The Edgar Winter Group, "They Only Come Out at Night"

Ken takes us on a free ride

, and

Jan 05, 2022

Ken’s Pitch:

Over the last year we’ve mentioned over and over again the names of famous producers involved in the albums we pitch, we’ve talked about legendary guitarists like Page, Garcia, Iommi and Knopfler, but we’ve never really addressed the importance of the construction of a band. What would Jimi Hendrix have been without Redding and Mitchell? Would The Rolling Stones have been what we know today without Watts and Wyman? Would the Toxic Twins have made the same impact without Hamilton, Whitford, and Kramer? It’s a Tootsie Pop mystery, and the world will never know.

Producer/musician/early ‘70’s rock influencer Rick Derringer knew the secret. You don’t have to have a charismatic frontman, and you don’t have to have the most poignant or poetic songwriting to make magic. You just need to have the right ingredients, and the right recipe (production) to make it all fly. Derringer and Technical Director Bill Symczyk, who later went on to be the Director for a little outfit out of California called The Eagles, put together an all-star lineup for what would become Edgar Winter’s third album, but the first as The Edgar Winter Group.

Starting with Dan Hartman, a multi–instrumentalist who had played with Winter’s older brother (and blues legend) Johnny, and long-time Edgar Winter bass player Randy Jo Hobbs, Derringer and Symczyk were in need of a lead guitarist and found Ronnie Montrose who had just left Van Morrison’s band. While Montrose famously said that at the time he didn’t even consider himself a “rock” guitarist, I can only assume (since Morrison was absolutely playing rock music while Montrose was in the band) that he meant “hard rock”.

So here’s the thing, I don’t care who’s name is on the jacket cover, it’s an ensemble and it doesn’t work without all the pieces. Maybe it came from Edgar taking a back seat to his older brother for years, or maybe it’s nothing more than a guy setting his ego aside in order to play a role on a successful team, but this group works because it’s a flat organization with each member contributing his strength in order to create a project that’s fun, tight, loud, and intentionally raw.

Opening with a fantastic guitar riff to start “Hangin’ Around”, and complemented perfectly with a lovely distorted rhythm guitar in the background, and Winter’s own vocals, the song is just the first glimpse of the fun that is to come. “When It Comes” follows, with a couple of vocal tricks as well as an underlying guitar part and even a sax solo that is reminiscent of Keith Richards and Bobby Keys.

While the album is unquestionably hard rock, let’s credit Derringer with sandwiching “Alta Mira” between two much harder tracks. In the context of the entire album, “Alta Mira” fits, but an album full of “Alta Miras” would fall into a completely different genre of rock. Fortunately, Derringer chose to put the Harman-penned “Free Ride” immediately after and it all clicks into place perfectly.

What can one say about “Free Ride”? It’s the reason I know this album at all. About 6-8 years ago when radio was still a thing, I was listening to WZLX, Boston’s classic rock station, and “Free Ride” came on. Fortunately, we were in the digital age and I pulled up the song on my iphone 4, and I fell in love with the album.

This isn’t a perfect album by any stretch, and there are a couple of clunkers including “Rock ‘N’ Roll Boogie Woogie Blues” and “We All Had a Real Good Time”, but with smash hits “Free Ride” and the incredible instrumental “Frankenstein”, as well as gorgeous deep cuts “Round & Round” and “Autumn”, this group deserves a place in the Newbury St. Collection.

Mitch’s Response:

CHEERS to Ken for solving a long-standing rock and roll mystery: who’s responsible for “Free Ride”? I thought it was Steppenwolf or the Guess Who or some other generic ‘70s rock band. It’s a great riff, a classic song, and a reminder of life before digital music, when we listened to whatever the DJ played.

JEERS to Ken for hypocritically praising “Frankenstein” which is progg-ier than Genesis and Yes combined (two bands he ridicules me for loving) and is far cheesier than anything those two legendary bands ever wrote. (Ed. note: I still like “Frankenstein”, but I’m a cheesy prog fan.)

CHEERS to Ken for admitting that aside from those two famous songs this album is full of paint-by-numbers butt rock. “When It Comes”, “Undercover Man” and “We All Had a Real Good Time” are three truly terrible tunes straight from the cut-out bin.

JEERS to Ken for picking an album with such a hideous cover. I’ll never be able to get that image out of my precious memory palace.

CHEERS to Ken for making such a spirited defense of “Alta Mira”, however, the proper defense for loving that schlock would be insanity. I’ll give him “Hangin’ Around”, “Round & Round” and “Autumn”, though. Those three tunes are decent, if unremarkable.

JEERS to Ken that thinking this album deserves a spot on Newbury Street. Maybe, just maybe, it deserves a spot on Marlborough Street near where the college kids live.

Pitch Unsuccessful (Johnny Winter is out too)

CJ’s Response

My only goal when I graduated from college was to embark on a career that allowed me to wear jeans, a tee shirt and sneakers every day. The idea of putting on a suit and tie in order to earn a living was so repugnant to me that I refused to interview for any job that had a dress code. Not just because I didn’t feel comfortable in “fancy” clothes, but more so because I felt like a fraud. Whenever I got dressed up, it was as if I were pretending to be a professional or, at the very least, a responsible adult. I felt like I was wearing somebody else’s clothes and losing my own personality at the same time. The creative department of an ad agency with other like-minded (slobs) would prove to be my sanctuary and my calling.

In They Only Come Out At Night, The Edgar Winter Group is trying on other bands’ styles in an effort to find their own. By the third time through the album, I was able to go song-by-song and identify which group or solo artist they were pretending to be. It’s a fun exercise and I invite you to try it. My list looks like this:

“Hangin’ Around”—The Steve Miller Band

“When It Comes”—Three Dog Night

“Alta Mira”—Simon & Garfunkel

“Free Ride”—The James Gang

“Undercover Man”—Thin Lizzy

“Round and Round”—Jackson Browne

“Rock ‘N’ Roll Boogie Woogie Blues”—T. Rex

“Autumn”—The Rolling Stones

“We All Had A Real Good Time”—Dr. Hook and the Medicine Show

The only song which is distinctly their own is “Frankenstein”, which makes sense because it’s an instrumental that allows this collection of musicians to shine individually and collectively. When a band comes together organically, it develops its own unique identity. When a producer puts a band together, as is the case here, they never know who they really are.

To draw a parallel, there’s a reason Frankenstein’s Monster couldn’t thrive outside the lab. It was just a collection of spare parts.

Pitch Failed (“Frankenstein” would’ve been a better name for the band)

Ken’s pitch was not successful and The Edgar Winter Group’s They Only Come Out at Night has been exiled back to the laboratory.

There are no free rides at EONS, so head on over the the comments section and let us know whether you think The Edgar Winter Group’s They Only Come Out at Night is a monster record or should be hangin’ around the cut-out bin.

Exile on Newbury St.

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