Alternative Rock Compilations music reviews

That's what my dad told some friends today about this album, Billboard Top Hits of the 90's. When you try and make a best-of from a whole decade of music, you're going to have people who love the track list, ones who hate it, and some who are somewhere between the two extremes. Myself, I think it's a great attempt of capturing 20 of the very best tracks from a decent decade of music.

Billboard Top Hits of the 90's has several songs that you would probably expect to see, such as "Breakfast At Tiffany's," "Right Here, Right Now," "Unbelievable," and "The Sign." It also has a few you probably wouldn't expect to see, such as "Bad Boys," "Free Your Mind," and "I Wish It Would Rain Down." That's where the controversy sneaks in at. I really like how it includes some hard to find, and/or underrated songs, such as "Missing," "I'm Gonna Be (500 Miles)," and one of my all-time favorites (even though I'm not a fan of Friends), "I'll Be There For You." However, I would've really liked to have seen such songs as "Bittersweet Symphony," Sheryl Crow's "Everyday Is A Winding Road," and even Coolio's "Gangsta's Paradise," among others.

While there is one rap song on the album, Billboard Top Hits of the 90's is mostly pop-oriented. I don't know what else to say other than to check out the track listing and see if you like enough of the songs to purchase the album. I saw that it had three of my absolute favorites from the decade, plus many other songs that are better than solid inclusions, so I had no choice but to purchase it. My dad's statement ("Jason has an awesome cd") surprised me, cause it was the first time I've ever heard him use the word 'awesome'. I agree with him, this cd IS awesome. It could've been a bit better, but it's more than worth getting.

There are three songs that I don't care too much for (Phil Collins, Duran Duran, The Rembrandts), but this CD has a LOT of great songs. You want to save some money, you can just record them off the radio or download. Hollaaa!

I've heard a lot of different 90's soundtracks, and none of them match up to this one. It has a good balance between genres. For rap you have Whomp, There It Is and Bad Boys. For the pop people you have Sign and a few others. Even rock has some solid songs like One Week, Wanna Be with You. My two personal favs are I'll Be There For You (The Friend's Theme) and Breakfast at Tiffany's by Deep Blue Something, one of the most underrated artist of the 90s. A few really good songs in the 90s are missing, but you can't argue with the results!

I have to admit, I'm an 80s music fan, and I didn't find much to like in the early 90s grunge scene. This compilation provides a nice overview of what I did like about the 90s, especially some of the more alternative songs and bands. For starters, there's my favorite 90s group, the Gin Blossoms, featured here with their biggest hit "Hey Jealousy" (I would have preferred the less-played, more soulful "Found Out About You"). In other radio hits, you have Cracker's "Low," a gritty tune I found surprisingly appealing. A bit more off-beat but still-familiar tunes include "Dreams" by The Cranberries and "There She Goes" by The La's. The remaining tracks, a mix of hits and songs I'd never heard of, varied from upbeat and dancey to more garish and grating. However, most people will find something they like here, and if you're looking for an eclectic 90s collection, this might just fit the bill.

Whoops - i just reread my review and I have to say I missed the mark on one item: there IS some top-40 junk on here, namely the overproduced one-hit wonder "Everything About You", though that track is still amusingly subversive. There are also a few others that got way too much radio play as another reviewer noted. But overall still a great disc.

There were some musical trends I didn't like in the not-so-distant '90s liek grunge, boy bands and rap-rock, but plenty that was pretty good too, mostly in the mainstream pop and rock areas. This collection has a pretty good mix, it seems to focus on the '91-'97 period too, leaving out the very end of the decade.

I'm always a fan of one hit wonder songs on compilations, as many of these are. Plenty of upbeat pop/rock like EMF's "Unbelievable" Del Amitri's "Roll To Me" Jesus Jones' "Right Here Right Now" Blues Traveler's "Runaround" The Presidents' "Lump". Modern rock with a classic sound SmashMouth's "Walkin' on the Sun" Sheryl Crow's "Everyday Is A Winding Road". Melodic alternative pop/rock Toad the Wet Sprocket's "Walk On the Ocean" Gin Blossoms' "Hey Jealously" Cranberries' "Dreams" Even some fun hard rock in Ugly Kid Joe's "Everything About You" (used in the donut shop scene in Wayne's World).

That's already 11 out of 20 songs. Some are just good for laughs like Blind Melon's "No Rain". I can't really comment on the others since I usually skip past them.

