Customer Reviews

The Best of Steve Winwood - 20th Century Masters - The Millennium Collection

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(5)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Few artists in the field of rock and roll have grown a catalog as wide and deep as Steve Winwood, and this 'Millenium Collection' serves as a scythe to mow down a hearty harvest of his early work. To do so, producer Bill Levenson reaped the firstfruits from Winwood's plantings in three important bands: The Spencer Davis Group, Traffic, and Blind Faith.

The Spencer Davis Group was the muscle car, the GTO of 1960's rock and roll, and the only Winwood band to produce music suitable to Top-40 radio. Their two biggest hits, both from 1967, 'Gimme Some Lovin' (charting out at #7), and 'I'm a Man' (#9) are included here. Both songs feature guitar and organ riffs reminisent of a runaway locomotive, and both feature no less than 6 percussionists adding to the barely controlled din, including 3 future members of Traffic: Dave Mason (at that time a roadie for the band), Jim Capaldi and Chris Wood. It is hard to believe that Winwood was only 19 years old and a 5 year veteran of The Spencer Davis Group when these songs were recorded. Not surprisingly rhythm guitarist Davis consented to a modification of the band's name after the success of these two songs: The Spencer Davis Group featuring Steve Winwood.

But most of the songs on 'Millennium' are drawn from the progressive rock produced by Winwood's second band, Traffic. It is hard to argue with the selections here, beginning with 'Paper Sun' (the band's most successful US single, topping out at number 74, though in the UK it rose to #5) and 'Dear Mr. Fantasy' from late 1967, and '40,000 Headmen' and 'Pearly Queen' from late 1968. The two former songs were prototypes in the emergence of acid-rock, simultaneously pioneered by artists such as The Beatles, The Byrds, Jefferson Airplane, and Jimi Hendrix. 'Pearly Queen' has become a rock classic in its own right, and perhaps the most covered Winwood song ever.

Winwood broke with Traffic briefly in 1969 to team with future Traffic bassist Rick Grech and two-thirds of Cream, Eric Clapton and drummer Ginger Baker, to form the short-lived 'supergroup' Blind Faith. Two of Winwood's best compositions from that band's only release are included here, 'Had To Cry Today', which climaxes in a captivating mix of guitar virtuosity from Clapton and Winwood, and the soft and thoughtful 'Can't Find My Way Home'.

The collection concludes with selections from Winwood's second stint with Traffic. First up are two selections from the 'John Barleycorn Must Die' album, 'John Barleycorn' himself, and the classic 'Empty Pages' (the band's only other US single, stopping dead at #94). If I was given my druthers, I would have chosen 'Freedom Rider' rather than 'John Barleycorn' from the 'John Barleycorn...' album, but given the emphasis on Traffic's epic rock numbers here, the selection of the melodious 'John Barleycorn' is understandable. Further, the song has lyrics penned by poet Robert Burns in the 18th Century, based on a character created by Jack London, lending it historical interest. 'John Barleycorn' was the first American novel to explore the tribulations of alcoholism.

The last song on the CD may be the best known of all Traffic recordings, 'Low Spark of High-Heeled Boys', with lyrics penned by Capaldi (and inspired by 'Bonnie and Clyde' actor Michael J. Pollard) and music by Winwood. Like many Traffic recordings, the lyrics of 'Low Spark...' are steeped in the symbolism characteristic of good psychedelia. Winwood's taste for challenging lyrical content actually harkens back to some of his earliest compositions. Consider this line from 'I'm a Man': "If I had my choice of matter, I would rather be with cats, all engrossed in mental chatter, showing where our minds are at". If you've been around since the 60's and haven't 'gotten it' yet, the stylings of Winwood's imaginative mind may elude you. So be forewarned, but hopefully tuned into, this impressive collection.

Steve Winwood is one of the finest musical artists to have existed in the latter half of the twentieth century. From his days with the Spencer Davis Group to his days in the eighties as a pop-rock solo artist, he rarely failed to please. It's no surprise he got a CD in the Twentieth Century Masters collection. Read on for my review.

PROS:
-This compilation has Spencer Davis Group, Blind Faith, and Traffic material, meaning you get several hits. Among these are I'm a Man, Gimme Some Lovin', Paper Sun, and Dear Mr. Fantasy.
-This is an affordable compilation, making it ideal for the casual fan on a budget.

CONS:
-WHY IS THERE NO SOLO MATERIAL ON THIS DISC!? Higher Love and Roll With It are masterpieces, and I can't forgive their omissions.
-The CD doesn't fill the eighty minute time limit. This means they had plenty of room to put solo material on here.

OVERALL:
This is a decent compilation, but there are sure to be better ones out there. And needless to say, better ones are probably on the way. Get this if you find it for a good price, but don't spend too much!

This is an interesting disk in that it's mood keeps evolving and this particular millenium collection won't let you down except I noticed some distortion.My interest was mainly in Steve's earlier recordings and there are many that didn't make this compilation. Buy this because it's important. Three stars.

