.com Warrant is a schizophrenic band, a condition illustrated by this 16-song "hits" collection. The Los Angeles-based lineup's 1989 debut, Dirty Rotten Filthy Stinking Rich, featured such metal-lite delights as "32 Pennies," the title track, the insipid, self-referential trademark hit "Down Boys," the sappy power ballad "Heaven," the lascivious "Cherry Pie," and "Sometimes She Cries," all of which appear on this best-of. But by 1992's Dog Eat Dog, Warrant had gone heavier and grungier, befitting the musical climate of the era. Consequently, the quintet lost fans who perceived the group as bandwagon jumpers; actually, they do a decent job with heavier songs such as "Machine Gun" and "Hole in My Wall." Proving that singer Jani Lane and pals could be tender and memorable without being cheesy are the gutsy, bluesy "Uncle Tom's Cabin" and the beautiful "I Saw Red." Their cover of Queen's "We Will Rock You," on the other hand, almost manages to sap the song's inherent monster groove. While Warrant's move from image-conscious pop-metal to a heavier sound was awkward in execution, fans of either of the band's phases--and those who like both--will dig this diverse disc. --Katherine Turman
S**Y
Warrant
Music on Vinyl releases top notch and quality records. This one is no exception. Get the first edition of this release before it’s gone. First time ever on vinyl: the best of Warrant! Great sound quality!
S**N
music
you guy's are great it was way better than on time it was right on like the old day's right on Thank's so very much later SAM I'AM
M**R
Best of the Columbia years
This compilation spans the 3 studio albums from the Columbia years - DRFSR, Cherry Pie and Dog Eat Dog.While there are no remix, demo or live tracks to be found, there are 2 b-side tracks and 1 soundtrack addition sprinkled within 16 tracks that have been beautifully remastered.Regarding the tracks there are 6 from DRFSR, 7 from Cherry Pie which include the 2 b-side tracks, 2 from Dog Eat Dog and 1 soundtrack song from the Cuba Gooding, Jr. movie Gladiator in chronological order.Personally I would have preferred a more even distribution of songs from each album represented and while the acoustic b-side version of I Saw Red is included, I would have preferred the studio version with whole band included instead, which is just a personal preference.The booklet has a band photo, a small narrative about the band and a track listing including which album each was released. Nothing too fancy or out of the norm for most compilation albums.Although I have some minor flaws with the amount of tracks represented from each album and lack of demo or live tracks this is still a five star release with great mastering and the inclusion of 3 tracks not available on any studio album.
P**E
Fun time pop rockers best of
Warrant took the poser pop-metal schtick to its logical conclusion in many ways (well OK, there was Nitro) and this collection does its best to present their collected masterworks (ahem).Kicking off with the self-referential Down Boys the collection then jumps into 32 Pennies. Apparently a hit, whatever, nothing much to see here…. But then the collection dips into the inevitable power ballad which made their name for them in the US. Heaven is a real soft rock sugarfest and hey, by putting into the third track slot they even stayed true to form as no hair-metal CD album could be released without a ballad as track 3. All up, even with the teasing, it’s a nice enough variation on a theme. After that we get a couple more fun rockers from the debut and then another ballad, this one more yawn inducing but it rides a nice melody.As we enter the middle of the disc we hit THAT song. The throw away hit that made them oodles of cash, a worldwide hit and….. killed any critical acclaim they may have ever accrued. Still….better to be rich and a source of amusement than poor with integrity. Especially in the hairspray era! Again, despite the teasing this is a mountainous slice of good time stupidity. Sure, you can’t have the windows down on your car when playing it but as a guilty pleasure… and come one boys, you know you have the video clip playing in your head while listening to this…There are more goodies however, Thin Disguise actually have some intellectual heft as does Uncle Toms Cabin. Other posters here have questioned the inclusion of an acoustic version I Saw Red. Understandable, it would have been better as some sort of bonus track and they should have included the ‘real’ version as well. But then, the song was lame and only pushed into the charts because whatever song Warrant put out after Cherry Pie was going to sell stacks. Sorry. This track is followed up by the fallen angel balled construct of Bed of Roses. Not bad, just a bummer it follows an unloved acoustic version of I Saw Red.The album closes out with a brace of tunes from their Dog Eat Dog album where the band found itself caught in the headlights of grunge and slapped on more tattoos and tried to do a more full bodied guitar sound version of themselves. It wasn’t pretty but they are good to flesh out the story of this band. Unnecessary is the bands cover of Queen number We Will Rock You. A couple of decades later I still recall sitting around with a couple of buddies and someone put this on. Don’t think we made it to the end, it induces dry retching and is truly an abomination. Talk about a negative way to end an otherwise well constructed disc.Liner notes by Gerri Miller – inspired choice as she was the driving force behind Metal Edge magazine which was probably the biggest print advocate of this type of music – complete the package. And it’s a pretty good package. Warrant never had much truck with the critics even within their own sphere of operations but this is about as good as you could make them look. Some big hits, some ballads strategically places to space things out and some fun time rockers. Definitely a good disc for the car stereo.
B**N
Cd in great shape and on time
Like this collection of songs. Warrant changed over the years and this covers all their music
G**N
The Best of Warrant
I had all of Warrants originals on tape as a chubby kid growing up in the late 80's and early 90's. I still remember watching them play during an intermission of Rollergames (teams of rollerskating badasses that would try to run each other off the skating rink). "Down Boys", "Thin Disguise", "Mr. Rainmaker" and Thin Lizzy ripoff "Big Talk" all sound good. "Cherry Pie" still kind of makes me feel like I am going through puberty and thinking about Bobbie Brown (the Blonde One). Of course, the other half of the Warrant songbook was big, fat power ballads and they are here too. "Heaven", "Sometimes She Cries", and "Bed of Roses" are all on here. My biggest gripe, however, is the solo acoustic version of "I Saw Red" This was one Warrant ballad I did like and probably in my top 3 overall and then we get this acoustic version. Maybe its just me, but I doubt it. I also liked the cover of Queen's "We Will Rock You". I am probably in the minority here. It was played in the end of the boxing movie Gladiator (the boxing movie). Queen's version makes me want to fly into a fit of rage, because of the amount of hate I still harbor for Wayne's World.
K**T
Perfect
One of my favorite cds
B**.
great CD
great album