After listening to "Maybe This Christmas" we were very excited to listen to this CD only to be extremely let down! This album was not only boring, but outright depressing and sad. If I was already depressed during the holidays, well this would just send me over the edge! As for Avril Lavigne's "Oh Holy Night", I must heartily disagree with some of the other comments about her song. This was, by far, the worst song! It lacked all passion and depth - rather nasal, superficial, and without any heart! And while the Flaming Lips are musical pioneers, their version of "White Christmas" leaves you wanting to plug your ears with candy canes. The sole bright spot is Guster's "Donde Esta Santa Claus", which, while cute, is not nearly up to their usual par. I don't recall listening to an album expecting another wonderful compilation only to be so let down. Please, if you want a Merry Holiday season skip this album, just keep listening to the first album, "Maybe This Christmas" and "Maybe
This Christmas Tree!
Happy Holidays!

Ok....Let us start with the MOST DREADFUL TRACK!
3. O Holy Night - Avril Lavigne & Chantal Kreviazuk::::
This would be an exceptional track is you lose TONE DEAF teeny bopper Avril Lavigne! With singers like her in the music biz makes you wonder who the HELL is giving out record deals. I would rather lavish my ears with Britney than listen to this TONE DEAF song (When Avril Lavigne opens her pie hole!)

Chantal Kreviazuk sounds great and when you pair up a TONE DEAF Avril Lavigne (who opens the track) with a good singer like Chantal Kreviazuk your in trouble. I was cringing during whole first part of this song until TONE DEAF Avril STOPPED stabbing me in my ear.

Anyway... the rest of the cd is boring.
Dave Matthews Band: 9 out of 10 *
Barenaked Ladies: 9 out of 10 *
Sixpence None The Richer: 9 out of 10 *

The rest is an average: 3 out or 10 *

Oh yeah and 3. O Holy Night - Avril Lavigne & Chantal Kreviazuk

1 out of 10 * thanks to TONE DEAF Avril Lavigne!

DO YOURSELF A FAVOR BUY THE Maybe This Christmas and SKIP THE TOO!!!!

AND BTW DID I MENTION THAT Avril Lavigne IS SOOOOO TONE DEAF!!!

I dont understand people's tiffs on here with Avril Lavigne. Whats up with this "TONE DEAF" stuff?
I think she is an amazing artist. And, having a very dynamic musician such as Chantal to be by her side makes the song even better to listen to.
The Be Good Tanyas song was really well done, as was Six Pense Non The Richer, and Martina Sorbara. The others were quite good too.
The only one I didnt enjoy so much was Lisa Hannigan. Christmas is supposed to be joyful... not depressing.

My roommate ordered this cd and I stole it from him to listen to it because I like remakes, but I was dissappointed. This cd lacks mojo. The songs seemed to be just thrown together for this cd....they lack character and most of the bands just slug through power chord rendetions of the original tunes. Saving songs: Bracket- My Boyfriends back, Good Riddance- Leader of the Pack, and the Grieving Eucalyptus song Bee-Bop-a- Lula has a really nice opening riff.

I advise to borrow this cd from a friend, don't waste your cash. Go pick up the Before you were Punk 1&2 instead.

it's worth buying just to hear boys singing "my boyfriend's back and you're gonna be in trouble..." there's a lack of girls on this album, which kinda pisses me off because a couple of the songs on here were originally done by chicks. oh well, there's a lack of girls in rock so i'm used to it. anyway, get this album. some standouts include Mr. Sandman, MXPX's cover of Blue Moon, Be My Baby, and Book of Love.

A summer night, late, driving around, blasting music. Such was the situation in which I first heard this album. I guess I am easily amused, but I found this a really refreshing, fun album. Having heard all these songs thousands and thousands of times, I discovered that these songs could have new life breathed into them after all. This is no Bach or Beethoven, but altogether it's a good CD. It's more lively than the original versions of these songs and it's not as "out there" as most punk as to offend people. Although this might not be a perfect way to attempt to bridge the generation gap, it's still a great album. I recommend it highly.

I'm a Gina Gershon fan but I honestly have to say that I rather have a root canal than listen to this album b/c it would be less torturous. Sounds like someone threw my buddy's cat in a potato sack and kicked it around the condo for however many miserable mins this CD runs.

Just b/c you're hot and famous and look great in leather pants doesn't mean you can sing. Sorry Gina. Stick with your day job :)

As someone who's admired the sexy acting work Gina Gershon has done on screen for years - including in Prey For Rock And Roll - I expected her to rip into her singing gig on the soundtrack, but I'm afraid I didn't buy it. There's good studio musicians and high-power producers (i.e. Linda Perry) involved, but the whole affair doesn't sound like more to me than an ambitious con at recreating the sound of more energetic female-led songs (is this like Sleater-Kinney or even The Pretenders? not really). I think that's because, despite a few wonderful exceptions like "Punk Rock Girl" or "Pretty Pretty," the songs feel a little soulless, as though their waiting for Gershon's sexy performance to complete what's missing musically. Which is to say, this ambitious project only sounds like more of an acting gig on each listen.

