When I first heard David Clayton Thomas and BS&T, I thought what a unique sound and so enjoyable. Years have passed and I lost the album but through the magic of digitation they have returned and I am so glad that they did. This is a compilation of the best. It should be in any collection.

Originally a brainchild of Al Kooper, Blood Sweat and Tears was one of those hybrids that could have only evolved in the experiment happy late 60's. Welding a big band brass to rock sensibilities, BS&T hit their stride once they found a singer whose voice was a brassy as their horn section. Canadian David Clayton-Thomas brought in a soul-full force that made singles like "Spinning Wheel" and "You Made Me So Very Happy" into classics.

Clayton-Thomas also brought solid songs to the band, as the writer of four of the main hits here. But BS&T were also eclectic enough to search outside the box; their cover of Billie Holiday's "God Bless The Child" stands among their best work. Among the non-hits, both Steve Katz' "Sometimes In Winter" and Kooper's "I Can't Quit Her" are superb.

Still, all this would be less interesting without the rotating stable of players' musicianship. These guys had chops to burn, with the soul of "Hi De Ho" (a Carole King/Gerry Goffin song) and Laura Nyro's "And When I Die" working their turf perfectly, and the horns on "Lucretia Mac Evil" having the punch of electric guitars. Even though some of the songs are the single edits (missing the carousel breakdown at the end of "Spinning Wheel" is disappointing), these are still landmark songs, and a style that would soon become omnipresent from every from The Best Of Chicago to Brian Setzer.

This disc is no substitute for the Mastersounds version of the Child Is Father to the Man album, or the Mobile Fidelity version of Blood, Sweat and Tears, but it is a really smart idea. Columbia-Legacy went back and recompiled this multi-million selling album (previously available as a fairly lackluster 40-minute, 11-song CD), adding two songs ("So Long Dixie" and "More and More,") that were previously available only on singles from 1972 and 1968, respectively, and upgrading the sound. What distinguishes Blood, Sweat & Tears' Greatest Hits from the double-CD Sony-Legacy compilation What Goes Up: The Best of Blood, Sweat & Tears, however, is that this disc uses the single edits of the hits. To serious fans, it's sort of Blood, Sweat & Tears-lite, but to millions of listeners, it's these shorter versions, shorn of their extended album-version breaks, by which they know the band best. And those numbers now sport state-of-the-art sound -- hard, up-front bass and drums, horns that pour out of the speakers, and close and intimate singing from David Clayton-Thomas (or, on the two BS&T Mark 1 tracks here, Al Kooper and Steve Katz). The new release also re-creates the packaging of the original LP, with reviewers' quotes across the band's prime years (1968-72) and a time line history, as well as release and production information on each song. The two additional numbers bring the running time up to 48 minutes, and it's mid-priced, too, which makes it even easier to junk the old version and get hold of this one.

No one with any sense should buy this CD. Why settle for so few songs, and the shortened versions of the songs to boot! Try "What Goes Up: The Best of Blood, Sweat & Tears" instead.

I bought my copy of BS&T Greatest Hits in 1994, but from the reviews I see here I should have waited until 1999 when they re-released it with 2 more tracks & apparently the single versions of the hits. Back in '94 I was disappointed the LP versions of songs,especially "Spinning Wheel" were included,even though the back cover lists this song as being 2:39,thus the single version with the guitar solo instead of piano solo in the middle I was seeking. (I already have the first 2 LPs,so I already have the LP version). Around the same time in '94 I also bought Elvis Presley Gold Records Vol.3 only to see it re-released several years later with more hits that should have been included in the first place. Seems record companies waited until the late 90's to do their reissues right. I bet the late 90's version of BS&T Greatest Hits sounds alot better,too, but if I bought the new improved version, what would I do with the old one-?