As a member of The Kingston Trio during the early-to-mid 1960s, John Stewart was well versed in mixing traditional folk elements with pop styles, a trend he continued after beginning a solo career in 1968. Despite John's versatility, solid musicianship and acclaim from the critics, his first nine solo albums met with only limited commercial success. That changed with the release of Bombs Away Dream Babies in 1979, which gave John his first top 5 pop hit, "Gold," in the summer of that year.
"Midnight Wind" was the second single to be released from the album, debuting in August. Like "Gold," it prominently featured backing vocals from Stevie Nicks and vocal and guitar work from her Fleetwood Mac bandmate, Lindsey Buckingham. While "Midnight Wind" was not as successful as "Gold" had been, it would achieve a peak position of #28 on the Hot 100 chart in October. It would be followed shortly after by "Lost Her in the Sun," which also became a top 40 hit.
Although Bombs Away Dream Babies was released on CD by Razor and Tie Records in the 1990s, it appears to be currently out of print, as do several compilations of John's solo material containing the single version of "Midnight Wind." However, a re-recorded version of the track appears on Airdream Believer, which features John's more recent interpretations of several of his most popular compositions.
Listen to the original hit version on YouTube:
2 comments:
I don't remember this one, but it's funny that I thought for years after the release of "Gold" that it was Johnny Cash singing.
Years later, I found out I wasn't the only one, as Nelson thought the same thing.
I agree, John's voice has some similarities to Johnny Cash's, especially in his phrasing.
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