Customer Reviews

20th Century Masters: Millennium Collection

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All right, this message is for you Savoy Neophytes: If you want the VERY BEST collection of Savoy Brown currently available, you'll skip this offering and purchase Savoy Brown Collection, the two-CD box set Chronicles anthology (not to be confused with the similarly named Collection, which is a box consisting of three SB eighties CD's rereleased together in one package.) However, if you are too poor (and who isn't) and just don't want to splurge $20+ on a band you know very little about, then get 20th Century Masters, a very good compilation of some of SB's best work from their most productive years. Highlights include all the cuts from their best albums: "I'm Tired" (from A Step Furthur), "Hard Way to Go" (from Raw Sienna), "Poor Girl" and "Money Can't Save Your Soul" (from Looking In), and "Tell Mama", "Can't Get Next to You", and "Street Corner Talking" (from Street Corner Talking). Low points: There are no songs from Getting to the Point, one of their best albums, and nothing whatsoever after 1972's "Hellbound Train" (Note: Yes, "Hellbound Train" is supposed to cut off abruptly like that. It's the shock of arriving in hell, you see. Don't worry: your CD isn't defective!). Please listen to this album numerous times (you will want to, trust me!), then purchase several of the above named albums to get the true Savoy Brown experience. Finally, you will want to eventually add Savoy Brown Collection as well. If you're not sure, just ask yourself: What can Brown do for you?

For someone on a budget who is interested in the music of this legendary British Blues Band, look no further than this single disc album. The sound and track selection here are very good. Anyone interested in the blues needs to have at least one Savoy Brown album in their collection and you can't go wrong here. But, for those of you who have a few extra dollars around, I strongly suggest passing on this single disc release and opt for the 2 disc set "The Savoy Brown Collection (Chronicles Series)" on the Polydor label. "The Savoy Brown Collection" boasts 29 tracks an is more comprehensive than this release. It also contains an extensive booklet with excellent liner notes. Go zShops and you can pick up the 2 cd set for a very reasonable price. If you are on a budget, than add this release to cart, turn it up & enjoy!

Beware this blues/rock band will leave you wanting more.This is a good place to start but I would strongly recommend following this purchase with "Street Corner Talkin'".That album has been a personal fave of mine for years.The stand out tracks here are"tell mama","I can't get next to you" and"street corner talking"...all excellent.

Just sit back & let the blues steal you away .. with the rich sound .. of Savoy Brown ... best track "Hellbound Train" .. but, again .. it all .. just rocks .. at a great price ... One of The Best British Blues Bands .. of all time .. Simmonds .. guitar work .. is out .. of this world .. & still rockin today ....

Great collection of SB "hits" except for the omission of "Shot In the Head" from the Lion's Share album. That song did make it on to the 2 cd Collection package however. This disc gives a very good over view of the first 3 SB personnel line ups. Very hard for a band to make it with 3 lead singer changes in the first few years of it's recording career but SB did just that. They certainly never had the following in the States that they did in England. This is the band that spawned FOGHAT who did make it big in the US. You could not go to a "package" rock show in the 70's without seeing FOGHAT. They toured relentlessly and had a string of US radio hits. Lonesome Dave Peverett was the backbone of SB even though it was Kim Simmonds band. FWIW that's Lonesome Dave singing on Louisiana Blues on this disc instead of Chris Youlden even though Youlden gets the credit. How do you screw that up when putting together the notes and credits for a compilation. Anyway you can get this disc cheap and get a taste of SB or spend $20+ and get probably all the SB you would ever want to own or hear on the 2 disc COLLECTION package. Cheers mate!

I used to listen to "Train to Nowhere" in a cafe in Brighton, England, in the early '70's, and finally bought this cd which features it. Most of the other tracks I like too. Check it out - Savoy Brown will stand comparison with the best blues bands.

This is a very well-remastered and concise small collection of the very cream of all songs recorded by Kim Simmonds' SB. I originally bought it b/c I had some dim memory of the "Looking In" album, and the song "Hellbound Train". But there is so much more. I will not detail song by song why you should buy this, or, better yet (MAYBE), get the Chronicles 2-CD set. That is because if you love British Blues from bands like Peter Green's Mac, Spooky Tooth, the Stones, Cream, or John Mayall, you will absolutely adore this. Think of a British Canned Heat with Eric Clapton on lead and Peter Green on rhythm guitars. And you can hear the influence this band drew from, and the folks who were correspondingly influenced by the same Mississippi/Chicago diaspora, but I am confident in saying this band is by far tighter and more precise, the way Howlin Wolf and Muddy Waters, on back to Skip James, were, and despite some similarities in sound with Canned Heat, Clapton, and Green, they are at least as good or better in both the vocals and the instrumental competence. Now, the reason I said MAYBE re: Chronicles, is that another twenty or so songs would be just as well delivered, and so much better, as a deal, but I am not sure if, when comparing the Chronicles 2-CD's remastering technology to the 2002 technology of this Millenium release, the older set will seem as good. Whenever possible, buy the original albums for really competent groups like this, and the most recent remastering the better.

Either way, you will be highly pleased and entertained by this particular CD.

It's always dangerous to look back 35 years and convince yourself some group you listened to in your basement is just what you want to listen to. In this case, I was shocked at how good some of these tracks sound. Let's face it, I wasn't out to replace all the Savoy Brown l.p.'s from my youth, but this looked like a good selection. Whoever it was that picked the tracks was pretty sharp--so glad that "Louisiana Blues," "Train to Nowhere," and the surprisingly good reinterpretation of "I Can't Get Next To You" were all included. There have to be a few more listens in this for me. I bet if you're looking to time trip or have heard that Savoy Brown was one of the key ingredients in what was once called the British blues, you'll be happy with this reasonably priced compilation.