To be honest, I didn't care much for the film "Prey For Rock & Roll". I found it depressing an inexessible. Not so for the soundtrack CD! Excellent punk/metal with obvious nods to Iggy ("stupidstar", "the ugly", "my favorite sin"), Patti Smith ("pretty pretty", "every 6 minutes"), Joan Jett ("Ms. Tweek") and X ("punk rock girl", "post nuclear celebration"). Best song: the title track. Interesting that one of the best punk albums of this decade is from a band that doesn't even exist! Here's hoping Gina Gersion continues on this track and gives us another CD.
Other good soundtracks to not-so-good punk movies: "Hard Core Logo", "Josie N the Pussycats" and, of course, "Great Rock & Roll Swindle".
And "Clam Dandy" fans should buy CDs by The Gits- who, no doubt were the inspiration for this movie.

Who the heck are these bands? This CD contains everything that is pure garbage. Maybe I am just getting old, but this is not punk. All the tracks on here sound the same save a handful of them. I know, it is not supposed to be easy to understand the lyrics half the time, but c'mon. I dare anyone to identify one single word in any of these songs. Joey and Dee Dee are spinning in their graves.

This comp. is amazing. Seriously so many amazing bands on this cd. There are some that kindof bad (lunachicks, always have been aweful) but 99% of the cd is amazing. If you are complaining about the vocals on this cd then you have no clue to anything. Look at the bands on this cd:lifetime, in my eyes, ensign, time flies, kill your idols, h20, I hate you, basically everything on the cd is awesome. I have never written a cd review before but when i saw the reviews i crapped my pants. This cd is a must have.

i don't usually bother taking the time to write these things but i feel i must defend this comp. bouncing souls, anti-flag, ensign, kill your idols, against all authority, nine lives, atom and his package. i mean christ. this was my first real punk CD, it was my first time listening to these bands seven years ago and most of them (ensign, kill your idols, bouncing souls, anti-flag and probably others on the comp) are still together and still supporting and encouraging what we call our lifestyle. its real cliche to say punks dead, people just throw the phrase around without looking at those who keep it going. maybe this cd is just nastolgia for me but considering it was the cd that got me hooked or that encourage me to learn about the movement, im giving it five stars.

its suposed to be a lifestyle not a fad. don't talk __ unless you know what you're talking about.

I was SO MOVED when I first watched Hedwig that I bought the DVD, Soundtrack and Broadway Soundtrack. What a masterful bit of writing and performance; just astonishing. After I listened to this tribute, I just couldn't write a positive review. The magic and emotion is not there. The feeling is gone.

I know this review is short, but not much really needs to be said other than: Save your money and buy the original.

I am actually surprised at how great this album is. I am a Hedwig fan and thought that this would be a huge flop, but I bought it anyway. Every song differs from the movie and off-Broadway version, yet retains the emotions of each song. I think that the majority of the reviewers here forgot about the importance of the emotions of songs, not just the way the song sounds.

There is only one flop on this album and that is the techno version of "Nailed." It's the only song that is completely out of place and it shouldn't have been in the album. Also, the reprise of "The Origin of Love," though innovative, is not on par with the rest of the album.

Yet, these are only two out sixteen songs. The Breeders' "Wicked Little Town" is eloquent and well executed, as is the 3 Bens' version of the reprise. Cyndi Lauper's "Midnight Radio" is fantastic and the Polyphonic Spree's "Wig in a Box" improves a song that I already thought was perfect. The biggest surprise for me was actually JCM's "Milford Lake," which is very catchy and very deep. These songs make up for the rest of the album and this worth getting just for these songs.

Overall, this album is fantastic and should be purchased.

Yeah, the rumours are true. Hate to say it, since I'm such a huge Hedwig freak. So much that I'll admit to playing the 85-minute "making of" DVD feature in the mornings as I wake up to get me going... And yet... yeah, there's sadly no soul in this CD. I wish it weren't true, but it is. Just mail $10 to Harvey Milk School and buy the sheet music to play yourself. If you'd like to buy it because you MUST own everything Hedwig, go ahead. If you're looking for good music, just stick with the original soundtracks.
I mean come on! Even "They Might Be Giants" was boring on this album.

