Line #69 Music/WinterInAmerica


1	[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/r_638101_1585265602_7966jpeg_5.jpg]]
2	[[caption-width-right:350:''Peace go with you brother......'']]
3	->''"At the end of 360 degrees, Winter is a metaphor: a term not only used to describe the season of ice, but the period of our lives through which we are travelling. In our hearts we feel that spring is just around the corner: a spring of brotherhood and united spirits among people of color. Everyone is moving, searching. There is a restlessness within our souls that keeps us questioning, discovering and struggling against a system that will not allow us space and time for fresh expression. Western icemen have attempted to distort time. Extra months on the calendar and daylight saved what was Eastern Standard. We approach winter the most depressing period in the history of this industrial empire, with threats of oil shortages and energy crises. But we, as Black people, have been a source of endless energy, endless beauty and endless determination. I have many things to tell you about tomorrow’s love and light. We will see you in Spring."''
4	-->- Gil Scott-Heron in the liner notes of the original LP release of ''Winter in America''
5	->''Let me lay down by a stream\
6	And let me be miles from everything\
7	Rivers of my fathers\
8	Could you carry me home?''
9	-->- "Rivers of my Fathers"
10
11	''Winter in America'' is a studio album by Afro-American poet and musician Music/GilScottHeron and keyboardist Brian Jackson.
12
13	Both Scott-Heron's and Jackson's third collaboration (Jackson having appeared on Scott-Heron's previous records ''Pieces of a Man'' and ''Free Will'') and thier debut on the Strata-East label, they heavily uutilized a sparse production quality and a small supporting line-up of session musicians, allowing them to focus on more traditional styles influenced by African music and the {{blues}}. It would also incorporate heavy influence from jazz, particularly the free jazz stylings of artists such as Music/PharoahSanders which were being developed at the time. Lending the record a lush, almost settled melodiousness.
14
15	''Winter in America'' would also lyrically and thematically deal with the concepts of decay and disillusionment within the Afro-American community. It was released at a time when several Afro-American movements (Civil Rights Movement, Black Panther Party) had either lost momentum or (in the Panthers' case) been neutralized by the end of the previous decade. This gave the record a perspective of people trying to maintain their faith in their cultural roots in a bleak and demoralizing environment.
16
17	Upon its original stereo LP release in May 1974, the album had a small supply and distribution of vinyl copies due to the Strata-East label's independent distribution policy of their artists' releases. Because of this, ''Winter in America'' was considered by many fans to be the great "lost" Gil Scott-Heron album, before a proper re-release on CD in 1998. However, despite this, it was much more commercially successful than his previous records, with the album's only single, "The Bottle" landing on the R&B singles chart and the album itself charting on the Top Jazz Albums. Critically, it would overlooked upon its release, however, it would gain retrospective acclaim many would later consider as Scott-Heron's and Jackson's greatest work together, as well as an influence upon future black music genres such as [[HipHop hip hop]] and [[NeoSoul neo soul]].
18
19	!!Tracklist
20	[[AC: Side A]]
21	# "Peace Go With You, Brother (As-Salaam-Alaikum)" (5:27)
22	# "Rivers of my Fathers" (8:19)
23	# "A Very Precious Time" (5:17)
24	# "Back Home" (2:51)
25
26	[[AC: Side B]]
27	[numlist:5]
28	# "The Bottle" (5:14)
29	# "Song for Bobby Smith" (4:38)
30	# "Your Daddy Loves You" (3:25)
31	# "[=H2Ogate=] Blues" (8:08)
32	# "Peace Go With You, Brother (Wa-Alaikum-Salaam)" (1:10)
33	[/numlist]
34
35	[[AC: 1998 CD bonus tracks]]
36	[numlist:10]
37	# "Winter in America" (Live at The Wax Museum, 1982) (8:23)
38	# "Song for Bobby Smith" (alternate take) (4:46)
39	# "Your Daddy Loves You" (Live at Blues Alley, 1981) (4:25)
40	# "The Bottle / Guan Guanco" (Live at Blues Alley, 1981) (11:56)
41	[/numlist]
42	----
43	!!Very Precious Tropes
44	* AddictionSong: "The Bottle" details several characters suffering from various issues stemming from alcoholism.
