Greg Prato, reporting for Ultimate-Guitar.com:
Just in time for the holiday season comes the Winger box set, Chapter One: Atlantic Years 1988-1993. Which, as its title clearly states, collects the band's three albums from that period – 1988's self-titled debut, 1990's Winger II: In The Heart Of The Young, and 1993's Pull – which spawned numerous hair metal hits ("Madalaine," "Seventeen," "Headed For A Heartbreak," "Miles Away," "Easy Come Easy Go," etc.). Also included is a fourth disc entitled "Demo Anthology," which contains demos of all their best-known tunes.
While promoting the set, the band's leader/singer/bassist, Kip Winger, took time out to chat with Ultimate Guitar. The first part of the interview focused on his career as a Grammy-nominated classical composer, while the second part dealt with hair metal's sonic trademark. But for this third and final part, he discussed the box set, his big career break, and the oft-overlooked guitar talents of Reb Beach.
Let's discuss the new box set. How did the idea come about?
"A very well-known manager who's a good friend of mine – by the name of Larry Mazer – suggested that I do a box set. It hadn't even dawned on me, actually. And we thought it was a good idea. So, I got together with the label and talked about how we would put it together. And it's the first and only remaster that I had anything to do with. Usually, they just put it out there and get whoever to master the record. And I never get approval, basically."
"So, I was actually able to recruit the original mastering engineer, Ted Jensen, who did the first three albums, and I got together with Ted to do these. And we got the masters and dug into it. And I went into storage to get some old photos, old lyrics, old artwork, and a lot of stuff people haven't seen before. And so it's really got my stamp on it as my presentation of a box set."
Which Winger tracks are you most proud of from the box set?
"It's like your children. I mean, 'Headed for Heartbreak' is a standout for me. 'Madalaine'. Certainly most of the tracks off the 'Pull' record, which was a very significant record for us. I never listen to my music, so going down and listening to it all was really like a trip down memory lane. Brought back a lot of memories. So... 'Blind Revolution Mad', 'Who's the One'."
Let's talk about Reb Beach's guitar playing – do you consider him an underrated guitarist?
"Yeah, I guess so. I mean, he never seems to get the love from the guitar community. But it's very ironic – he was in Alice Cooper, Night Ranger, Dokken, Whitesnake. He's the longest-surviving guitar player of Whitesnake – 18 years old. And certainly with us, his signature riffs and sound, I mean, he's a very unique sounding guitarist. We had a new album come out on May 5th, 'Winger Seven', and there's a track called 'It All Comes Back Around.' If you listen to the solo at the end of that song, there's nothing like it. It's kind of the sequel to 'Headed for a Heartbreak'."
"It's weird, we get a lot of young guitar players that come to see Reb because he is such a legendary player, but he doesn't get a lot of coverage. So, I guess I would say he's underrated. Not in my book – I've worked with the guy for what, 35 years? And the level of musicianship is… he's one of the most talented people I've ever worked with by far. He can play any instrument. He's like Stevie Wonder, man. He can sit down at the keyboard and play anything. Off the top of his head, he can write a riff as good as anybody. And his soloing is extremely unique."
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