Waylon Jennings was an influential American country singer and guitarist, born in Littlefield, Texas. He taught himself to play guitar as a young child, and formed his first band two years later. He worked as a DJ throughout his high school years, dropping out of high school to look for a career in music. During his time working as a DJ, he met and befriended Buddy Holly.

"On the night of February 3, 1959 (The Day the Music Died) the airplane carrying Holly, Ritchie Valens and J.P. Richardson (aka The Big Bopper) crashed outside of Mason City, Iowa, killing all passengers. Jennings had given his seat to Richardson, who had the flu and desperately needed rest. In his 1996 autobiography, Jennings admitted for the first time that in the years afterward, he felt severe guilt and responsibility for the crash. After Jennings gave up his seat, Holly had jokingly told him that he hoped the tour bus would stall. Jennings replied, with equal jocularity, that he hoped the plane would crash; these words would haunt him for years."
Wikipedia.com

Tribute albums are the way many of us are introduced to artists, and 2003's 'Lonesome, On'ry and Mean: A Tribute to Waylon Jennings" was released a year after Jenning's death. This CD serves as an introduction and tribute to one of the greats of both country music and American popular music in the 20th century. Some of the songs are performed by Waylon's friends Kris Kristofferson on "I Do Believe" and Junior Brown's "Nashville Rebel" or even sung by their songwriters Jack Clement's "Let's All Help the Cowboys Sing the Blues". There's no shortage of love for Waylon here. You do not get more alternate-country than the outlaw Waylon Jennings and his music. This is the sort of music that gives country its true message. Guy Clark opens the CD in fine fettle with "Good Hearted Woman" and is followed by that melodious woman, Nanci Griffith, on the excellent "You Asked Me To." New artists are also featured and Norah Jones sings the "Wurlitzer Prize." Her lovely voice blends so well with piano, guitar and bass. "Amanda" with Dave Alvin gives is a great surprise here. He has a special knack for old country and blues.


Junior Brown sings "Nashville Rebel," a song that reflects Jenning's personality. He has things to do and things to say in my own way. The next track written by Jennings, "Are You Sure Hank Done It This Way," tells us that he had a new voice and attitude when he took to country music. Carlene Carter gives us a beautiful rendition of another of his songs, "I've Always Been Crazy." Although not written by Jennings, "Luckenbach, Texas" is as close as you get to a biography of the country outlaws. The title track comes at the end of the CD, performed by Henry Rollins.

Waylon Jennings was well known for his hard life and ways. He had a cocaine habit that he was able to overcome, but his reputation has an "outlaw" has grown to epic proportions. He and Johnny Cash, Kris Kristoffersen, and Willie Nelson became the outlaws, and performed on CDs and concerts across the US. He and his last wife Jessie Colter, had a son, Shooter Jennings, who carries on his parent's singing tradition.

For all his cult successes, Jennings was modest to the point of even putting down his own guitar playing. "Hell, I ain't no great guitar player," he said. "I just play my stuff. I'm very self-conscious about my guitar playing for some reason. I'm a singer, I never practice on my guitar."

This is a CD of remembrance to Waylon Jennings, and it lives up to his memory. Highly Recommended. prisrob April 8, 2006

This tribute to Waylon is a fine set. The musicians all seem to have an affinity for Jennings' music, even some of the less obvious choices. Guy Clark is one of the country outlaws; and "Good Hearted Woman" is given an affectionate dusting. Nancy Griffith's "You Asked Me To" highlights the Jennings/Shaver lovely melody, without grandstanding. Norah Jones' reading of "Wurlitzer Prize (I Don't Want to Get Over You)" is a real high point on this excellent set with her bluesy piano giving the track a new sound. Joe Doe relates to the punk side of Waylon's persona and smokes sassily through "Only Daddy That'll Walk the Line." "Nashville Rebel" has a great trad country feel with Junior Brown's deep bass voice and Lloyd Green's steel guitar diving deep into country. Radney Foster with Roger Credager does a nice job on the catchy "Luckenbach, Texas (Back to the Basics of Love)". Allison Moorer does a dynamite job with Jessi Colter's gorgeous tune "Storms Never Last," highlighting the rare softer side Waylon showed. Kris Kristofferson sang "I Do Believe" at Waylon's funeral; his version here is heartfelt with a great slow build. "Lock, Stock & Teardrops" by Alejandro Escovedo works extremely well. The liner notes give great information on Waylon. I forgot he was part of Buddy Holly's band; so the Cricket's version of "Waymore's Blues" fits well. Although it might seem unusual, I really like Henry Rollins' rocking version of the title tune. This is a nice set that Dualtone has put together, a tribute to one of our country greats. Enjoy!