I saw this at a music store and sneered when I realized there was no solo Winwood here, but the point of this collection is clearly to give an overview of his great years with Blind Faith, the Spencer Davis Group and Traffic. "Gimme Some Lovin'" and "I'm A Man" are the two best (and best-known) Spencer Davis songs, and "Can't Find My Way Home" is a gem from Blind Faith (also included is "Had To Cry Today," which shows off another side of that great, one-shot band).

There are half a dozen choice Traffic cuts, including "The Low Spark of High Heeled Boys," "Paper Sun" and "John Barleycorn." If you're only familiar with Winwood's solo career--and he's had some great moments since establishing himself as a solo hitmaker around 1980 or so--you'll feel like a kid at Christmas upon discovering how great these songs are (and that this is the same Steve Winwood who sang "While You See A Chance," "Higher Love," "Valerie," "Roll With It" and more).

Winwood has some good solo LP's and one truly great one ("Arc of a Diver"), and there are 4-5 excellent Traffic albums you'll be interested in after listening to this disc. Likewise, you'll probably want to buy the Blind Faith album (they just made one, and it has been remastered and re-released in the last couple of years). But start here if all the Winwood you know is from 1980-2000. You won't be disappointed.

The Best of Steve Winwood? I think not or at least regarding his independent efforts. Sure this CD offers many great songs from his earlier musical career with bands The Spencer Davis Group, Blind Faith and Traffic but no evidence is provided from his continuing works as a solo artist. Track titles While You See A Chance, Higher Love, Valerie, Talking Back To The Night, Arc Of A Diver and Wake Me Up On Judgement Day among significant others all were given the brush aside. Like some roundabout recording company, it's as though Polygram had released this compilation in an attempt to reap in any remaining, possible profit(s). If you want the best from Winwood's solo career get the Chronicles compilation instead. No Spanish Dancer would be authentic with those other group singles conveniently tapped into place. Be certain Winwood's best or near most popular music recordings are the one's you purchased and not some previous band's singles. Again however, if only previous session work done with other bands is entirely what you want, this anthology might just prove to be ideal - does not directly support/promote individual hit collections from those mentioned groups but that I guess remains their discussion or debate and really no main concern/argument for any potential CD buyer(s)...

I think that the title of this series, "20th Century Masters", is truly accurate when applied to Steve Winwood. An almost unmatched vocalist (I, for one, think only Thom Yorke of Radiohead comes close today), magnificent piano, organ (harpsichord etc.etc.) And guitar player, And songwriter to boot, the guy is completely way above capacity with that rare form of transcendental musical talent.
I am glad that the cd only captures his work from the late 60's, early 70's, because it was his best period. Although (and here's picking at straws) if it were me, I would have definitly added "Rainmaker" and "Heaven is in your Mind" and left out "Empty Pages" which is the one song on the compliation which hints of Winwood's future direction.

If your just looking for some highlights from early Steve Winwood, I think this disc does a very nice job. You get two songs from Blind Faith (both winners), and some darn good picks from the days of Traffic. The Spencer Davis Group makes an appearance on this disc as well. I was very surprised to hear some pretty decent sound come from this CD - I was expecting the worst and actually wound up being impressed. You get 11 tracks, which is just right for the casual fan - a nice little package with some very good picks here. Highly recommended.

Unlike much most of Universal's "Millenium" series, this collection is actually quite well thought out. It provides a nice sampling of Stevie's early work (Spencer Davis, Blind Faith, both periods of Traffic), and features such classics as "Paper Sun", "Dear Mr. Fantasy", and "Can't Find My Way Home". At fifty-seven minutes, it's a good value, as well. Unfortunately, the sound is not very good at all, which keeps it from getting a fourth star. It's sad that a major label can't do better work than this, especially when all these songs appeared in fine-sounding versions on the "Finer Things" box set.

This is a fine, affordable best of collection for a relatively minor artist. All of Winwood's best work was done in in his late 60s, early 70s trio of bands - Spencer Davis Group, Blind Faith and Traffic. This collects all the best tracks in a concise package. Essential

As has oft been noted in the Millennium series, these collections are far less than they could be. Most run about 35-40 minutes and have no more than 12 tunes. Inexcusable to leave that much blank space on a CD. With some artists, like The Who or Bing Crosby, the amount of material left off is criminal. With less lights such as Burt Bacharach or .38 Special, finding 10 tracks is a stretch.

Steve Winwood presents a unique problem: His solo albums, with great tracks like Roll With It, Higher Love, While You See A Chance, and Valerie, were not recorded for MCA. Similarly, his earlier work with Traffic, Blind Faith (only one album) and Spencer Davis, were separately insufficient to justify a "Greatest Hits" release.

So instead, MCA has merged these disparate groups into a single desparate album. Not a single track is credited to Winwood as a solo act.

The soul-pop of Davis jars with the heavy prog rock of Faith & Traffic. If you're really interested in those groups, there are better collections that don't skim the most obvious surfaces. If you want a complete overview of the Winwood career, check his box set "The Finer Things".

But if you already have the Steve Winwood Chronicles, consisting of his biggest hits while on the Virgin label, then this is an adequate place to catch up on his earlier work without duplication.