh

There’s a certain effortless polish to 𝘈𝘳𝘤 𝘰𝘧 𝘢 𝘋𝘪𝘷𝘦𝘳, but that’s also its biggest problem — it’s almost too smooth. The album drifts along on soft grooves and glossy production, feeling distinctly yacht-adjacent without ever becoming particularly engaging. While Winwood’s musicianship is undeniable, the songs themselves feel oddly weightless, lacking the spark or emotional pull you might expect for an artist of his stature. It’s pleasant in the background, but rarely compelling in the foreground.

Sax in the first song was great. Everything else was a snoozefest.

Synthy, yacht album. Not noteworthy. This list needs to stop celebrating mediocre white people albums. 2*

Nah. Not s'much.

I don't know what I expected this to be, but I was wrong in the worst way. I don't really know what this is. Yacht Rock? Disco? 80s bubblegum pop? I had heard one of the songs and it's fine. The rest of the album is not.

In the early 60s Stevie Winwood sold his soul for talent, musicianship, and for entry into the world of Rock and Roll. And though no one thought it was possible, he bought it back for an 80s music production kit and produced this album. It's as if all his musical peers were turned into ones and zeros and said yes to every bad idea Steve ever had. I suppose that if you have never heard of The Spencer Davis Group, Traffic, or Blind Faith, you might think this is excellent music (especially if you're in the dentist's waiting room). However, if you care at all about music, you'll know that this album is on this list only as a cautionary tale about what can happen when you deal with the devil and/or embrace the 80s music production kit.

Another worldwide hit, but I find the rest only mediocre.

A Peter Gabriel knockoff sorry Steve

Sorry but no thanks!

The bastard love child of Phil Collins and Peter Gabriel and as musically tepid as you'd expect. 2 stars.

Incredibly dated synthesiser sounds, missing a signature song to unite the album, it sounded like a poorer version of mid eighties Genesis

algo de rock, algo de jazz se va haciendo largo conforme avanza y no me atrapo

You know, that's a long way from Blind Faith

4/10. Fav Track - While You See A Chance I listened to this one twice because honestly I wasn't sure how I felt after the first go. I have a good time listening but it always comes down to "Do I want to include any of this in my main playlist" and unfortunately I didn't.

Steve Winwood's works are the epitome of easy listening. He is the master of muzak, the earl of the elevator, a wizard in the waiting room, the great one of the grocery store. Arc of a Diver is not his best album in my opinion but with his break out hit "While You See The Chance" on here, he made a name for himself. That track is one of his bests but I think "Spanish Dancer" sneaks in and steals the top spot on the record. I had not heard that one prior (or any of the others). Steve has a pretty epic musical past that I knew little about as well, teaming up with Clapton and Baker. I like that he had become a truly solo artist at this point in his career though, playing all the instruments on this one. Not the most ground breaking but enjoyable...dives in at 2.36 stars.

While I was enjoying the first couple songs off this album, it wasn't able to sustain the momentum it had through the back half of the album. Opening track While You See A Chance was the highlight of the album for me, and while I also liked title track Arc Of A Diver, it can genuinely say it was pretty much downhill from there. Steve Winwood has some great stuff in his bag, but he also has quite a bit of skippable filler. When it all comes together effectively it perfectly scratches that smooth easy-listening itch that puts a smile on your face. The remainder of the collection ends up becoming easily ignored background music. I like Steve Winwood but feel he works best as a greatest hits artist. When it all wraps up Arc Of A Diver is just OK and lands in the middle of the pack. 2.46 stars

Fine. Could see where he was going with the music, but he didn't get there with the vocals.

Pretty good but not my vibe

Now while I enjoyed the occasional yacht rock, going to take a lot for it to make it onto this list. Even if it is 1001 albums.. again, enjoyable for what it is, easy to have on in the background, but forgettable.

Can we hear Phil Collins instead? I feel like this is a second rate copy of PC. Cool usage of the moog but the material isn't quite up to scratch. 2/5

Polished, mid-tempo blue-eyed soul / pop rock built from tidy synthesizer lines, soft drum-machine grooves, smooth guitar accents, and clean, carefully controlled vocals moves like sitting through a long elevator ride in a luxury hotel—pleasantly produced, but so restrained and repetitive that it becomes intensely boring before the ride is over.

This is a remarkably unremarkable record that sounds exactly how you would expect a Steve Winwood record to sound. I'd never heard it before now but I could probably have hummed the whole thing before I'd even listened. Musically, it's really not dated well - he clearly got a synth for Christmas that year. On the right songs, I quite like his voice, and there are some nice bass lines, but this album just sounds like a collection of incidental background tracks from a forgotten 80s daytime TV drama.