This tribute album is filled with beautiful renditions of Waylon Jennings' songs. Dave Alvin's "Amanda", Nanci Griffith's "You Asked Me To", and Allison Moorer's "Storms Never Last" are exceptionally good. Junior Brown's worn, tattered vocals in "Nashville Rebel" sound remarkably like Waylon Jenning himself. The tribute to Jennings' life and music contained in the liner notes is moving; each of the performers briefly comments upon Jennings and his influence. However, as a tribute to Jennings, Kris Kristofferson's rendition of "I Do Believe" is worth the price of the album in and of itself.

"Misfits of Ska" is likely the lowliest Asian Man Records release I've ever bought, but it's still adaquate. No severe language, and it's entertaining.

Even though the sound quality isn't great, this is a great V/A. With songs from the Suicide Machines, Sublime, Less Than Jake and many more, you can be pretty sure that if you are a fan of some kind of ska, you will enjoy this.

This is a first. This is historical.

FINALLY, someone (Bruce Lee of Dill Records) has put together a full-length, various-artists compilation that does not have a single bad song on it. Most of the songs (e.g., Janitors Against Apartheid, Gangster Fun, Blue Meanies, Johnny Socko, just to name a few),are incredible, while a few others (e.g., Reel Big Fish, Slapstick, The Independents) are merely good, but none of them suck or are even mediocre, which is unheard of in a compilation like this one. Heck, I even liked the early Sublime outtake that closes this album, and I'm no fan of the boys from Long Beach.

The theme of this album is that it is a compilation of bands that mix ska with other forms of music - mostly punk, but also metal (the Blue Meanies' "Acceleration 5000" is the first ska song I've ever heard with a double kick-drum), MMW-type organ (the Exceptions' "I Hate You", a 7-minute tour de force which may be my favorite song on the whole CD), polka (the riotous "Art Show" by Johnny Socko), hard rock (MU-330's "Press", which is the weakest track from their album of the same name, and it _still_ kicks), and Mr. Bungle-inspired weirdness (One Eye Open's "Paul Sharrar"). Speaking of weirdness, the Janitors Against Apartheid's "That Breakfast Pastry" might be the strangest ska song I've ever had the pleasure of hearing - my friends and I went hours out of our way to see them live on the basis of just this one song. And Gangster Fun's "Fat Lady Skank" might be the funniest.

If you like any kind of ska or heavy underground music at all, obtain this CD. You will find something in it to love, and you'll probably love all of it. It is far superior to its sequel, which is very uneven. Enjoy.

I'm pretty much a traditionalist when it comes to Punk rock. And being a Misfits fan since 1984, I can say these are some of the worst Misfits covers ever! I know the groups gave their renditions and took some liberties..but some of this is pure crap. NofX? Now that was embarassing..

The big draw of this album is probably the big name bands (Pennywise and NOFX) and the big name Misfits songs they have covered (Astro Zombies and Last Caress). Unfortunately for this album, the two come off as some of the most dissapointing. Without Danzig's crooning voice, "Astro Zombies" comes off bland, and the whiny stylings of NOFX makes "Last Caress" sound like a immature third grader's joke. Goldfinger's "Ghoul's Night Out" isn't bad, but The Misfit's "12 Hits from Hell" version is miles better.

Then there's a lot of covers which are recorded so distorted and loud that they resemble grindcore. Which is great if you like real hardcore and heavy music, but if you weren't a fan of the noisier, rough sounds of the album "Earth A.D." then you won't like the covers of "She" and "Earth A.D." And "Where Eagles Dare" and "London Dungeon" just sound annoying.

There are indeed a few redeeming qualities with this album. "20 Eyes" starts out with Danzig calling up the song, a sample taken off of "Evilive," and then distorted guitars lead us into a somber but solid cover. "Death Comes Ripping" "Mommy, Can I Go Out and Kill Tonight?" and "All Hell Breaks Lose" are both well done, capturing the sound of The Misfits very well, although they don't bring in many new ideas. "T.V. Casualty" and "Return of the Fly" are some of the 'Fits more obscure material, but they're well done.

Overall, the tracks meant to be the most popular on this album suck. Many of them sound weird and stupid or two grindcorish. This leaves half of the songs actually listenable, with only a few bringing anything interesting to the table.

First of all if you're from texas you have no right to an opinion of punk rock music being from the largest redneck state in this sick country. I personally enjoyed Pennywise's "astro zombies" and NOFX's "Last Caress". Some of the songs on this CD aren't that great but I'd pirate the good music instead of buying the entire CD from this greedy website!