Average Customer Review: ( 44 customer reviews )
Write an online review and share your thoughts with other customers.
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
93 of 94 found the following review helpful:
 Good compilation, but not the longer album cuts Sep 26, 2001
By Kenneth Walker
As a fan of BS&T from the original days, but with no LP's of the band in my possession, I had been looking for a "best of" CD compilation when I came across this one on Amazon. The real excellence of the band is, in my opinion, due to the exemplary jazz chops showcased on so many of their songs, so I wanted to make sure this compilation was complete in that respect--in other words, containing full album cuts, rather than the shorter "radio" versions as played in the band's heyday...Two of the band's signature hits, "And When I Die" and "Spinning Wheel" are, alas, the SHORTER versions, missing the outstanding jazz breaks altogether. Not that that's bad, as BS&T's songs are so good that they defy editing; but these shorter versions just don't showcase the band to its fullest extent.Thankfully, "God Bless The Child" DOES have it's jazzy interlude intact--an extraordinary example of BS&T at its best. Granted, this is a "greatest hits" CD--hits based on radio play of the shorter versions. But it could have been a MAGNIFICENT collection if it had included the longer, complete versions of all the songs. As it is, it's "merely" better-than-good.
59 of 60 found the following review helpful:
Big Band Rock When It Wasn't An Oxymoron Jan 03, 2000
By Anthony G Pizza
"trivialtony"
"What goes up...must come down," so the song says, and with Blood Sweat and Tears an era of jazz-rock fusion did both. These songs were standards in 1969 -- three hit #2 on the charts -- and introduced a new rock and roll style that Chicago softened and rolled into a hit-making machine throughout the 70s. Lead singer David Clayton-Thomas rips through his material with a preacher's passion, especially Laura Nyro's "And When I Die," his own "Spinning Wheel," "Lucretia McEvil," and "Lisa, Listen to Me." But it's "Sometimes In Winter" and the two songs from the first, non-Clayton-Thomas album, "I Can't Quit Her," and "I Love You More Than You'll Ever Know," that show how progressive this music was and could've been under original leader Al Kooper. Even so, this is an excellent sampler from a group which sincerely tried to bridge two generations of music.
21 of 22 found the following review helpful:
 Great stuff from a happy time. Jul 29, 2000
By Eric V. Moye
Another reviewer stole my opening line: This album does make me so very happy. Argue all you wish about whether BS&T was better with or without David Clayton-Thomas. You cannot argue with the fact that this reissue has some really great music, and most of the band's best! We expect them to rock the house with songs like "Spinning Wheel", and "Lucretia McEvil". The in-your-face horn section does not overplay the band on their gentler hits found here, like "Somethimes in Winter" or "I Love You More Than You'll Ever Know". I must disagree with another reviewer with regard to the jazz interludes which appear here in some songs (as opposed to the A.M. radio versions). They positively make songs like "Spinning Wheel" and without the interlude, "God Bless The Child" would not be half the song it was. This is a fine fine piece of music.
22 of 25 found the following review helpful:
 Why cut out the solos? Aug 26, 2002
One of the greatest horn sections of the seventies was basically raped by the re-issue of this greatest hits compilation. I have the earlier version (with original album cuts), and the songs are just amazing. The horn breakdowns on Lucrecia McEvil, God Bless the Child, and Spinning Wheel are the most impressing parts of the music. My fear is that new fans will miss those important elements of B,S,&T's music.
9 of 9 found the following review helpful:
The best sounding release of this classic greatest hits comp Aug 02, 2006
By Bradley Olson
This is an excellent sounding reissue of a classic LP and this CD is worth buying for either diehards or the casual fans: The original LP is all mono using the 45 versions, the original CD issue used the stereo LP versions. In 1999, the Greatest Hits LP was reissued again on CD, this time using the 45 versions in stereo that came from the promo 45 stereo single masters and this release became the first time the 45 versions ended up available in stereo for wide release. So collectors, audiophiles and casual fans should buy this CD. If you want a greatest hits collection with the LP versions, buy the "What Goes Up?" 2 CD set or the 1980s CD of this compilation.
See all 44 customer reviews on Amazon.com
|
based on 44 reviews