Really nothing impressive here

Yikes, this is bland and a bit naff. Now there’s a word I haven’t used in forever. Very much of its time and that keyboard sound is kind of annoying. For some reason I keep thinking I bet Patrick Bateman would like this

Great opener. The rest sounds like it’s being played in a haunted gym from the 1980s.

Dit is een beetje ‘groovy’ muziek voor mensen die geen groove hebben. Alles is zo ontzettend niet losjes (even stevie wonder comparison en je snapt het gelijk). Alles is te strak. Niemand kan hun heupen losgooien op deze muziek. Terwijl hij duidelijk wel iets met een groove probeerde te maken, dat is faliekant mislukt. Toen ging ik het het googelen en zag ik dat het ook wel blue eyed soul heten (witte mensen soul). Ik ben geen essentialist, witte mensen kunnen ook groovy zijn (denk aan muzikanten op thriller, zoals toto), maar dit is wel toch echt heel wit. Ja nee, niks voor mij

mja zeker een blue eyed soul album. ik zal niet te racistisch zijn tegen steve winwood maar ja je krijgt wel het label "slechtere soul" opgeplakt

I went in with an open mind and the first song was decent but I became so bored the rest of the way. Rating: 1.7

nice beat. wasn’t a huge fan of the vocals or lyrics. night train was lovely tho

I like what Daft Punk did with the sound 20 years later. The hit is fine, but wow, most of this is conventional schlock (with synths!). He has a very distinctive voice, but is largely modulated up and down - there’s no chill, more of a musical/theatre performer. I could see having some patience for this material, but the songs are sooo long.

Not really my jam. Felt like I was stuck in a TJ Maxx.

I don't normally find dated production too distracting but this sounds like an 80s pastiche. Badly mixed, budget sounding instruments, and singing that sounds like even he finds it boring. At least most of the other bad albums on this list are people trying to do something interesting, this even fails on that front

Boring

This is proper nondescript, overly-produced, 80's yachty Dad pop. I've already forgotten it. Heard before ❌️ Listened this time ✅️ Revisit ❌️ Boring ★★☆☆☆ (4/10) Total reviewed : 227 Already owned : 52 Purchased : 12 To buy list : 2 Nope : 161

Endearing moments and I like While You See a Chance, but far too sleek and perfectly polished for me. He's got the vocal chops of Peter Gabriel but squanders it with a fraction of the lyrical or musical creativity, these songs are the definition of playing it safe. There's just a real soullessness to it all. Overall it has a time and a place - some rich douchebag's yacht back in 1980.

Right on the edge of goofy and good

Overall not very enjoyable album. First song is the best. Goes downhill from there. There were interesting bars in certain songs, but they came and went all too soon. Fun fact, in the middle of listening to the album, my iPhone alarm went off. I'd forgotten to turn it off the night before. As it went off, I was thinking, oh, this album got better and more interesting. Then I noticed it was actually my alarm playing over the music.

Glætt og kjedelige greier. Noe saftige og cheesy synthsoloer trekker opp

Multiinstrumentalist kan du være så mye du vil. Men lag no nåkka bra. Ga mæ veldig lite.

Slit veldig med sjangeren og klare ikke ta det seriøst. Han e sikkert veldig flink.

Фил Колинс ама не е

It's fine, but it's not the vibe I was feeling today.

I played at a wedding a few years ago and heard that Steve Winwood would be in attendance. I didn’t know who he was then and this is the first time I’ve listened to his music. In rehearsals I threatened to get drunk and goad him in to coming on stage and seeing if he could do better. Now I’m confident he would have crashed and burned, so good thing I didn’t do it in the end. STEEEEEVE!!!

One hit wonder for a reason

Even though I grew up absolutely hating this style of music, I do want to go sailing.

I get why it can be considered a milestone, but this is not my style.

Slowdown Sundown is good. The rest are not for me.

Extremely boring. There is no “wow” factor whatsoever with any of these tracks and to make it worse, many of the tracks are 5 minutes+. Nothing is bad per se, but the whole album is a drag to listen to.

Post disco synth based pop music. This was probably a breath of fresh air in 1980.

