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

Great Collection

To get an overview of the music Steve Winwood's been involved with, you have to look at the bands he's been in and the influence they've had.

That's all captured here in an outstanding collection of songs. I think you could debate what to add and what to leave out, but you can't argue that Winwood is an outstanding musician who has been quenching our musical thirsts for years. May 8, 2008

The most original Winwood collection on the market

Steve Winwood. He has a legendary rock and roll voice, and there's nobody quite like him. And, in 2000, he was awarded a collection in UMG's '20th Century Masters' series.

Unlike 'Chronicles,' this set features none of Steve Winwood's solo years. Instead, you get, in my opinion, his best years. You get his work with The Spencer Davis Group, Blind Faith and Traffic.

But, every single major hit from all three of the bands are featured here. 'I'm A Man (Spencer Davis Group),' 'Dear Mr. Fantasy (Traffic),' 'Can't Find My Way Home (Blind Faith),' and of course 'Gimme Some Lovin' (Spencer Davis Group).'

This set is mostly Traffic songs. 7 out of the 11 songs featured here are Traffic songs.

This is an excellent. Buy this and 'Chronicles' and you have all of Winwood's most important work. Highly recommended for any Winwood fan. ENJOY!!! March 5, 2008

Foundation of Winwood's work

Steve Winwood's enormous talent and his mark on music history in the last 40 years is often overlooked by many. He is one of the most respected and important musicians in the industry, and in music history. He is perhaps overshadowed by folks like Clapton. This CD of his early work profiles all his best. Some have berated his following 80's work as pop puff, but that being far from the case it further exemplifies his genius to create good, strong, solid music with fresh sound. This CD belongs in any serious music collection. April 11, 2007

A MUST HAVE LIST TOP 10

I got this today and I disagree with the other reviewers this right here is a good compilation it consists of 11 songs written and sung by Steve Winwood from the '60s to the early '70s you must have this there is not a bad song on here . Steve Winwood performed each song at least once during his tours from 2003-2006 January 16, 2006

Good selection, title misleading

When you first see this cover in the record shop bins, you are fully expecting a collection of Winwood's solo work from 1977-87, prior to being wooed away to Virgin. You turn it over and discover the tracks are his best-known works with the Spencer Davis Group, Traffic and Blind Faith, and limited to the period 1966-72. It's not really surprising that Universal would do this; the compilers at Universal are not the music lovers who used to run the labels over which the company now has jurisdiction, and so I dock this collection a star for that.

That said, however, this *is* a good collection. As I said before, these are some of Winwood's best-known tracks, and in fact some of his best, period. The Universal compilers chose well for what is a essentially a budget-line anthology, and the remastering job is good, too. You certainly can't go wrong with such classics as "Gimme Some Lovin'," "I'm a Man" (Chicago's cover never did justice to this song), "40,000 Headmen," "Dear Mr. Fantasy," "Had to Cry Today," "John Barleycorn," and of course "The Low Spark of High-Heeled Boys."

I would like to correct a mistake made by one reviewer--the lyrics to "John Barleycorn" are not the work of Robert Burns, but in fact go back much farther. The song is at least 500 years old; dear Bobby Burns may have, at some point, written some variation on the lyrics (the notes to the original LP, John Barleycorn Must Die, point out that there are many variations of this song throughout the British Isles--versions are known to exist in Ireland, Scotland, Wales and England, all round the same basic theme), but the version here is definitely 15th Century British. "And little Sir John, and the nut-brown bowl/And his brandy in the glass/And little Sir John, and the nut-brown bowl/Proved the strongest man at last...."

A good place for anyone unfamiliar with Winwood's early work to start, I definitely recommend it. January 7, 2006

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