This is supposedly a soundboard, but could be an audience recording, judging from the ambient sound. Still, there's little audience blabber to spoil it. The recording has numerous cuts. All in all, an interesting look at an underdocumented era of Winwood history.
This appearance at an outdoor festival is said to have been Winwood's first-ever solo show after leaving Traffic, coming just over a year after the release of his self-titled first solo album.
It's a loose-sounding show -- a little sloppy at times, but actually refreshing compared to the ultra-slickness of his '80s-era shows. Winwood sticks to the organ, on which he also provides the bass part, and synthesizer. Winwood's wife at the time, the late Nicole Tacot, adds a homespun touch by singing And Then He Kissed Me, and contributes backing vocals.
Winwood plays five of the six songs from his first solo album, and he rarely revisited any of these songs again. Some of the arrangements differ markedly from the studio versions. For instance, Hold On is done here Latin-style, while Vacant Chair has a different structure. Two Way Stretch is a soulful Winwood-composed number that later showed up only as a 45 rpm B-side in 1981.
Steve Winwood: organ, synthesizer, vocals
John Porter: guitar
Terry Stannard: drums
Demelza: percussion
Nicole Tacot (Nicole Winwood): vocals