WORTH THE 37 YEAR WAIT
Rick Rangel | Clute,TX USA | 05/21/2008
(5 out of 5 stars)
"I first bought this album ,actually it was a cassette ,
in 1971.For legal reasons,this double album was taken off the shelf
almost as soon as it appeared.I think it had something to do with
not getting Stevie's permission on some of the songs but regardless,it has been out of print for almost 40 years!!! This compilation had
a little bit of everything Stevie had done up to that point. Traffic's
LOW SPARK OF HIGH HEELED BOYS would not be released until that fall.It
was a very good primer of his early work.There are seven songs from his days with The Spencer Davis Group and they are early 'blues rock" gems.The only complaint is that the version of "Gimme Some Lovin'" is NOT the same cut
as the single release.For my nickel ,this version lacks the energy of the single version and lacks the backing vocals that pushed that song. Along with Santana's ' Everybody's Everthing" ,there is no higher energetic
3 minutes in all of rock'n'roll!!!There is one cut with his stint in the short lived Blind Faith and the rest of the album is filled with his days with Traffic. "Little Stevie" is almost sixty years old now,he has toned down his music to a more smooth ,jazzy feel and I have no problem with that.
However,if you want to hear what he sounded like when he was just starting
out,you can't beat this.The copy I got was an import from Japan and it
seems like Paul Weller is responsible in part for having this awesome
anthology re-released.Bravo,sir!!! This album is like an old friend coming
back into your life and they haven't changed a bit."
