Revolutions Very Best Of

I keep saying, greatest hits and best-of compilations are not for die-hard fans. When will they get this into their heads? Such albums are for casual listeners. So all these complaints about single edits vs. album cuts and minor, mostly-forgotten hits not being on the album are purely academic. I, for one, am quite pleased with this CD. Though I have great respect for Steve Winwood as a highly creative and true professional, the only Winwood album I have ever owned is Traffic's Low Spark of High Heeled Boys (which is a masterpiece, by the way). As such, all I have every really desired is a single or two-disk compilation with all of the hits I grew up hearing, especially Steve's solo stuff. I've waited a long time for this, as Chronicles cuts off before "Roll With It" and the first boxed set was much more than I wanted to own or pay for. And, as far as what I do want, this finally has it all!
True, "Valerie" is not the more familiar re-mix; but, as the liner notes state, that was only a "slight" re-mix. The difference to the casual listener is not significant enough to matter. As for the edit of "While You See a Chance", I never owned Arc of a Diver, so I am not familiar with the album cut. This is the version I know from radio play and it's all I wanted. And when it comes to the radio edits of "Spanish Dancer 2010" and "Dirty City"-- well, these songs are new to me, anyway, and not the reason I purchased this. But they are great tracks and I love them just as presented, so good enough. I do, though, agree that labeling "Low Spark..." as an edit when it clearly is not is a silly mistake, but a small one.
While I would have preferred a comp of all solo recordings so as to have more of a taste of this material beyond the hits as well as a more consistent listen, I do love having the two Spencer Davis Group hits and the really great Traffic songs included. And good call including a sample of something from Blind Faith. I didn't have any of these recordings (other than "Low Spark...") and I'm glad I do now.
I know Winwood's real fans would see people like me as having a shallow view. But, come on; we can't be a die-hard for every artist. There's no way we can own the complete catalogs of every artist out there who catches our attention. I am a hard-core fan of certain artists that I collect that way. Winwood's just not one of them. For us, comps like this are a great thing. If you are a die-hard, great, don't buy CD's like this one. They're redundant to your collection and not for you. But don't rain on the parade for the rest of us!

I'm not a die-hard Steve Winwood fan, but have liked enough of his songs over the years to purchase this cd.

My cd had all 17 songs listed above. Although I didn't care for all of the older songs, Gimme Some Lovin' and Dear Mr Fantasy were favorites of mine and I'm so glad they were included.

Growing up in the 80s, I loved While You See a Chance, The Finer Things, Back in the High Life, Roll With It, and Don't You Know What the Nights Can Do.

Higher Love and Valerie were also nice songs, just not favorites. But they all sound good on this collection. I'm sure that some of the older songs will rub off on me the more I listen to it.

He had an incredibly soulful voice and was an exceptionally gifted musician to boot. Young "Stevie" Winwood as he was known back then was just 18 years old when the Spencer Davis Group burst onto the scene in early 1967. Within just a few months the group boasted a pair of Top Ten singles. Yes, the future appeared extremely bright for this four man band from Birmingham, England. But Stevie Winwood had other ideas. Before the end of the year he would leave the Spencer Davis Group to form his own band that he dubbed Traffic. Winwood's timing was impeccable because Top 40 radio was just beginning to wane and within just a few years album-oriented rock stations would come to dominate the FM band. Over the next decade Traffic would become a staple of these AOR radio stations. In 1969 Winwood also became a part of rock's very first supergroup Blind Faith. Then in 1980 Steve Winwood would embark on a highly successful solo career. The 2010 single disc release "Revolutions: The Very Best of Steve Winwood" offers up a dozen and a half prime cuts from all the phases of Winwood's remarkable career. I must say that I enjoyed each and every track in this collection.

"Revolutions" kicks off with those two monster 1967 hits with the Spencer Davis Group. Both "Gimme Some Lovin" and "I'm A Man" put the rock world on notice that lead singer and keyboardist Steve Winwood was going to be a major player in the years ahead. What then follows are five tracks featuring some of Traffic's finest work. I particularly enjoyed a tune called "No Face, No Name, No Number" from Traffic's 1968 debut LP "Mr. Fantasy". I might also recommend to you the incredible seven minute instrumental simply called "Glad" which according to the liner notes "veers experimentally and breathlessly between the lines of cool jazz and psychedila." Great stuff! This is followed by a tune from the one and only Blind Faith album featuring Winwood, Eric Clapton, Ginger Baker and Rick Grech.

The remainder of "Revolutions: The Very Best of Steve Winwood" features seven of Steve's solo hits from the 1980's. Six of the seven hit the Top Ten on Billboard's Top Pop SIngles chart. Every one of them is fabulous but my personal favorites are 1981's "While You See A Chance", "The Finer Things" and "Back In the High Life Again" which features a bagpipe which is extremely unusual to hear in rock and roll. "Dirty City" is a duet with Eric Clapton that appeared on Winwood's 2008 album "Nine Lives". Both men sound great! Island records also chose to include one brand new recording in "Revolutions". "Spanish Dancer 2010" finds Winwood in fine form and confirms to me that Steve Winwood is still quite capable of making great music at the age of 62.

I was a bit surprised that several reviewers on Amazon were quite critical of this disc. A few felt that the 18 tracks offered here did not do the man justice. I disagee. I think that for most music fans "Revolutions: The Very Best of Steve Winwood" offers the familiar music we would want to hear most. But Steve Winwood fanatics should know that Island records has simultaeously issued a four disc, 58 track box set by the same name. That would be far more Winwood than I would ever want or need. "Revolutions: The Very Best of Steve Winwood" is a great way to recall some of the fabulous music he made for us over the years. There is a neat 12 page booklet included and the remastering job is excellent. Very highly recommended!

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