These days, I am quite the opposite of an avid listener of the California rockers P.O.D.. However, just a few short years ago, there were few things in life I felt more passionately about than that exact band. My musical tastes have gone through some heavy-duty changes, and even though P.O.D.'s music doesn't "click" with me in the exact same way it used to, they will always be special to me simply because of all the memories I have that are tied to them and their music in some way. Their music was the main thing that got me through some of the roughest patches in my late high school years, and for that, I could never say anything too bad about them.

Besides, I'm a total sucker for hits compilations. Sure, they're occasionally useless, but that often means very little to a spontaneous buyer like myself. There's just no way I possibly could have resisted the urge to pick this up while I was out doing some Christmas shopping a few days ago.

Greatest Hits: The Atlantic Years spans seven years of P.O.D.'s career -- 1999-2006. As experts of the band will quickly notice, this compilation neglects P.O.D.'s first two efforts, the indie albums Snuff The Punk and Brown. Instead, The Atlantic Years focuses on what P.O.D. has brought forth from their major-label debut The Fundamental Elements of Southtown all the way to the singles from Testify, which was released at the beginning of this year.

Two new songs, "Here We Go" and "Going In Blind" (the latter of which is actually the band's latest single) have also been included to provide a little something extra for all of the devoted fans. Try as I might, I can't get into the new songs. I think a big part of why I can't get excited about them is the fact that I'm not very *into* P.O.D. at this time period of my life, and any of my current fondness for the band's older songs can be traced back to the fact that I was once absolutely obsessed with them.

Things get going in a loud, hard-rocking way with "Southtown" and "Boom". Both songs rely on lead vocalist Sonny Sandoval's charismatic blend of rapping, singing and screaming, and both are driven by simple, downtuned guitar riffs and heavy bass-lines. "Southtown" is possibly P.O.D.'s most anthemic song to date, with a chorus that sticks in your mind for days and some of Sandoval's most passionate vocals. One thing the listener will learn instantly is that the tracklisting for this compilation doesn't play by the rules -- the song order is mixed up. Unlike most hits CDs, this one does not follow any type of chronological order.

Fans of P.O.D.'s reggae-flavored tracks will be pleased to see that "Roots In Stereo" made the cut. Energetic and catchy, this song was one of the most memorable from Testify, thanks in no small part to the undeniably fun guest vocals from Matisyahu. The one-two punch of "Alive" and "Youth Of The Nation" will bring P.O.D. fans back to late 2001/early 2002, when P.O.D. was dominating rock radio. These two songs remain among P.O.D.'s most successful for good reason. "Alive" boasts infectious guitar riffs and a simple, inspirational chorus that soars, while "Youth Of The Nation" relies on grim lyrics and a somber bass introduction to captivate the listener.

One definite plus about this album is that two soundtrack cuts that weren't available on P.O.D.'s studio albums are featured here in all their glory. Fans will remember "Sleeping Awake" from 2003. This song debuted Jason Truby's entrance to the band after the departure of founding guitarist Marcos Curiel, and its raucous riffs and memorable hooks have made it a personal favorite of many P.O.D. fans. "Truly Amazing" was inspired by The Passion Of The Christ, and was subsequently featured on one of that movie's soundtracks. A slower-paced song, "Truly Amazing" hands over the spotlight to Sandoval's most melodic, calm vocals with lovely results.

"Set Your Eyes To Zion" arrives to throw the fans back once more to the Southtown days. I have always been of the opinion that this is P.O.D.'s finest reggae-tinged song. It doesn't get much more relaxing and chilled-out than this. Sandoval's vocals are in top form, and everything flows wonderfully here. "If It Wasn't For You" made small waves through P.O.D.'s fanbase via being included on the second volume of the Warriors EP. By all means, it was one of the more tolerable songs from that release; that doesn't stop it, though, from falling a bit short to these ears. At times, Sandoval sounds drained of his usual passion, and I believe that subtracts much more from the song than the band is aware of.

The song selection on Greatest Hits: The Atlantic Years does not stand out as especially bad, but I feel that it could be much better. I've seen P.O.D. live, and numerous assortments of DVD footage/performances over the years, and I've never seen fans go as crazy as when they'd perform songs like "Lie Down" and "The Messenjah". To me, those two songs are very good representatives of P.O.D.'s sound and what they're about, and their absence puzzles me. Clearly, their absence is not due to the fact that they weren't radio singles -- "Set Your Eyes To Zion" wasn't ever a single, and to my knowledge "Execute The Sounds" was not either, but that didn't stop them from being included.

All in all, I would recommend this to huge fans of P.O.D. who feel the need to scoop up anything and everything with the band's name on it. I also think it'd be a nice addition to the collections of people who are nothing more than very casual fans of the band. On the flipside, this Hits collection might be misleading to casual fans, because in no way does it fully represent P.O.D.'s very best songs. Where are "Find My Way" and "I and Identify"? What about "Portrait"? My point is this: Greatest Hits: The Atlantic Years is a decent release, it goes down easily and the songs are catchy, but no music lover should listen to this while getting the impression that this is the be-all and end-all of P.O.D. Being a onetime die-hard P.O.D. fan, I'm well aware that there's much more to the band than a fun hook and a radio-ready chorus, and this compilation doesn't accurately demonstrate that.




Recommended: Yes