It's impressive that Steve Winwood was able to intentionally craft music that would become the soundtrack of wandering a large store with a numbing world weariness that leaves you questioning the viability of a human civilization. Even with normal headphones on I'm imagining this coming over the tinny speakers of a largely empty KMART or Ames circa 1991.

you guys know i love synth pop but unfortunately i did not love this

Artiste inconnu. Pop/rock pas désagréable, mais sans rien d'original, à part le fait qu'il joue tous les instruments. Aucun morceau remarquable, je n'y reviendrais pas. =>2/5

Elevator yacht pop

Phil Collins sounding ass I thought it was about to go crazy from the first 15 seconds but oh boy was i disappointed. It was alright. Nothing i hated, nothing i liked

Fine to keep on in the background but not my thing, really. The instrumental version of Night Train was by far my favorite, real funky.

unfortunately it's not my type

The quality of this album takes a dive after the first song, which was really charming. It is unfortunate that it just devolves into unimpressive yacht rock afterwards.

é, não eh bom não. não foi desagradável, só chato mesmo. algumas músicas se estendem demais e são só paia.

Nahh I was abit bored tbf

Relentlessly playing on soft rock stations your parents probably enjoy at the office.

Naur

This was a bit of a honey trap with track one being really interesting and cool sounding before it mostly goes boring

Good vibes. Nothing overly notable though

Neither great neither offensive; wouldn't take a 2nd listen.

Aika laimeaksi jäävä kasaripoppistelu. Avaushitti nousee esille jopa hieman ärsyttävällä synasaundilla, mutta muuten erittäin unohdettavaa.

This album really annoys me. Not because it's poorly made, and some songs are radio friendly (or were, 40 years ago), but because it is soooo.... damn... vanilla. It's the epitome of1980's pop music that hasn't aged well. This synths, the vocals, it's all very faint and pathologically inoffensive. I get that some people enjoy this, but from an artistic and influence point of view I think this definitely does not belong on the "must hear" list.

Started in a positive mood but omg it's so bland and occasionally irritating. Definitely does not belong on this list. The worst of the 80s basically here, cheesy, synth heavy, and self-important. Can't give it a 1 though, I don't hate hate it, but I'd never listen to it again. Fuck yuppies, and fuck any yacht rock that isn't steely dan, and to a lesser extent, hall and Oates. 03/01/25

< The Beatles There are albums that sound exactly like this but better

So I can blame this album for bringing synthesizers into mainstream rock. I guess it created the sound of the 80s... Personal enjoyment: 2 Relevance to this list: 4

A very chill album

If you’re after the earthy charm of Traffic, this isn’t it. Winwood goes full synth and drum machine here, and the result feels a bit sterile. Strong voice, decent tunes, but those keyboards dominate everything. Leaves you wondering what he was aiming for.

Too cheesy. I liked Spanish Dancer and Night Train though.

pleasant but completely forgettable sorry stevie 2/5

Ehh, not offensive, but could do without this.

Парень молодец, сам все сыграл спел и записал

Sounds like a bunch of 80s sitcom music

C'est creux ça a vieilli !

C+

Respect to the man, but this album did precious little for me. Night train was decent in a Duran/Roxy kinda way, but the rest of the time I was unengaged.

This screams 80s so bad I can smell the school bus. So flat and hollow. No real instruments except MAYBE a piano. The drums sound like cheap Casio samples. It's just... no. 2/5

Mediocre soft rock

Winwood is hit or miss for me. Most traffic is a hit. Most winwood solo is a miss

2.5 stars. Mostly sounds like knockoff Phill Collins, not very into it. Except for "Spanish Dancer", that song was great.

I’ve never felt more like Dennis Reynolds.

Boring

154/1001 Steve Winwood - Arc of a Diver Heard Before? ❎ Revisit? ❎ This is what I deem as everything bad in 80s music. It's cheesy as hell and not in a good way. It's not offensively bad, just bad.

yeah, very 80s lol. Despite the corny lyrics all throughout i did enjoy some songs. "Night train" is my favorite from the album, sucker for a good bass line and doesn't overstay its 7 minutes run time. Other than that though, the song are just too long even the ones i like. On average they are 5 minutes. And the 80s cheese music makes the sacharine and corny lyrics just stand out even more. It was endearing for the first few songs but weared out over time. The song "Second Hand Woman" also soured my taste for the narrator as well, calling this woman as "society's slave" but still wanting to satisfy his desire for a one night stand at least. I don't know just kind of sleezy and makes all his other attempts of reminicising a good past relationship and what not seem hollow. Also, "spanish dancer" is not a good song to dance to lol despite the singer's desperate attempts for the audience to feel the beat under your feet lol. Think will give this album a 2 out of 5 stars. I did enjoy some songs but the most of the album just does not work for me.

