Customer Reviews

20th Century Masters

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AMG classified this band as heavy metal? There is not one thing metal in it. It is more art rock style. The heaviest song is "Battle scar" with Geddy Lee singing with the band. Kim Mitchell was the entertainer of the group and was fun to look at.

Most known songs are "Let go the line" (with that nice wooden percussion sound), "Paradises skies" and "Diamonds diamonds". The ones I like the most are "The party" and "Check".

Just enjoy it!

Made in CAN, Serial# 440-014-377-2, Playing Time 47:51

This Canadian band from the 70's released 5 studio albums, 1 live album, and 1 "best of" album; after calling it quits, Kim Mitchell (of "Go For Soda!" and "I Am A Wild Party" fame) decided to go solo.

The 12 tracks contained on this disc consist of a strange combination of "hits", like "Gravity" and "Diamonds Diamonds" (the latter used as the title for their original greatest hits), and some less successful material, both commercially and musically, like "Blowing The Blues Away" and "Blue River Liquor Shine"...

Yes, MAX WEBSTER did produce a lot of good material; unfortunately for us buyers, we don't get a whole lot on this, which is sad considering there's about 30 minutes of unused space... For the un-initiated, the track "Battle Scar" features a collaboration with RUSH.

I would suggest the "The Best Of Max Webster Featuring Kim Mitchell" CD instead!

I wasn't really familiar with Max Webster, but the Canadian band was reviewed favorably in Martin Popoff's Collectors Guide to Heavy Metal books, so I figured I'd check them out. The compact, affordable 20th Century Masters collection seemed like the best way to do that.

It turns out that Max Webster isn't a metal band by anyone's definition (Popoff obviously has a soft spot for any kind of Canadian band), but rather a pretty standard rock band. They have some heavier moments, and some progressive elements (both are evident on "Battle Scar," which features Rush), but for the most part this is a middle of the road rock n' roll band somewhere between April Wine and Grand Funk Railroad. The tracks with prominent organ ("Gravity" and "The Party") sound a bit like ELP. It's perfectly decent stuff, but nothing really noteworthy.

For newcomers like myself, this 20th Century Masters collection makes for a perfect introduction to the band. I know this series is universally hated, but I don't see how you can complain about a dozen songs, all digitally remastered, at a budget price. Even if you don't end up loving the music (as I didn't), at least you can check the band out without breaking the bank.