Winger (album)

Winger is the debut studio album by American rock band Winger. The album was released through Atlantic Records in 1988 and was produced by Beau Hill.

Winger
Studio album by
Winger
ReleasedAugust 10, 1988
RecordedAtlantic Studios, New York City, 1988
Genre
Length43:50
LabelAtlantic
ProducerBeau Hill
Winger chronology
Winger
(1988)		 In the Heart of the Young
(1990)
Singles from Winger
  1. "Madalaine"
    Released: August 1988[4]
  2. "Seventeen"
    Released: February 1989
  3. "Headed for a Heartbreak"
    Released: May 1989
  4. "Hungry"
    Released: September 1989
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[5]
Collector's Guide to Heavy Metal6/10[6]
Sleaze Roxx(favorable)[7]

Background

The music was radio-friendly, but with a progressive twist. The lyrics, however, were typical of the age and genre.[5]

The name "Sahara" appears in the lower right hand section of the album cover. The band initially wanted to call themselves "Sahara", but that name was taken by another band at the time. Though they ultimately chose the name Winger, "Sahara" remained on the cover.

A number of radio and video hits were extracted from the album, including "Headed for a Heartbreak" and "Seventeen", peaking at No. 19 and No. 26 at the Billboard's single chart. On February 11, 1989, the album peaked at number 21 on the Billboard 200,[8] and after that stayed on the chart for 63 weeks.[8] It achieved platinum status in the United States[9] and went gold in Canada[10] and Japan.

In support of the album, Winger toured for over a year with Bad Company, Scorpions, Cinderella, Bon Jovi, Poison, Skid Row and Tesla.

Promotional videos were shot for the four singles "Madalaine", "Seventeen", "Headed for a Heartbreak" and "Hungry".

Track listing
Side one
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."Madalaine"Kip Winger, Reb Beach3:44
2."Hungry"Winger, Beach3:58
3."Seventeen"Winger, Beach, Beau Hill4:05
4."Without the Night"Winger, Beach, Paul Taylor5:04
5."Purple Haze"Jimi Hendrix3:39
Side two
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
6."State of Emergency"Winger, Taylor3:37
7."Time to Surrender"Winger, Beach4:10
8."Poison Angel"Winger, Beach3:24
9."Hangin' On"Winger, Beach, Hill3:35
10."Headed for a Heartbreak"Winger5:13
CD bonus track
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
11."Higher and Higher" (B-side of the "Madalaine" single)Winger, Beach3:18

Personnel

Credits are adapted from the album's liner notes.[11]

Winger
Additional personnel
  • Dweezil Zappa – left side guitar solo on "Purple Haze"
  • Beau Hill, Ira McLaughlin – additional vocals
  • Sandra Park, Rebecca Young, Hae Young Ham, Maria Kitsopoulos – strings
Production
  • Beau Hill – producer, engineer
  • Noah Baron, Jimmy Hoyson – assistant engineers
  • Bob Schwall, Bob Caputo – technicians
  • Stephen Benben – digital editing
  • Ted Jensen – mastering at Sterling Sound, New York
  • Brad Miskel, Ron Feddor – additional input
  • Dan Hubp – cover art and design
  • Steven Selikoff – photography

Charts
Chart (1988-1989) Peak
position
Australian Albums (ARIA)[12] 153
Canada Top Albums/CDs (RPM)[13] 96
US Billboard 200[14] 21

Certifications
Region CertificationCertified units/sales
Canada (Music Canada)[15] Gold 50,000^
United States (RIAA)[16] Platinum 1,000,000^

^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.

See also

References
  1. "Top 20 Hair Metal Albums of the Eighties - Page 4 | Guitar World". October 4, 2012. Archived from the original on October 4, 2012. Retrieved March 24, 2021.
  2. "50 Greatest Hair Metal Albums of All Time". Rolling Stone. August 31, 2019. Retrieved March 24, 2021.
  3. In the Heart of the Young - Winger | Songs, Reviews, Credits | AllMusic, retrieved March 24, 2021, slick, progressive-tinged, radio-ready pop-metal featured on their debut
  4. Strong, Martin Charles (1995). The Great Rock Discography. p. 903. ISBN 9780862415419.
  5. Huey, Steve. "Winger - Winger review". AllMusic. Rovi Corporation. Retrieved May 2, 2014.
  6. Popoff, Martin (November 1, 2005). The Collector's Guide to Heavy Metal: Volume 2: The Eighties. Burlington, Ontario, Canada: Collector's Guide Publishing. pp. 415–416. ISBN 978-1894959315.
  7. "Winger - Winger". Sleaze Roxx.com. Retrieved May 2, 2014.
  8. "Winger Album & Song Chart History". Billboard.com. Retrieved March 15, 2012.
  9. RIAA Gold and Platinum Search for albums by Winger. Retrieved on May 2, 2014.
  10. "Gold Platinum Search for Winger". Music Canada. Retrieved May 2, 2014.
  11. Winger (CD Booklet). Winger. New York: Atlantic Records 7 81867-2. 1988.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  12. "Bubbling Down Under: Week commencing 21 January 1991". Retrieved February 20, 2022.
  13. "Top RPM Albums: Issue 6355". RPM. Library and Archives Canada. Retrieved 10 May 2023.
  14. "Winger Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved 10 May 2023.
  15. "Canadian album certifications – Winger – Winger". Music Canada.
  16. "American album certifications – Winger – Winger". Recording Industry Association of America.
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