If nothing else, he played every l instrument on the album. I just wish the instruments on the album didn't sound like poo poo. Favorite Track: "Second Hand Woman".

I expected to enjoy this when I saw the reviews saying it was cheesy yacht rock, but unfortunately it didn’t have the level of catchyness I wanted. I was expected an album of Higher Loves, but that wasn’t even on this record FFS. Quite boring in the end.

Ну в общем ничего, достойная музыка и исполнение, но не для меня

Mall Food Court Music

Way too 80s for me

Decent 2,5

Sounds like cheesy mom music to me. WTF is with the lyrics of Second-Hand Woman tho.

I can dig some 80s cheese every once in a while, and I honestly enjoyed most of this album. Sort of a less-complex, overall-worse Phil Collins vibe. And you gotta put some respect on an artist who plays all the instruments you're hearing on the recording. But, I can only rock with synth-drums for so long, and once again I find myself just wishing I were listening to Genesis instead. Fave tracks: - While You See A Chance - Arc Of A Diver - Spanish Dancer - Night Train

That bassline in Night Train SLAPS

While You See A Chance

Steve Winwood nahm Arc of a Diver (1980) in seinem eigenen Netherturkdonic Studio in Gloucestershire auf; er spielte alle Instrumente, schrieb die Stücke und übernahm Produktion und Engineering. Der englische Musiker verbindet auf dem Album Soft Rock, Blue-Eyed Soul und Pop, geprägt von klaren Synthesizer-Arrangements und mehrfachen Overdubs. Besonders prägnant sind „While You See a Chance“, der Titelsong „Arc of a Diver“ sowie „Night Train“ und „Spanish Dancer“, die zwischen eingängigen Melodien und ausgedehnteren Groove-Passagen wechseln. Klanglich wirkt das Album kontrolliert und fokussiert — handwerklich sorgfältig, in der Wirkung eher zurückhaltend als demonstrativ.

Ootasin Steve Winwoodist enamat. Aga tulemus on igav synth pop kohutavate vokaalidega. Kahju.

Yeah, it’s alright I suppose. Well executed but still middling. 2.5 stars.

I was hoping this was the album with “higher love”, but it wasn’t. That’s the only S. Winwood song that comes to mind

Why are people on the site comparing this album to Peter Gabriel's solo work? If you're looking for a Genesis comparison it's clearly solo Phil Collins. To be clear, that is not a compliment. Souless, "yacht pop" easy listening that's just a step up from elevator music. At least it was short at 7 songs in 39 minutes. 2⭐️

The guy from traffic cosplays a progressive solo artist. The result is a pile of nothing

Very dated sound with keyboards and strange effects. Winwoods voice sounds good but this is not great. Short album but this seems unnecessary

It was ok, nothing more. There were no standout tracks, and nothing that made me squirm or cringe. I don't know why this is on the list really.

I am not impressed. I hoped for more but it’s not that good.

Winwood a legend, of course, but this is pretty much yachtrock. I am not really happy with the term "soft rock"--why bring rock into it at all? It's as if you brought your boring uncle to the party, tries to talk to everyone and they are politely listening to him but not really engaging. I have trouble getting through any of these cuts. Sorry, Steve.

Music to shop by.

guess this is what people participating in this challange wants albums from weezer, QOTSA, charli xcx and other modern artists to replace. aka cheesy boomer trash. robert dimery are you listening? take this out next time. change it to stop making sense. or lincoln. or songs for the deaf. the first song is the only good song. 2/5

Más allá de la primera canción, que tiene su aquel... Uninteresting voice, uninteresting character, uninteresting melodies, uninteresting lyrics... uninteresting album Sorry Favs: la primera I guess

Bit of a pleasant sounding snooze fest

this guy sounded a lot like Peter Gabriel, songs were okay but again it didn't really blow me away.

Ok you played all the instruments well done. This is just... Generic and derivative. Where is the personal signature. Boring. 2

Not necessarily bad, just not a memorable in my opinion

makes me feel nothing at all lol

It's just a mocktail Phil Collins. Lionel Ritchie, sans the Lion. Where's the oomph? Where is the sledgehammer??? This is more like a squeaky mallet.

Irgendwie ne Mischung aus Genesis und Bruce Springsteen, hat mich nicht so abgeholt

I’m not actually sure what “yacht rock” is but there is some suggestion that this is it. This is pretty cheesy 80s synth pop in my book, and I think maybe it would just be better to listen to Peter Gabriel than this.

2.5