I became a rabid Stevie Winwood fan when I heard the North Atlantic Invasion Force play "Somebody Help Me" at Sacred Heart University.

The headliner was Vanilla Fudge.  In the middle, they had a comedian, the Hippy Dippy Weatherman known as George Carlin. But what made the biggest impression upon me was this song.  Who did it?  Who created its magical groove?

Marc discovered it was the Spencer Davis Group.  Of "I’m A Man" and "Gimme Some Lovin’" fame.  He bought the album, I played it every time I went to his house.

But my first Stevie Winwood album was not this, it was the second Traffic disc.  Famous mostly for Dave Mason’s cuts today, most especially "Feelin’ Alright", you’d be missing out if you never heard "Forty Thousand Headmen".  One of my most magical Fillmore moments was when Traffic reunited in 1970, sans Mr. Mason, and appeared at the Fillmore East a month before "John Barleycorn Must Die" was released.  When Stevie played "Forty Thousand Headmen", he hesitated, just after "Just look behind"…  It was truly like he’d stopped in his tracks, looked over his shoulder and saw all forty thousand headmen in the distance.  Whew!

My favorite cut off "John Barleycorn" is "Empty Pages".  The pure joy and the simplicity of a small band playing together, firing on all cylinders.  You don’t need all that production, all you need is talent.

The band broke up, got back together again and finally flew on the public’s radar with "Low Spark Of High Heeled Boys" and then faded out again, albeit on the high note known as "When The Eagle Flies".  "Something New" has the joy of "Empty Pages", but it’s "Walking In The Wind" that truly gets under my skin.  A great band is not focused on the charts, a great band makes an album because it has to get its statement down on wax, a great band makes music that infatuates its listeners, to the fan the deep track on one of his favorite albums is just as great a personal hit as the song with ubiquitous Top Forty airplay, if not more so.

I never bought those Spencer Davis Group albums.  But, after buying the second Traffic album, I went back and bought the first, with all the classics, covered by bands who knew the act’s greatness.  Three Dog Night did a killer cover of "Heaven Is In Your Mind".  Al Kooper and Mike Bloomfield made sure everybody who listened to FM radio knew "Dear Mr. Fantasy".  And on his first solo album, Al did a killer take of "Coloured Rain".  They all knew how great Stevie Winwood was, even if the general public had no idea.

I bought every Winwood album thereafter.  And that’s how I ended up listening to the first solo record.  Which most people have now forgotten.  It was the second that contained "While You See A Chance".  He didn’t become a household name until almost a decade later, with "Higher Love".  But that first Island solo record was not a disappointment if you were listening.  I was.

I know every lick, but I hardly ever listen to it.

I don’t know what made me pull it up on my Sonos system today.  I think the memory of playing Winwood when I first moved into this place, when I fired up the stereo while I figured out how to reconstruct my life, that made me recollect it.

And I’ve been playing it and enjoying it, but after getting to "Luck’s In", I keep hitting repeat.

Make sure you listen to "Hold On", "Vacant Chair" and the album’s most notable track, "Time Is Running Out", the one people remember if they remember anything at all.  But the best is "Luck’s In".

There’s a jazzy intro, truly jazzy, something that most rock listeners don’t enjoy.  But then there’s a change and Stevie Winwood starts to sing…

Some people get lonely, while some people get blue

Many informed listeners say Paul Rodgers has the best voice in rock and roll.  That’s hard to argue with, but I’m gonna say Stevie Winwood owns the best pipes.  What emanates from his throat is pure humanity, you feel like there’s a human being living in your speakers.

There’s something about you, I don’t know what you got
But you and me girl, we’re gonna give it a shot

That’s what we do with recording acts, we give them a shot.  And if we like what we hear, we dedicate ourselves to them.  We don’t care if they’re on the hit parade, we just need to hear everything they do.

Like Winwood’s 2003 album "About Time".  I’d say it’s a return to form, but it’s more than that.  It not only has the greatness of yore, it tests new limits.  If you were lucky enough to see these tours, with Jose Neto working out on the guitar, with Stevie ripping "Dear Mr. Fantasy", you’ll never forget them.

I was convinced my favorite Winwood solo track was "Night Train", from "Arc Of A Diver".  And that’s great, but it’s got a different feel from "Luck’s In".  "Night Train" sounds like an alienated excursion on the Trans-Europe Express.  "Luck’s In" sounds like life. Like you’re strolling alone in your backyard garden.  Like you’re in your room, staring at the walls.  Music when done right doesn’t bounce off of you, it’s a companion.  You can be on a mountain cliff, in the middle of the desert, scared as hell or lonely. But when you start to sing a great song to yourself, you feel calm, completely connected.

That’s how I feel listening to Stevie Winwood’s "Luck’s In" right now.