45	* BilingualBonus: The sub-title to "Peace Go With You Brother", "As-Salaam-Alaikum" (and on the latter version, "Wa-Alaikum-Salaam"), roughly means "peace be upon you" in Arabic.
46	* {{Blues}}: ''Winter in America'' would be rooted in this genre, with the record having massive influence from it in both sound and imagery.
47	* BookEnds: ''Winter in America'' (on its original LP release) begins and ends with different versions of the song "Peace Go With You Brother", the second much shorter than the first.
48	* ConceptAlbum: ''Winter in America' primarily deals with themes of pain, decadence and poverty in Afro-American communities, with a unifying theme of hope bolstered by faith in one's culture tying the record together.
49	* DesignStudentsOrgasm: The album cover by Eugene Coles, which depicts a collage of patterned shapes that form an ambiguous landscape inhabited by a single, isolated figure.
50	* EpicRocking: Various tracks on the original LP breached the five minute mark, with tracks like "Rivers of my Fathers" and "[=H2Ogate=] Blues" reaching up to eight minutes by themselves. But the CD re-issue saw longer tracks being added to the fray with "The Bottle / Guan Guanco" being four seconds shy of twelve minutes.
51	* GenreMashup: ''Winter in America'' would mesh soul, jazz, funk and blues music with traditional African music styles ("Rivers of my Fathers") and Scott-Heron's own idiosyncratic spoken word, "proto-rap" style ("[=H2O=]gate Blues").
52	* HomesicknessHymn: "Back Home" is one seeing Gil reminisce on his life in the American South away from the inner city.
53	** "Rivers of my Fathers" is another example, with the track using the imagery of rivers and water to set the scene of being guided back home. Which, on this track, is Africa.
54	* {{Jazz}}: The record would take heavy influence from the free jazz and jazz funk stylings present during its recording and release.
55	* LiveAlbum: Three of the bonus tracks included on the CD re-issue would feature live versions of tracks on the main LP.
56	* LongestSongGoesLast: On the CD re-issue with a live version of "The Bottle" which segues into a second half titled "Guan Guanco", all of which lasts for nearly twelve minutes.
57	* MeaningfulName: How appropriate for a song titled "'''[=H2O=]'''gate Blues" to cover a controversy called the '''Water'''gate scandal.
58	** ''Winter in America'' is one as explained by the page quote. With the title being a metaphor for the state of the America during the 1970s as well as a descriptor for the overall atmosphere and theme of the album.
59	* MinisculeRocking: The second version of "Peace Go With You Brother", which lasts a minute and 10 seconds.
60	* ParentalLoveSong: "Your Daddy Loves You" which was written in dedication to Gil's daughter, Gia Louise.
61	* ProtestSong: "[=H2Ogate=] Blues" is one for the Nixon administration of the time. It being a scathing criticism of him and everyone involved in the [[https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Watergate_scandal Watergate scandal]].
62	** "Winter in America" is also one, containing themes of social disillusionment and a dystopian state with references to the decay of the environment and the suffering of America's indigenous peoples as well as Afro-Americans.
63	* PunBasedTitle: "[=H2Ogate=] Blues"
64	* RecordProducer: Scott-Heron and Jackson, who were credited for production under the title [[PunBasedTitle Perpis-Fall Music, Inc.]].
65	* {{Soul}}: The record would showcase a distinct style of the genre.
66	* SpokenWord: Utilized on different tracks, but none moreso than "H
67	Ogate Blues".
68	* StudioChatter: Can be heard on a few tracks, particularly "The Bottle" and "[=H2Ogate=] Blues".
69	* TitleTrack: "Winter in America", however it is only included on the CD re-issue.
70	* UrExample: Largely considered to be one for NeoSoul and HipHop music.

Context Music / WinterInAmerica