Eight Gigs a Week [Import]

Product Description
Japanese pressing of 1996, double disc collection featuring 26 tracks from the Steve Winwood years. Island.

Eight Gigs a Week,Spencer Group Davis,Rock/Pop

Average customer rating: If you are a US fan, stay away... The Compleat Stevie Years Excellent sound, but (again) why all mono? The Collection to Get One of the best British sixties R+B bands

Eight Gigs a Week: The Steve Winwood Years Spencer Davis Group Manufacturer: Universal/Polygram ProductGroup: Music Binding: Audio CD General | Alternative Rock | Styles | Music General | Pop | Styles | Music Pop Rock | Pop | Styles | Music General | R&B | Styles | Music Blue-Eyed Soul | Soul | R&B | Styles | Music General | Soul | R&B | Styles | Music General | Rock | Styles | Music British Invasion | Classic Rock | Styles | Music General | Classic Rock | Styles | Music Classic Rock | Imports | Stores | Music Rock | Imports | Stores | Music Similar Items: Mojo Rhythms & Midnight Blues, Vol. 2: Live 1965-1968 I'm a Man Gimme Some Lovin' On the Road When the Eagle Flies ASIN: B00000740V Release Date: 1996-03-25

Tracks:

1. Dimples
2. I Can't Stand It
3. Jump Back
4. Here Right Now
5. Searchin'
6. Midnight Train
7. It's Gonna Work Out Fine
8. My Babe
9. Kansas City
10. Every Little Bit Hurts
11. Sittin' & Thinkin'
12. I'm Blue (Gong Gong Song)
13. She Put The Hurt On Me
14. I'll Drown In My Own Tears
15. I'm Getting Better
16. Goodbye Stevie
17. Strong Love
18. Georgia On My Mind
19. It Hurts Me So
20. Oh! Pretty Woman
21. Look Away
22. This Hammer
23. Please Do Something
24. Keep On Running
25. Let Me Down Easy

Tracks:

1. Somebody Help Me
2. Watch Your Step
3. Nobody Knows You When You're Down And Out
4. Midnight Special
5. When I Come Home
6. High Time Baby
7. Hey Darling
8. I Washed My Hands In Muddy Water
9. You Must Believe Me
10. Trampoline
11. Since I Met You Baby
12. Mean Woman Blues
13. Dust My Blues
14. When A Man Loves A Woman
15. Neighbour Neighbour
16. On The Green Light
17. Stevie's Blues
18. Take This Hurt Off Me
19. Stevie's Groove
20. I Can't Get Enough Of It
21. Waltz For Lumumba
22. Together Till The End Of Time
23. Gimme Some Lovin'
24. Back Into My Life Again
25. I'm A Man
26. Blues In F

Album Description

1996 retrospective on Island featuring 51 classics by the'60s English rock group on two CDs in a double slimlinejewel case stored inside a slipcase with a 24 page full colorbooklet with a bio on the band & numerous photos. Subtitled'The Steve Winwood Years', it showcases their best trackswith him from 1964-1966, including previously unreleasedlive versions of 'Kansas City' & 'Oh! Pretty Woman'.

Album Details

Subtitled 'the Steve Winwood Years' this 51 Track Opus is a Real Treat for Fans and Interested Parties Alike. A Very Young Winwood Cut his Chops on Many Standards in this Period as Well as Original Material. Reportedly, Most of the Tracks Recorded in this Era were First Takes Or 'live in the Studio'. This Group is Held as the Best R&B Group that Ever was by Many in the UK and Europe and this Stellar Compilation Captures their Very Essence.

Customer Reviews:

If you are a US fan, stay away..........2006-05-07

If you are expecting & desiring the US version of Gimme Some Lovin', go elsewhere. This is not the compilation for you. This version feels lifeless and unenthused. Be sure to listen to the sample clip, as the backing vocals are absent on this version. Bad record company, bad record company.

