The Best Of Alcatrazz

Alcatrazz | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (January 1, 1998)
• Original Release Date: June 23, 1998
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: RENAISSANCE
• ASIN: B000007TU0
• Also Available in: Audio CD  |  MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (12 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #99,625 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Editorial Reviews

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

12 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Key piece of "shred" history. A must for metal completists., November 30, 1998

By A Customer

This review is from: The Best Of Alcatrazz (Audio CD)

Alcatrazz was sort of an inversion of a super group, built around ex-Rainbow screamer Graham Bonnet. The original lineup of Alcatrazz featured two master guitarists before anyone outside of LA had heard of them. First up is a very young Yngwie Malmsteen, and to hear Yngwie's playing in a power-pop/metal band context is interesting...as is how developed his trademark style was even back then. Six of the songs feature Yngwie, including one of Alcatrazz's two pseudo-memorable originals ("Island in the Sun") and three live songs including versions of Bonnet's oft-rerecorded two semi-hits with Rainbow ("Since You Been Gone" and "All Night Long"). To me, the live stuff with Malmsteen is worth the price of admission, but you also get several solid songs with a young fretboard burner and whammy-bar fanatic called Steve Vai...Vai was Yngwie's replacement post-Zappa before the DLR and Whitesnake gigs which led up to his eventual solo popularity. Following Vai's departure to work with Dave, Alcatrazz got a third shredder who remained obscure...before slipping ocne and forever into the dustbin of metal history around 1986-87. Bonnet went on to work with (Chris)Impelliteri -- and, tellingly, the best song they came up with was "Since You Been Gone" version fiveor six. The complete Alcatrazz albums are fairly weak as well as hard to find, but a tiny label with the band's bassist involved in this project has put together a highly worthwhile and easy-to-acquire recap. Dated, yes. Cheeseball, you bet. But if you were 12-18 in 1983, or you've become a fan of Malmsteen or Vai since then, you might invest the bucks in some crunchy reminiscence.

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Guitarist's Dream, September 27, 2001

By 

Jim Wiseman (Andover, MA United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Best of Alcatrazz (Audio CD)

This is a magnificent collection from a band with unbelievable musicians. I have bought three copies of this CD for other friends who play guitar. How can you get a better album from a band with Steve Vai and Graham Bonnett? This is without a doubt the most treasured CD I have ever owned.

8 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Who picked these songs?, March 8, 2004

By A Customer

This review is from: The Best Of Alcatrazz (Audio CD)

Way back in the day I had the entire Alcatrazz canon (such as it was, only 3 studio albums and one live set) on cassette. The three studio albums were kind of spotty and the live album was inessential, but there were some good tunes to be found.

Since the original albums are available on cd only as very pricey imports, it would seem to me (and to casual fans or the curious I'm sure) a sensible move to pick up this domestic compilation. Well, it would have been if someone had chosen the right songs.

I can't really argue with the selections from "No Parole" or "Live Sentence", but "Disturbing The Peace" and "Dangerous Games" are completely misrepresented here. Somehow they managed to pick 9 songs from these two albums and still miss the highlights, especially on "Dangerous Games". Oh, well. May be the original albums will get reissued domestically someday.

Note: My comments are based on the quality of the songs chosen, not the quality of the playing of Mssrs. Malmsteen and Vai. If you are a total frethead may be these were the best tracks?