Back in the High Life

This article is about the album. For the song, see Back in the High Life Again.
Back in the High Life
Studio album by
Steve Winwood
ReleasedJune 30, 1986 (1986-06-30)
RecordedAugust 1985 – May 1986
Studio
Genre
Length45:33
LabelIsland
ProducerRuss Titelman, Steve Winwood
Steve Winwood chronology
Talking Back to the Night
(1982) 		Back in the High Life
(1986) 		Chronicles
(1987)
Singles from Back in the High Life
  1. "Higher Love"
    Released: 20 June 1986
  2. "Split Decision"
    Released: July 1986
  3. "Take It As It Comes"
    Released: August 1986
  4. "Freedom Overspill"
    Released: August 1986
  5. "Back in the High Life Again"
    Released: December 1986
  6. "The Finer Things"
    Released: February 1987

Back in the High Life is the fourth solo album by English singer, songwriter, and multi-instrumentalist Steve Winwood, released on 30 June 1986.[1] The album proved to be Winwood's biggest success to that date, certified Gold in the UK and 3× Platinum in the US, and it reached the top twenty in most Western countries.[2][3] It collected three Grammy Awards[4] and generated five hit singles, starting with "Higher Love", which became Winwood's first Billboard Hot 100 number-one chart topper, coming 20 years after he first entered that chart with "Keep on Running" by the Spencer Davis Group.[5] Other global hit singles from the album were "Freedom Overspill", "Back in the High Life Again" and "The Finer Things". The single "Split Decision", with ex-Eagles guitarist Joe Walsh, was a US hit.[6]

Musically, the album was polished and sophisticated, representative of pop production in the 1980s, featuring Winwood's style of layered synthesisers and electronic drums that he had established with Arc of a Diver (1980). Unlike his two prior albums, on which he played every instrument himself, Winwood made extensive use of session musicians for this album, including Joe Walsh and Nile Rodgers on guitars and JR Robinson on drums. Winwood himself also performed on a large number of instruments, combining live-played instruments with synthesisers and programming. Prominent backing vocals were provided by established stars, including Chaka Khan on "Higher Love", James Ingram on "Finer Things", and James Taylor on the title track. The album showcased Winwood's lifelong fascination with the fusion of styles, bringing folk, gospel and Caribbean sounds into a rock, pop and R&B milieu.[1][2][7]

The album was recorded and released during a time of significant change in Winwood's personal life. After touring North America to promote the album during August–November 1986, Winwood divorced in England and then married in New York City. He bought a second home in Nashville, where he organized his next project, Chronicles, a retrospective album of earlier songs, including some remixes engineered by Tom Lord-Alge, whom Winwood had befriended in the making of Back in the High Life.

  1. ^ a b Cite error: The named reference AM was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  2. ^ a b Hughes, Rob (3 October 2017). "Steve Winwood: from teen prodigy to Traffic and beyond". Louder Sound: Classic Rock. Retrieved 12 July 2020.
  3. ^ Higgons, Keith R. (2 July 2020). "Album of the Day – July 2: Steve Winwood – Back in the High Life". Pop Off. Medium. Retrieved 9 July 2020.
  4. ^ "29th Annual Grammy Awards (1986)". Recording Academy Grammy Awards. 1987. Retrieved 12 July 2020.
  5. ^ Grein, Paul (30 August 1986). "Chart Beat". Billboard. Vol. 98, no. 35. p. 10. ISSN 0006-2510.
  6. ^ "Steve Winwood Chart History: "Split Decision"". Billboard. Retrieved 15 July 2020.
  7. ^ Cite error: The named reference Pareles1986 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).