Steve Winwood--The Finer Things

Steve Winwood is one of the most talented musicians of our time, period. His illustrious career spans parts of five decades, and he rates as one of the most highly-regarded artists by his peers, as well as the music-consuming public. Winwood is an accomplished songwriter and vocalist, and can literally play any instrument he picks up; his musical skills are so great that he has performed as a sessions player on countless records. He became quite adept with his production skills early on, and he is quite capable of creating a solo "one-man" album, where he plays all instruments, does all vocals, and produces the whole thing. Mix in Winwood's eagerness to experiment and explore, and you have a truly great musician

The Finer Things, released in 1995 by Island Records, provides an excellent collection of the work of Steve Winwood. By no means comprehensive, this four-disc issue nonetheless provides a very illustrative guide to the career of this monumental musician from 1964 through 1990. If ever a boxed set contained the material that shaped the career of an artist, this is it.

Disc One has Steve Winwood's earliest work, as the sixteen-year old vocalist, keyboardist and guitarist from the Spencer Davis Group. These first recordings do more than hint at the electrifying vocal style of Winwood--his work on tunes like Gimme Some Lovin' and I'm A Man offer a unique perspective on his bluesy, primal style. Winwood was so impressive as a vocalist that he appeared on a couple of songs with Eric Clapton And The Powerhouse, a seminal blues band from the mid-60's--his versions of Crossroads and I Want To Know show just why Clapton wanted this young man in his band. The remainder of Disc One has several tunes from Winwood's first stint with Traffic--songs like Dear Mr. Fantasy, Paper Sun, and Shanghai Noodle Factory point up Winwood's willingness to experiment with different instrumentation and musical styles, at times flirting with the jazz form.

Disc Two has five tracks from the ill-fated Blind Faith experiment--even though the band was widely regarded as a "supergroup", it never really blossomed. Still, tracks like Sea Of Joy, one of the most beautiful songs ever written, and Had To Cry Today emphasize the talents of this band, and the seasoning of Winwood as a vocalist. The remainder of Disc Two consists of songs from his second stint with Traffic--it's interesting to listen to these tracks and hear the musical progression that was taking place. Winwood was the ringleader in the experimentation orientated music of Traffic, and tunes like John Barleycorn and Freedom Rider perfectly express the talents of this band.

Disc Three concludes the Traffic phase of Winwood's career--tracks like Shoot Out At The Fantasy Factory and When The Eagle Flies make you wonder what could have been had Traffic remained a cohesive entity. Disc Three also contains some little-known Steve Winwood music--his collaboration with Remi Kabaka and Abdul Lasisi Amao shows his affinity for African percussion on songs like Happy Vibes, and this style has remained an integral part of his musical style to this day. A short-lived association with Japanese percussionist Stomu Yamashta and his band Go is likewise documented here; tunes like Winner/Loser illustrate Winwood's flair for doing something different, yet retaining some of those different influences in his later work. Disc Three concludes with some of the earliest Steve Winwood solo work--Hold On is one of his earliest classics, and Vacant Chair deftly presages the Winwood of the 1980's.

Disc Four represents the excellence that Steve Winwood achieved as a solo performer. Unforgettable songs like Arc Of A Diver, Valerie, Back In The High Life Again, and The Finer Things illustrate how Winwood "came of age". His music from his solo career is superlative, and emphasizes his growth as a musician from the days when he was a sixteen-year old wailing lead singer for the Spencer Davis Group. Music like this makes you certain that Winwood is more than deserving of the respect that is afforded him as one of rock music's "elder statesmen".

In addition to all of the great music contained in this boxed set (by my count there are sixty three tracks!), there is a forty seven page insert that gives you a pretty good history of Steve Winwood, from his earliest musical experience with a band consisting of his father, Lawrence, and his brother, Muff, up to his days as a premier solo artist. This little booklet is chock-full of information, not only about Winwood, but about the tracks on the discs--the information itself is worth the price of the boxed set.

Needless to say, I highly recommend The Finer Things. Some people have mixed feelings about boxed sets, but I tend to judge each one individually and on its own merits.

This one is the real deal!