Poison - The Best of Poison - 20 Years of Rock Review
Posted by Tollah on 03.20.2006
Hair metal leaders release career overview.
Ahh, late 80s L.A. Some (like me) would say the greatest rock scene of all-time. Alongside with Motley Crue and Guns N' Roses, Poison were the big dogs of this scene. Whereas Crue played a more sleazy, AC/DC style hard rock that verged on heavy metal and GnR played a blues-rock sound Aerosmith style with punk and southern rock influences, Poison brought a more light-hearted approach with catchy riffs and innuendo-laden lyrics that captured rock music at its most fun.
It's 20 years since Poison's debut, "Look What The Cat Dragged In". Poison are about to embark on a tour with fellow hair-metallers Cinderella and to support it they're releasing The Best of Poison: 20 Years of Rock. Yes, it's just an excuse to tour. To be honest I don't see why such a great band, with a big following, needed to release an album to tour behind. Probably a money thing. There's already at least one "Greatest Hits" (that I have, by the way) with a similar tracklisting to this. The only new song, "We're An American Band", is a cover of a tune by the 70s rockers Grand Funk Railroad.
Unlike their "Greatest Hits" CD, the tracklisting is in (almost) chronological order, which I'm a fan of with "Best Of" CDs as it gives a good insight into a band's progression throughout their career. We can easily track the band's progression from fun rockers like "I Want Action" and "Talk Dirty To Me" to the more serious efforts like "Stand" and "Something to Believe In".
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. Nothing But A God Time
7. Fallen Angel
8. Every Rose Has It's 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
The 411: Not much to reccomend or shoot down here. All the big hits are included and you get 18 tracks so you get your money's worth. If you're new to Poison and want to check them out, pick it up. If fun, no-holds-barred, unpretentious rock 'n' roll ain't your thing, you might want to give this a miss.
