I never expected a comeback from 'Winger', but was always hopeful as I thought their last release was nothing short of a outstanding, thankfully the line-up is the same as with 'Pull', plus the addition of guitarist 'John Roth' and 'Cenk Eroglu' on keys. Musically it follows in the footsteps of it's predecessor and thankfully doesn't go down the Pop Metal route of the first two releases. The big question is can 'Winger' still cut it? well they can certainly still knock out a quality tune or two, but in all honesty 'Winger IV' lacks the urgency and catchiness to revival 'Pull' and overall is more inconsistent than I would have hoped for.

The fourth instalment of 'Winger' opens strongly with the moody rocker 'Right Up Ahead', a nicely layered track which incorporates more melodic passages, but still retains the edginess of work from 'Pull', 'Kip Winger's' vocals remain sharp, while 'Reb Beach' gets in some fine guitar licks. Urm, 'Blue Suede Shoes' ensues and to be blunt this is filler and damn early in the album, a slightly mystical haunting piece that initially looks promising, but develops into a dreary ballad, the keyboard work of 'Cenk Eroglu' adds a nice atmosphere, but the chorus is dull, trite and plain boring. Back on track is the carefree, but pulsating 'Four Leaf Clover', personally I can't get into the lyrics but musically it's just splendid, great driving rhythm work, gorgeous guitar solos and 'Kip's' vocals really hit the spot here. Regrettably momentum is again lost with the blatantly titled 'M16' and in contrast to the previous track 'Kip' sounds out of his league trying to sing so highly, there's some nice work here and there, but dubious, trite lyrics are again order of the day. The band recovers quickly with the excellent up-tempo rocker 'Your Great Escape' which recalls some of the brisker tracks from 'Pull', superb energy throughout, while the song is further bolstered with a shredding 'Beach' solo and a solid harmonious chorus- best cut present. Following strongly is the moody mid-tempo rocker 'Disappear' and although it takes a slightly more modern approach, is still trademark 'Winger', nicely penned and sweetly executed, featuring the usual biting 'Reb Beach' solo. The pace drops for the forlorn ballad 'On a Day Like Today' and 'Kip Winger' steals the show here with an exacting performance, whilst the supporting melody is also pretty impressive. The pace is lifted for the 'Westworld' style 'Livin' Just to Die', which is a decent up tempo track, while the more modern sounding 'Short Flight to Mexico' is a pleasant and effective change of direction. The album closes with two solid if unremarkable cuts, which surprisingly both have an 'Alice Cooper' feel to them, the first of which is 'Generica' an awkward Jazz Rock Fusion sounding piece, that over six minutes soon becomes very tedious- weak effort. The last cut 'Can't Take it Back' is thankfully an improvement, but I was looking for a better track to end the album, 'Reb Beach' gets in some nice licks here and there, but overall lacks enough pace variation to keep the interest.

I'd love to say this was on-a-par with the sublime 'Pull' but regrettably it isn't the case, in fact I've found this a frustrating release as at times it's very impressive, but to be frank the edge is sadly taken off by three pretty inferior tracks.