Live Through The '80s also offers performances from New Hampshire (1984); Bromma, Sweden (1987); and Pistoia, Italy (1988), among other locations. Among the songs included on Live Through The '80s are such fan faves as "Sweet Papa John," "Good Times Woman," "Mojo Boogie," Bob Dylan's "Highway 61 Revisited," the classic Sonny Boy Williamson song "Unseen Eye," and Winter's trademark take on Chuck Berry's "Johnny B. Goode." Intercut between these performances is rare interview footage of Winter backstage, and on his tour bus, talking about his music and love of the blues.
Hardcore Johnny Winter fans already know this, but the mid-1980s was a particularly creative time for the guitarist. His association with the noted blues label Alligator Records resulted in three good-to-excellent albums - 1984's Guitar Slinger, 1985's Serious Business, and 1986's Third Degree - and the decade was bookended by 1980's Raisin' Cain and 1988's The Winter of '88 albums. Throughout the decade, Winter led a potent "power trio" of musicians that included talented bass player and harpist Jon Paris. It's an era of the guitarist's career worth revisiting, Live Through The '80s a welcome addition to the (still growing) Johnny Winter catalog.