Please Don't Make Me Cry - The Best of Winston Groovy

Not so well known outside of England, Winston Groovy nonetheless carried on a long, fruitful career as a lovers rock singer, a career that began at the dawn of the '70s and stretched all the way into the mid-'80s, when his hit parade finally simmered. Please Don't Make Me Cry: The Best of Winston Groovy is typical of the many fine best-of albums assembled and issued by Trojan Records during the mid-2000s under the auspices of Sanctuary. The collection rounds up over two dozen of Winston's best songs, dating from 1969 to 1985. Highlights are plentiful, with "Please Don't Make Me Cry" (later covered by UB40 in 1983 to much worldwide success) and "Night Shift" (his last great hit, presented here wonderfully in its five-minute 12" version) most noteworthy. Though Winston isn't so well known nowadays, he was a very talented vocalist who also wrote and produced many of his own songs. Chronologically sequenced, Please Don't Make Me Cry plays well from beginning to end. Not only can you map out the evolution of Winston's career, you can also map out the evolution of his lovers rock style, as it began in the early '70s with a rocksteady pulse and a Motown flair for sentiment before eventually smoothing itself out into a distinct style of its own by the early '80s.