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From:Steve Winwood , Island ,
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User Rating: Amazon Sales Rank:#5492 |
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2 of 2 customers found the following review helpful:
 A decent sampler but scratches the surface., 2005-03-03
This is a wonderfully diverse sample of Winwoods 20 years of music making (at the time of this release) and all of the tracks are great. "Higher Love" was a well-deserved hit and "My Loves Leavin" is pure ecstacy. Yet there are far more lesser known songs on here that are also enjoyable like "Vacant Chair" and "Wake Me Up ON Judgement Day". The tracks from his 1982 "Talking Back" album are redone with a 1987 production and are great but I would've liked to hear them in their original versions. oVERALL this is a very good CD but there are a lot more great songs that are completely overlooked on this collection. It is however a great purchase to start off with or to introduce a newcomer to Steve's music!
2 of 6 customers found the following review helpful:
 mixed bag from 1977-1986, 2004-12-13
I have to say from the start I wouldn't class myself as a Steve Winwood fan - I liked his work with Spencer Davis Group and Traffic but solo he's been a bit hit and miss.
The collection proves that point - the recently sampled 'Valerie' is here; alongside his 1980s hit 'Higher Love' (which sounds dated and a bit naff now). There's an awful lot of rubbish on here which shows a remarkable lack of imagination from Winwood and his usual collaborator Jennings.
I welcome a CD which brings together the three (excellent) tracks which were collaborations between Winwood and Viv Stanshall though - 'Vacant Chair' from 1977; 'Arc of a Diver' from 1980; and 'My Love's Leavin'' from 1986. These tracks are terrific and - for me - worth the price of the album alone. I'll pass on the rest.
2 of 3 customers found the following review helpful:
Could have been better., 2004-05-16
"Chronicles" isn't really a "Best Of", or a "Greatest Hits", but more of a sampling of his best songs. It does include "While You See A Chance", "Valerie", and "Higher Love", but at just 10 tracks, it's missing way too much, and should have another 6-8 hits. Even from just his late 80's albums, where's "Finer Things", "Freedom Overspill", "Back In The High Life Again", "Holding On", "Roll With It", and the excellent "Don't You Know What The Night Can Do?". Still, this is pretty good, and will have to do until we get an "Essential Winwood" collection.
1 of 2 customers found the following review helpful:
 Cannot travel without it, 2004-04-27
My husband and I love this CD. Ours got ruined and we just had to get another one. We took it on a cross-country trip a few years back and found that it was almost entirely all we listened to. It is a great, relaxing and enjoyable combination of tunes by Steve Winwood. We do not agree on much in the way of music so to find a CD like this that suits us so well is a great thing.
Fine sampling of some of Winwood's better songs, 2002-12-20
"Chronicles" is not an album in the purest sense, but rather an anthology of songs from some Steve Winwood's better solo albums. While Winwood's name may not be well known to everyone, his music, without a doubt, is. After earning his stripes with such notable groups as The Spencer Davis Group, Blind Faith (with Eric Clapton), and, most notably, Traffic, Winwood branched out into a solo career and found enormous success in that arena. "Chronicles" is the perfect sampler for people who may not be sure they know Steve Winwood or only know a couple of songs. It takes a cross-section of his best tracks from a number of his solo albums and puts them together in this fine listening experience.
Out of the 10 tracks, there are only two songs that don't really impress me: "Arc of a Diver" and "Spanish Dancer". Their musical stylings don't really support the soaring, fast-paced theme of this album. Beyond those, there are four minor hits with "Vacant Chair, "Help Me Angel", "My Love's Leaving", and "Talking back to the Night". All have their good musical moments and fit well in this album.
From there, you get the major hits from Steve Winwood. The most underrated one is "Wake Me Up on Judgment", which tells the story of man who has lived a hard life and tells his tale of just waiting until Judgment Day when he believes he will feel glory again. "Higher Love" is one of Winwood's bigger hits with self-explanatory meaning and the unmistakable beat of the drums at the song's start.
The true stellar tracks on this album are "While You See a Chance" and "Valerie". "While You See a Chance" begins almost like a church hymn and then transitions fast-paced parable about making the most of the opportunities that life gives you. "Valerie" is just an unbelievably amazing song. From the opening drum beats combined with the synthesizer tunes, this song simply soars and seems to completely surround and embrace the listener. Electric guitar and horns, in addition to the drums and synthesizer, are what power this heartfelt remembrance of a former love and plea for it to return. The saxophone interlude just prior the final verse is one of finest selections of music I have ever heard.
The lack of "The Finer Things" and "Back in the High Life" and the inclusion of the two underwhelming tracks I mentioned earlier are the only things costing this album a 5-star rating. But, beyond that, if this album doesn't make you a Steve Winwood fan, nothing will. Chances are, though, that if you do listen this and have never heard him before, you will fall in love with his music. If you're a long time fan, you greatly appreciate this anthology of his best solo efforts. It's truly amazing.
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