PULSE! - June 1998 JOHNNY WINTER - LIVE IN NYC '98 By Ted Drozdowski Texas guitar-hound Johnny Winter is living the blues cliche' that the music players improve with age. After years of tearing loose so many notes he sometimes sounded like he'd plugged his guitar into a blender, the flamboyant string-bender's learned to ease up and let his phrases breathe. That's when the sould seeps in. And these nine tunes on Live in NYC '97, ooze with the stuff; especially his takes on Elmore James' classic slider "The Sky is Crying" and Snooks Eaglin's "Drop the Bomb". Sure, Winter still steps on the gas, but the ease and full-bodied tone of his picking is the mark of a master, not a mere pyrotechnician. Winter's calling this all-covers CD a love letter to his fans. Nonetheless, the absence of any new material on this in-concert set makes it seem just a stop-gap for a long overdue studio release.