There and Back Again

There and Back Again captures obscure Chicago hard rockers Winterhawk performing what sounds like a very well-attended show at the cavernous Aragon Ballroom, on December 22, 1978 — a rather amazing feat for a band that never managed to land a recording contract during their lifetime, but which, at least on this occasion, would probably sound as impressive to an unsuspecting visitor from another planet, as most any of the late-70s' true superstars. Funny how life is. Led by Bizarro World guitar hero Jordan Macarus (who in a parallel universe was probably Steve Morse, and vice-versa), Winterhawk were the owners of a varied and distinctive repertoire where heavy rockers both edgy and fluid ("Revival," "Hammer and the Axe") sat comfortably astride extended instrumental excursions bordering on jam and progressive rock ("There and Back Again," "Off the Bat"), and where major six-string shredding was never too far away. No slacker himself, second guitarist Steve Brown, shadowed Macarus on countless twin harmony flights that will leave fans of Thin Lizzy, Wishbone Ash or, heck, even the Allman Brothers, writhing in ecstasy (notably on the stately "In the Wake of Things to Come" and the instrumental colossus "Creatures of the Sea"). Bassist and lead vocalist Doug Brown's amazingly soulful wail helped soften the evident influence of Rush underpinning much of Winterhawk's repertoire, and yet another epic endeavor called "Free to Live" (which, along with opener "Sanctuary" would be the only track to be recut for Winterhawk's only studio album, four years later) wrapped up the disc's live portion with a certain Southern rock flavor — mostly due to its "Freebird"-ish chord changes. All that's left after that are a pair of studio tracks called "Bad Influence" and "Too Much of Nothin'," neither of which is memorable enough to steal thunder away from the concert material that makes There and Back Again so special. Close your eyes as you listen to it, and you don't even have to be an alien to picture the smoke rising through the lights as Winterhawk threw those patented '70s rock star shapes upon the stage — what the nostalgia trip!