The Finer Things (Steve Winwood album)
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| The Finer Things | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Box set by | ||||
| Released | 21 March 1995 | |||
| Recorded | 1964–1990 | |||
| Genre | Blue-eyed soul Rock Blues-rock Psychedelic rock Jazz | |||
| Label | Island | |||
| Steve Winwood chronology | ||||
| ||||
| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic |   [1] |
| Pottsville Republican | (favourable)[2] |
| The Plain Dealer | (favourable)[3] |
| The Guardian |  [4] |
| The Birmingham Post | (favourable)[5] |
| Stafford Post | [6] |
| The Mail | [7] |
| Los Angeles Times | [8] |
| MusicHound Rock | [9] |
The Finer Things is a box set of recordings by Steve Winwood. It includes songs from his early days with The Spencer Davis Group through Traffic, Blind Faith and into his solo career.[10][11]
The Finer Things was compiled by Peter Levinson, who at the time of its release was manager of catalogue development for PolyGram Records.[12] Levinson said that he modelled the box set after Eric Clapton's Crossroads, which had been released in 1988.[12] Island Records vice-president of marketing Matt Stringer, upon the box set's release, said that
We evaluate our catalog on a periodic basis to identify anything that is legitimately of value to the consumer and can be presented in a new or impressive or significant way, and this [The Finer Things] was certainly one of the projects that deserved to exist.[13]
Winwood himself would take no part in the release or promotion of The Finer Things,[12] with most of the liner notes based upon interviews with his Traffic-era producer Jimmy Miller. It is believed Winwood did approve of the project and that he spent the eight months before its release approving every step of its compiling.[14]
Because the project was compiled before the release of Winwood's then-latest recording, Traffic's 1994 comeback album Far from Home, no songs from that album were included and the most recent recording dates from 1990. There were only a few rarities contained within the four discs of the box set – the most significant being two tracks from the "Eric Clapton and the Powerhouse" project from 1966.[13]
