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POISON
The Best Of Poison: 20 Years Of Rock
Capitol |
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As odd as it may seem, I can remember exactly when and where I
purchased Poison's "Look What The Cat Dragged In" 20 years ago.
I remember looking at the cover in the record store and thinking
these guys have some serious balls to dress the way they did on
that album cover and to have song titles such as "#1 Bad Boy",
"Look What The Cat Dragged In", and "Talk Dirty To Me".
Upon getting that piece of vinyl home, little did I realize that
it would begin a 20 year journey of great songs, great concerts
and great times listening to these guys. The latest Poison
compilation, "The Best of Poison: 20 Years Of Rock",
promises to turn yet another generation of rock music fans into
Poison fanatics.
Upon placing the headphones on for a late night spin, I
immediately noticed that the some of the songs sounded even
cleaner than their original versions. Obviously, there
were some digitally remastering tweaks to sweeten the sound done
courtesy of indie rock musician Evren Goknar which bring a
completely different life to some of the songs. Bobby Dahl
appears to be the main beneficiary of the remastering as there
are bass lines that jump out that were apparently buried in the
original mixes of the songs. The underlying guitar fills
on "Cry Tough" really come to the forefront as well.
Poison's cover of the Kiss classic "Rock N Roll All Nite" sounds
greatly improved over the mix from the "Less Than Zero"
soundtrack.
Besides the improved sound quality on 17 of the tracks, one
again notices how many hits this band has had in their career
and then you start wondering why some other popular tracks were
left off. 18 songs in all go by very quickly making this
an incredibly fun and easy listen for veteran fans and a great
primer for the younger crowd who are somewhat new to the band or
have only seem them on tour.
Poison adds a cover of Grand Funk Railroad's "We're An American
Band" at the end of the disc, putting their own good time stamp
on the track. Personally, I would love to have seen the
band cover "Jim Dandy" as Bret Michaels did on his first solo
tour nearly 16 years ago.
From my perspective, this compilation reaffirms the fact that
"Look What The Cat Dragged In" is a hard rock / melodic metal
masterpiece that has stood the test of time over 20 years and
still rates as one of my top 10 favorite albums ever recorded.
The breadth of Poison's material over the course of their career
has proved to be timeless and relevant all the while extending a
middle finger to those who deemed the band as all image or any
other derogatory comment. For those who already have the
majority of songs in this collection, it is well-worth picking
up just to hear how much cleaner the songs sound utilizing 21st
century technology without ruining the original heart and soul
of these tracks.
Track Listing:
1. Talk Dirty To Me
2. I Want Action
3. I Won't Forget You
4. Cry Tough
5. Look What The Cat Dragged In
6. Nothin' But A Good Time
7. Fallen Angel
8. Every Rose Has Its Thorn
9. Your Mama Don't Dance
10. Unskinny Bop
11. Rock And Roll All Nite
12. Ride The Wind
13. Something To Believe In
14. Life Goes On
15. Stand
16. The Last Song
17. Shooting Star
18. We're An American Band
Homepage:
http://www.poisonweb.com |
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