Rating:
Genre:
Rock
Release Date: 06/05/2001
A cursory glance at
Great White's discography would suggest that they don't need another compilation. But
Capitol Records' 1993 kiss-off
The Best of Great White: 1986-1992 was a skimpy set that omitted the Top 40
pop hit
"The Angel Song" and other key tracks;
Back to Back Hits was shared with
April Wine and contained only five
Great White tracks; the 2000
Best of Great White was a ten-track budget album from
Capitol Special Markets; and
Latest & Greatest consists of re-recordings. Thus,
Greatest Hits is the first thorough compilation of the band's
EMI and
Capitol recordings, 1984-1992. Most of
Great White's
pop and
album rock hits are included in their original versions, though the minor
album rock chart entry
"Lady Red Light" is missing, and the versions of
"House of Broken Love" and
"Desert Moon" are live recordings, the former previously issued only as a single B-side, the latter from the Japan-only album
Live in New York. Other rarities include a bluesy alternate mix of
"Face the Day" from a cassette EP, the novelty non-LP B-side
"Wasted Rock Ranger," and a non-LP single cover of
Led Zeppelin's
"Babe I'm Gonna Leave You" from the band's 1990
MTV Unplugged appearance that emphasizes their similarity to the earlier group, especially
Jack Russell's
Robert Plant sound-alike vocals.
Capitol has not acquired any tracks from
Great White's recordings for subsequent labels, so that, for example, the Top Ten
album rock track
"Sail Away," originally released on
Zoo, is not here. But this is a good survey of
Great White's most popular recordings, and it deserves its name.
~William Ruhlmann, All Music Guide
;)
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