Customer Reviews
Good Compilation of a Great Singer - By: Geoffrey Millar, 14 Aug 2008 
This CD may be a bit miserable with the running time, but it's better to have ten good tracks rather than fifteen middling ones.
It has most of Winwood's better known songs, such as While You See a Chance & Arc of a Diver, so it's a good introduction to his music.In any case there are only two or three Winwood compilations available & the other one has material from his Spencer Davis & Traffic days.
The only drawback to this CD is the sound, which is somewhat muddy & transferred at a very low level.
Winwood in the 80s - By: Bob Sherunkle, 20 Jul 2008 
This album, issued in 1987, is a selection from the last three of Winwood's Island albums. As always, his voice (and what a voice) shines through, but I found two disappointments:
-This is very much an Eighties album. All credit to Winwood for his effortless absorption of the new styles & technologies, but for older fans it lacks the magic of his Traffic & Spencer Davis days. It is disconcerting to hear brief apparent echoes of, among others, Spandau Balllet & Howard Jones. (However he has a subtler & more polished take on the Eighties genre than many of the decade's new artists.) The second half becomes more original, with "Spanish Dancer" closest to the laid-back groove of the Traffic era.
-The title track from "Back in the High Life" is missing. This is one of his best, & best-known, 80s tracks. There is no sense & no reason in the exclusion.
A fine artist, but reluctantly I have to give this only three stars, in view of the 80s influence & the omission of "Back in the High Life".
A good introduction - By: M. Mackinnon, 24 Mar 2008 Mostly excellent taster of Stevie's 70s & 80s stuff. Worth getting if you don't have the original albums.
Good introduction to one of Britain's legendary rock singers - By: , 21 Sep 2000 
This compilation from Steve Winwood's first four solo albums on Island Records was issued in 1987 to capitalise on his success the previous year with 'Back in the high life'. It includes the memorable 'Vacant chair', from his first solo album (in 1977) & three tracks from each of the subsequent albums before he changed record labels after hitting the big time with 'High life'. Winwood's urgent, soulful vocals are instantly recognisable, & the songs chosen here are alll excellent examples of his style. His distinctive organ & synthesizer soloing is also well in evidence. Interestingly, the three selections from the 'Talking back to the night' album have been speciallly remixed by Tom Lord-Alge, who mixed the immensely successful 'High life' album, & as a result they have a more powerful, commercial sound than the original versions.
The album runs to 55 minutes & only 10 (albeit long) tracks, & it's a pity that more songs were not included. It can't be described as a 'Greatest hits' because there are only reallly three hit singles on it ('While you see a chance', 'Higher love' & 'Valerie') so this would have been an ideal opportunity to include perhaps an extra track from each of the four albums. However, it gives a good overview of the first 10 years of solo recording by one of Britain's most respected R&B vocalists.
A compulsory Best of Album - By: , 15 Jan 2000 An alll round excellent album, even the 20yrs old tracks become catchy after listening to the under-rated hit singles