The Compleat Stevie Years.......2005-09-09

The great thing about this mono 2CD set is that it contains virtually everything by the Spencer Davis Group during Stevie Winwood's tenure with the band. When they re-launched in 1967 with Time Seller they were essentially a different band.
None of the three albums released during this period ever made it to CD, so much of the material is on CD here for the first time. The first album was Their First Album, the second was The Second Album and the third was... Autumn '66. Apart from some uncredited backing vocals from Millie on the Ikettes' I'm Blue and a similarly anonymous chorus on Garnett Mimms and the Enchanters' Look Away, everything you hear on the albums is pretty much the band themselves.
They had nine singles, with some throwaway but highly atmospheric and indispensable non-album B-sides, and a 1965 EP of exclusive material, all nicely gathered up here. There are also two previously unreleased live-in-the-studio tracks (Kansas City and Oh, Pretty Woman - this is the Albert King blues, not the Roy Orbison hit), and Stevie's Groove, a very mod-friendly Hammond organ instrumental knocked up in five minutes and only to be found on a rare German B-side (the A-side, an atypical traditional beer-drinking song sung in its native German at the request of the citizens of Hamburg, is the only release not to be included, apart from the US rework of Gimme Some Lovin'). Their contribution to the film Here We Go Round The Mulberry Bush, an instrumental called Waltz To Caroline, turned up on an Island label "Best Of" in 1968, retitled Waltz To Lumumba, along with the Back Into My Life Again from their final Jimmy Miller sessions and unreleased because it was "too commercial" - well, this was the sixties.
Stevie was born in May 1948 and was therefore barely sixteen when they made their first record, but had been performing live since he was twelve and his voice had an extraordinary maturity and soulful quality. The influence of Ray Charles is quite clear and I'll Drown In My Own Tears and Georgia On My Mind, both superb renditions, were presumably learned from his versions.
Their choice of material, ranging from the Soul Sisters, Brenda Holloway, the Malibus, the Coasters, Prince La La, Ike and Tina Turner, Rufus Thomas, Little Richard, Jimmy Hughes, Roy Alvin, Bettye Lavette, Bobby Parker, Bessie Smith, Stonewall Jackson, Leadbelly, the Impressions, Ivory Joe Hunter, Elvis Presley, Elmore James, Percy Sledge and Don Covay, shows their immersion in then hard-to-find current and older American music, some of it brought to their attention by manager and producer Chris Blackwell and Scene club proprietor and UK Sue label supremo Guy Stevens, though their own material (and songs tailor-made for them by Jackie Edwards) for singles tend to be the most polished productions. Keep On Running, Somebody Help Me and Gimme Some Lovin' were all number one hits in the UK, and their swansong I'm A Man, probably their finest single recording, was a top ten hit. Only their first single Dimples failed completely to chart in 1964 and that found itself in competition with John Lee Hooker's 1956 original, re-released while he was in the UK to promote it.
Although this collection begins in 1964 and all the most recent material is on the second disc, the running order is far from chronological, with the two 1966 albums spread over both CDs in seemingly haphazard fashion so some listeners may care to re-program their CD players at least once for an authentic listening experience

Excellent sound, but (again) why all mono?.......2004-06-18

Great sounding collection of the UK releases of Spencer Davis Group while Steve Winwood was lead singer. It includes the non-US version of "Gimmie Some Lovin'". Not a remix like the notes say, but a completely different recording from the one that was the hit in the US. The collection should've included both.

Also, even though there's previous few SDG tracks mixed in stereo, there are a couple; "Let Me Down Easy" was listed as by Stevie Winwood and issued on the rare UKL Island LP "British Blue Eyed Soul" in first-rate stereo. The track is listed as written by "unknown", but, of course, it's a cover of the amazing original by Betty LaVette. The song was written by Holloway and McDougal. Also, "I'm A Man" was previously available in stereo, as well.

So if you have one ear...and a very good ear, you'll love this collection.

The Collection to Get.......2003-12-06

I knew the basic story of TSDG and Steve Winwood, but like most, what I had actually heard was mostly limited to their two biggest US hits (Gimme Some Lovin' and I'm a Man) - and what great songs they are. But I've been on a "rediscover British Blues kick," and thought it long overdue that I hear the rest of their work. This is the one album to get, as it includes everything from the studio (and 2 live cuts) Winwood recorded with them.

I give it 5 stars not only because of the actual songs or performances, but because of the combination of factors: A) compelling, solidly crafted English Blues from its earlier years - sometimes understandably derivative, but with an honesty and charm all its own; B) the historical importance and interest both in terms of British Blues and Winwood's own development; C) a real sense of fun and discovery in hearing most of these songs for the first time, and realizing how good much of the material is - and since it is largely true to the blues and jazz roots they were tapping in to, the music is fairly timeless, and holds up today; D) it is refreshingly underproduced - but the Hammond organ brings a depth and richness that keeps it from seeming sparse.

The real revelation for me - this set contains the original British release of Gimme' Some Lovin' (not the U.S. version) - absent the piano, vocal, and percussion overdubs evident in the US release. As much as I love the version most are familiar with, by the third listen, I thought - "No, THIS is the definitive version." Winwood's vocals and organ just stand out so much more.

One of the best British sixties R+B bands.......2002-08-01

The Spencer Davis Group were one of several excellent British R+B bands of the sixties. Best remembered in Britain for Keep on running (one of the best songs of the the sixties, regardless of genre), by the time they started to make an impression in America, they were on the verge of losing their key man, Steve Winwood.

They actually had three #1 records in Britain (Keep on running, Somebody help me and Gimmie some lovin') and several other big hits, including Strong love, Every little bit hurts (a cover of the Brenda Holloway song) and I'm a man (also a hit in America). A remixed version of Gimmie some lovin' was a hit in America. The version on this anthology is the original British recording.

All these recordings were laid down between 1964 and 1967, when Steve Winwood quit to form a new band, Traffic. The other band members struggled on for a while, but those recordings are not included here (and are not as good). Apart from the British hits, you will notice many covers of blues and R+B songs, including Georgia on my mind (Ray Charles), Dimples (John Lee Hooker) and When a man loves a woman (Percy Sledge).

If you are thinking of buying this anthology, you are probably familiar with some of their music already, and you're looking for more of the same, which you will find here. If you are new to their music, you should try one of the single-CD compilations first. You may find that such a compilation satisfies your needs.

Average customer rating:

Eight Gigs a Week ProductGroup: Music Binding: Audio CD General | Rock | Styles | Music Pop Rock | Pop | Styles | Music Rock | Imports | Stores | Music ASIN: B0000562YF Release Date: 2004-01-20

Album Description

Japanese pressing of 1996, double disc collection featuring 26 tracks from the Steve Winwood years. Island.

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