LP Lookback: Steve Winwood, 1986’s ‘Back In The High Life’ – Forgotten Gem?

As I do every year in March, in 2026 I compiled our “40 year look back” playlist, this year to (obviously) 1986. It’s where I pick one song off different albums from the year in question. Those playlists are a real “snapshot in time,” if you will.

One of the albums that I chose a track from (“Split Decision”) that keeps popping into my head is Steve Winwood’s commercial breakthrough Back In The High Life. I not only bought that album in 1986 I saw him on that tour. Bruce Hornsby opened up. It was a great show, like a James Bond double feature down at the drive-in.

After my 1976 “50-year look back” playlist, I delved deep into Boston’s debut album. Whenever I do one of those playlists tied to a specific year, it leads me to an album from that year and ’86 is no exception.

I decided to delve deeper into Back In The High Life, because after a week spent “blissed out” listening to Peter Frampton’s new album Carry The Light, there’s no new album to dive into this week. Well, at least nothing that caught my eye… or in this case, my ear. When we’re not looking forward, we’re inevitably looking backward.

By 1986, you have to say Steve Winwood had his rock n roll bona fides locked down. The guy was a legend already. He’d started out playing keyboards and singing with the Spencer Davis Group. The songs “I’m A Man” and “Give Me Some Lovin'” are practically standards.

From there he formed Traffic whose lineup featured, at different times, Jim Capaldi (drums), Dave Mason (guitar), and Chris Wood (woodwinds/horns). I can’t think of anybody in my peer group who didn’t dig and respect Traffic. “The Low Spark Of High Heeled Boys” was epic. “Glad” was a favorite instrumental that aptly named. Those guys were so good they were like jazz musicians.

Of course Winwood stepped out of Traffic for a 1-off “supergroup” album with Eric Clapton (guitar) and Ginger Baker (drums) from Cream and Ric Grech (bass) in Blind Faith. “Can’t Find My Way Home” has always been a favorite. Blind Faith may have been a disappointment commercially, but I dig that LP.

Winwood even played organ on the Hendrix track “Voodoo Chile,” an epic (almost) 15-minute legendary blues song. Playing in a band with Clapton, hanging out with Hendrix and playing with him? You have to admit the man had quite a resume.

And yet, massive solo success a la Clapton, had eluded the man. He’d released a self-titled solo debut in 1977, but it didn’t make a dent here in the States. I don’t think I’ve ever even heard that album?

For many, Back In The High Life may have come as a surprise, but for my high school buddies and I, we were ready for it. To me, the success of Back In The High Life can be directly traced back to 1980’s Arc Of A Diver. 

That album was big in my high school and on my local radio. I can remember hearing “When You See A Chance” in the lunch cafeteria, it was that ubiquitous. Personally, I loved the title track. “Night Train” made it to our Playlist: Songs About Trains. Winwood played all the instruments on that album.

He followed that up in 1982 with Talking Back To The Night. And like Arc he also played all the instruments. I fear that when musicians do that, don’t interact with other musicians when making an LP, they can get a little, well, insular. It’s better to spar off other people. Chemistry is everything.

“Valerie” and “Talking Back To The Night” were great songs off that record – one I purchased but sadly eventually sold – but it wasn’t until they were remixed on Winwood’s 1987 greatest hits thing Chronicles that they got any attention… well, “Valerie” did. Talking Back was a bit of a disappointment after the platinum success of it’s predecessor.

But it was out of the ashes of that failure that Back In The High Life was born from. After producing both the previous albums by himself, Winwood brought in producer Russ Titelman to help helm High Life. That might have been at the insistence of Chris Blackwell, head of Island Records… I seem to remember reading that.

Titelman, to his credit recognized that Winwood needed to play off other musicians. His one-man-band approach to creating albums – which worked on Arc Of A Diver – had reached its natural end. While they did use drum machines – and yes, the album is great but it is “of it’s time” – they augmented that with a real drummer, mostly John JR Robinson. That helped a ton.

Actually if you look at the “personnel” list on the album sleeve it runs long and deep. They also brought back wordsmith/songwriter Will Jennings to help write lyrics. He’d helped on the last two LPs. All of these collaborators helped Winwood turn the corner and crank out his biggest album which went 3x platinum in the States.

I love Back In The High Life. Although as I mentioned earlier, listening to it this week, it’s “of it’s time.” Maybe that’s why you don’t hear much about this album anymore, the 80s production. If you listen closely though and allow your mind to strip away a bit of the gloss you get impassioned vocals and some pretty kick ass Hammond B3 organ to boot.

The big hit, that drew me in, was “Higher Love.” It was the first single. It was clear this rock legend, Winwood, was steering a more pop/pop rock course. The secret weapon on “Higher Love” was a backing/harmony vocal from Chaka Khan. The drums that lead in are iconic in my mind. And the vocals are just killer. I couldn’t get to the record store fast enough. But then Arc had me on Winwood’s bandwagon already.

Of the eight songs on the album, six were released as singles. My favorite on the record, mentioned above, was the Joe Walsh co-write “Split Decision.” Walsh’s guitar is sensational. “One man puts the fire out, the other lights the fuse…” indeed. I was definitely in touch with that emotion.

The track that still grabs me by the throat is “Freedom Overspill.” It’s all swooping guitars and fabulous organ. Again, Winwood sounds like he did on “I’m A Man” at the microphone. “Your wounded pride is burning you up, Burning up on midnight oil.” Again, I could relate.

There were two ballads on the album and they’re both killers but then back then I was a sucker for sad ballads. I had two speeds, angry and sad. Being angry made me sad and being sad made me angry. Anyway, “My Love’s Leavin'” was a soulful break up song that still haunts me.

The title track was a “making a comeback” kind of song. “All the eyes that watched me once will smile and take me in…” It was a track that helped bring me out of a dark period. I like the song so much I even dig Warren Zevon‘s cover of it.

The final three tracks are certainly not filler. “Take It As It Comes” almost takes me back to Stax Records with its big horns and organ. It was also released as a single. “The Finer Things” was the last single to be released. It’s a mid tempo and wouldn’t have been out of place on Arc Of A Diver. 

“Wake Me Up On Judgement Day” was included on our Playlist: Songs About Sleeping. I think on any other album it would have been a single. On Back In The High Life it’s relegated to “deep track.”

It’s simply a perfect album. And yet, you don’t hear people talking about it in the same whispered, reverent tones they do say, Peter Gabriel’s So. Maybe it’s because Winwood chose to steer in a more pop direction. Maybe his deep forays into pop on Roll With It, the follow up, dampened the spirit on what came before. He wrote a song specifically for Michelob on that one… sigh, the 80s.

After 40 years, I think it’s time to put this one back on the turntable again. I mean, I just did. Or the CD player or stream it… get your music where you can, I don’t judge. This is a great album that deserves to be talked about more. It certainly gave me a ton of pleasure “back in the day.”

Have a great Memorial Day weekend here in the States. Enjoy this one with a cold beer and let your mind wander back to those crazy 80s.

Cheers!