After starting out with in the mid-'60s, recorded solo for the short-lived label (later controlled by ) in the late '60s and early '70s, and he made several albums for the independent in the '80s and '90s. But he gained his greatest commercial recognition on (the early catalog of which is now controlled by ) in the mid- to late '70s, and it is this portion of his career that is represented on this midline-priced best-of, which has been assigned to 's imprint. modified his basic style for each of his affiliations: With he played , on he took on something of the San Francisco style, and on he absorbed some of the of labelmates like . Four of his five Hot 100 chart entries are found here (the missing one is the least successful, ), among them the Top Five hit that has always been an anomaly for him, not only because is featured on lead vocals, but also because, even though wrote it, it sounds much more -oriented than one expects from him. More consistent with his style is the minor chart entry which boasts a lot of -like slide guitar work, especially in the seven-minute-plus workout heard here (the single was a three-minute edit), and some politically incorrect lyrics about beating a woman with a baseball bat that probably didn't sound as objectionable back in 1974. But then, the never boasted the most enlightened lyrics, and also cheerfully admits to At a reasonable price, this collection effectively summarizes his six albums. ~ William Ruhlmann