toolhead's Full Review: Greatest Hits by Alice in Chains
This might sound like a pretty ignorant review, because I'm going against all Amazon.com review protocol and reviewing a record I don't own, have never even heard, and probably never will, either. Sounds stupid, right? Wrong (and, luckily, epinions is NOT Amazon.com). While I've never listened to this album, I DO happen to be a very dedicated Alice in Chains fan, owning every one of their albums [b]except[/b] this one, and I feel strongly opposed to this release. To me, it seems like this album was merely released, most likely by order of the head of Alice's record company (Capitol), in order to try and steal the cash of unacquainted fans of the band, especially considering the release of a previously-released (and ultimately superior) collection of the band's best known material. If I was so inclined, I could arrange a playlist of the songs in order on this Greatest Hits album, and burn it for myself. But that's just a waste. I already own Nothing Safe: The Best of the Box, and let me tell you, that is a collection that , in every way possible, far exceeds the quality of the Greatest Hits album. Here's why.
First of all, Nothing Safe has fifteen songs, including three or four rarities (two never previously released). Greatest Hits just has ten songs.
Secondly, Nothing Safe is better arranged and offers a wider range of songs than Greatest Hits. With the prior, you get the idea that Jerry Cantrell himself handpicked the songs and order they'd be arranged in, whereas with the former, it's simply a list of their ten most popular songs, in chronological order. This offers a boring approach to the band's song catalog, with the latter album not reaching its true gems until nearly half of the cd has finished playing.
Nothing Safe offers not merely the bands radio hits (all of which are included on both albums), but five extra, lesser-known songs as well. Most of which, particularly "Got Me Wrong", "What the Hell Have I", and "We Die Young", are some of the band's finer tunes. The Greatest Hits collection is nothing more than the ten Alice in Chains songs you will likely ever hear on the radio, period.
Finally, it's a waste of money to pay relatively the same price for an inferior product. Why not use your money on an album that has the exact same songs (it does...every single one of these is on Nothing Safe), PLUS five extra tracks? You'd be stupid not to.
Don't get me wrong, I love Alice in Chains! That's exactly why I'm writing this review. If you are a fan of the band, you probably have no need for this cd, but if you're new, do yourself a favor and buy Nothing Safe instead, if you're that desperate. Purist fans will already own most or all of the band's releases, and newbies would benefit more from either Nothing Safe or, for the big investor, the AiC boxset which it is based off of. If you're looking to further discover the band's material, I'd most strongly recommend Jar of Flies, Dirt, and their outstanding Unplugged LP. I've already seen Greatest Hits cluttering the discount bins at Wal-Mart, but take it from this fan, any of their other albums would be worth the additional five dollars in purchasing them. This band simply cannot be redeemed by an unflattering 'greatest hits' release such as this. Owe up and pay Lane, Jerry, Sean, Mike, and, um, the other Mike their due respects and buy their other albums instead. You'll be glad you did.
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