AMG Review of Revolutions: The Very Best of Steve Winwood

Stephen Thomas Erlewine
All Music Guide

The single-disc distillation of Universal’s 2010 four-disc box set Revolutions: The Very Best of Steve Winwood offers as well-balanced a look at Winwood’s career as could possibly be done in a 17-track collection. Opening with a pair of the Spencer Davis Group’s biggest hits (“Gimme Some Lovin’,” “I’m a Man”), this then gives way to five selections from Traffic, including “Dear Mr. Fantasy” and “Glad,” and a stop at Blind Faith’s “Can’t Find My Way Home” before winding through all of his ‘80s solo hits (substituting a new 2010 version of “Spanish Dancer” for the original), concluding with a duet with Eric Clapton on “Dirty City.” There may be a few other tracks that could have made the cut, but what is here provides an effective introductory sampler to Winwood’s wide-ranging career.