Arc of a Diver

Arc of a Diver
Studio album by Steve Winwood
Released	31 December 1980
Recorded	1980 at Netherturkdonic Studios, Gloucestershire, England
Genre	Rock, Blue-eyed soul, New Wave, synthpop, soft rock
Length	40:02
Label	Island
Producer	Steve Winwood
Steve Winwood chronology
Steve Winwood (1977)Steve Winwood1977 Arc of a Diver (1980) Talking Back to the Night (1982)Talking Back to the Night1982

Arc of a Diver is the second studio solo album by singer/multi-instrumentalist, Steve Winwood. All of the instruments featured on the album were performed entirely by Winwood.

Featuring his first solo hit, "While You See a Chance" (which peaked at No. 7 on the Billboard Hot 100 in the United States), this was Winwood's true breakthrough album as a solo artist. It peaked at No. 3 on the Billboard 200 album chart, establishing him as a commercially viable act.

The cover artwork for the album was by Tony Wright.

Recording

Recorded at Winwood's Netherturkdonic Studios, built at his farm in Gloucestershire, he played all the instruments, wrote all the music, and produced and engineered it himself.

Critical reception

Professional ratings
Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic
The New York Times	(favorable)

Reviewing for AllMusic, critic William Ruhlmann wrote of the album "Utterly unencumbered by the baggage of his long years in the music business, Winwood reinvents himself as a completely contemporary artist on this outstanding album, leading off with his best solo song, "While You See a Chance."" Reviewing for The New York Times, critic Robert Palmer wrote of the album "Winwood's impressive playing and arranging and utterly distinctive vocals make several of his collaborations with Mr. Jennings, especially the brooding Night Train, almost as memorable."

Track listing

All songs written by Steve Winwood & Will Jennings except where noted.

Side one

1. "While You See a Chance" - 5:12
2. "Arc of a Diver" (Winwood, Vivian Stanshall) - 5:28
3. "Second-Hand Woman" (Winwood, George Fleming) - 3:41
4. "Slowdown Sundown"- 5:27

Side two

5. "Spanish Dancer"- 5:58
6. "Night Train"- 7:51
7. "Dust" (Winwood, Fleming) - 6:20

Additional tracks

2012 Deluxe reissue Disc Two
"Arc of a Diver" (Winwood, Vivian Stanshall)- 4:16 - Edited US Single Version "Night Train"- 6:44 - Instrumental Version "Spanish Dancer"- 6:13 - 2010 Version "Arc of a Diver: The Steve Winwood Story"- 56:33 - Originally aired on BBC Radio 2

Production

• Produced, engineered & mixed by Steve Winwood
• Additional engineering by John "Nobby" Clarke
• Tracks 2 & 3 published by Fantasy Songs Ltd.-Warner Brothers Music
• Track 7 published by Fantasy Songs Ltd.
• All other tracks published by Fantasy Songs Ltd./Rondor Music-London-Ltd.

Personnel

• Steve Winwood – acoustic & electric guitars, mandolin, bass, drums, percussion, drum machines, keyboards, synthesizers, organ, lead & backing vocals

Charts

Peak positions

Chart (1981)	Position
Australian Kent Music Report	5
Canadian RPM Albums Chart	1
Dutch Mega Albums Chart	6
French SNEP Albums Chart	3
New Zealand Albums Chart	3
Norwegian Albums Chart	24
Swedish Albums Chart	33
UK Albums Chart	13
United States Billboard 200	3
West German Media Control Albums Chart	26

Year-end charts

Chart (1981)	Position
Canadian Albums Chart	12
Dutch Albums Chart	35
French Albums Chart	56
US Billboard Pop Albums	17

Certifications

Region	Certification
Canada (Music Canada)	Platinum
United Kingdom (BPI)	Silver
United States (RIAA)	Platinum

External links

• Arc of a Diver (Adobe Flash) at Radio3Net (streamed copy where licensed)

Preceded by Hi Infidelity by REO Speedwagon Face Dances by The Who Face Value by Phil Collins

Canadian RPM 100 number-one album 18 April – 1 May, 1981 (2 weeks) 16 May, 1981 (1 week) 13 June (1 week)

Succeeded by Hi Infidelity by REO Speedwagon Face Value by Phil Collins Mistaken Identity by Kim Carnes