Customer Reviews

Brightest Starz: Anthology

5 star:		(8)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

These songs represent a good selection from this band. Starz rose from the ashes of Looking Glass (who had a hit with 'Brandy' around 1972, though Peter Sweval the bassist is the only Starz member who was with Looking Glass during the time of that hit--other Starz members replaced Looking Glass members until they finally turned hard rock and changed the name to Starz) and went on to become my favorite band for several years. They had a total of 4 studio albums, all of which were first-rate productions with great songs and great sound quality. This collection represents a good sampling of those 4 albums. There are some noteable selections missing (namely 'Cool One' and 'Night Crawler'), but the only way to make everyone happy is by releasing those 4 CDs again in their entirety. Everyone had their own personal favorites, and it would be impossible to make an anthology that included them all, since I suspect every one of their songs is somebody's favorite somewhere. I am fortunate in that I have all the Metal Blade CD releases. Maybe this anthology is the beginning of another re-release of these albums. We can only hope. I also recommend the CD "Requiem" if it is still available since it has some other rare studio recordings.

To begin with this is an excellent collection of Starz songs from their 4 out of print studio albums. The problem you're always going to have with a collection of hits from one of those "GREAT BANDS" that never quite made it over the top and actually never released too many singles is that these albums were packed full of AOR hits for people living somewhere lucky enough to hear them. If Starz, Violation, Attention Shoppers, and Coliseum Rock were still available I would say buy them instead! They aren't and this represents the best you can do without a lot of digging.

Like a lot of Starz fans, some of my favorite songs aren't here, but Anthology is full of about as much music as you can put on a disc and they are all certainly good to great songs. Admittedly, I would like to see "Cool One", "Good Ale We Seek"(Has to be a Rush spoof), "It's a Riot", "Johnny All Alone", "Last Night I Wrote A Letter", "Outfit" and too many more to mention. I don't think Starz recorded a song I didn't like, so, you can't go wrong with Anthology, unless you can find the other albums I mentioned.

I saw Starz and Angel open for Ted Nugent and they blew me away, not to mention Ted Nugent. They were so hot he wouldn't let them do an encore even though the crowd persisted yelling and standing on their feet after the lights came back on. If you like the 70's, YES! If you like catchy tunes, YES! If you like good time music, YES! If you don't get this, yes this is worth buying!

The best of the disc is "Fallen Angel", "Pull the Plug", "Cherry Baby", "Sing It, Shout It", "Violation", "So Young, So Bad" and "Rock 6 Times". but, this is me, Exiled01 speaking, you be the judge. I bet you'll be looking for the other albums just to see what your missing.

First : all of their CDs SHOULD be available for sale at our local stores...come on record companies re-issue them.

Second: You can buy all of their albums except Brightest Starz from the groups Web Site:...

You can also buy several live albums and other STARZ "stuff".

Three: This is a very good album with a good sampling from their four releases. I agree ... that Violation is probably their best single album and 6 songs out of the 18 on this album or from Violation.

Highly recommended.

(Other groups to consider: Angel, Budgie, Montrose, and MOUNTAIN/Leslie West!!!)

This is a fairly good compilation. However, it is missing some great tracks such as Johnny All Alone and Don't Think from their Attention Shoppers LP. As a matter of fact, that entire LP should be available on CD. Some good cuts on this one and some not-so-good. Overall, very disappointing! You would be better off looking for their entire LP collection on compact discs. The CDs are still out there, you just have to look because they've been deleted.

TRACK LIST

1. (She's Just A) Fallen Angel
2. Boys in Action
3. Detroit Girls
4. Live Wire
5. Pull the Plug
6. Cherry Baby
7. All Night Long
8. Rock Six Times
9. Sing It, Shout It
10. Subway Terror
11. Violation
12. X-Ray Spex
13. Waitin' on You
14. Hold on to the Night
15. She
16. (Any Way That You Want) I'll Be There
17. So Young, So Bad
18. Coliseum Rock

Don't pay attention to the comments by the previous reviewer. This is a great CD!!! Includes a significant number of cuts from their first two (and best) LP's. In particular you should check out (She's Just A) Fallen Angel, Pull the Plug, Subway Terror and Violation. I saw this band several times in the late 1970's and they became one of my favorites. The material here really represents 70's rock, although Starz never really gained the acclaim they deserved. Michael Lee Smith and Richie Ranno are the heart and soul of this band, and their contributions here are stellar.

I got the album "Violation" on vinyl in the 70s, and thought it was great. I liked it so much that I saw them in upstate New York when I worked there one summer (and I normally don't go to concerts). So when I saw this collection, I had to check it out.

Of the songs on this CD, the ones from "Violation" are my favorites, with one notable exception. The songs from "Violation" include "Cherry Baby" (probably their biggest hit), "Rock Six Times" (a great hard rocker), "All Night Long" (a good sexual rocker), "Sing It, Shout It" (a love song which is a bit more mellow, but not a power ballad), "Violation" (a psychological rocker), and my personal favorite, "Subway Terror" (a rocker about a serial killer).
The only songs from "Violation" missing are "S.T.E.A.D.Y." (another psychological rocker), "Is That a Streetlight or the Moon" (a short mood piece that never did much for me), and the one song I really miss, "Cool One" (a funny, sexual rocker).

My favorite song not from "Violation" is "So Young, So Bad" (a funny song about an underage, out-of-control girl -- Jenny Jones material). "Detroit Girls" is OK (but I'm originally from the Detroit area, so I'm biased). "Coliseum Rock" is a good instrumental, but Starz lyrics are what make many of the songs.

The rest of the songs are all decent, but not great.

To summarize, it had most of the songs I wanted, plus one I didn't know that I really love, which earned it four stars. The lack of "Cool One" and the fact I didn't love any other songs kept it from getting five stars.

I LOVED STARZ EVER SINCE I SAW THEN DO A FREE GRAND OPENING SHOW AT THE ORIGINAL PEACHES RECORDS AND TAPES IN ATLANTA,GA.
AROUND 76' OR 77'. ALTHOUGH NIGHT CRAWLER SHOULD BE INCLUDED I AM STILL HAPPY TO REPLACE MY WORN OUT VINYL.

Wow, I never heard about Starz until about three years ago. Luckily, I stumbled across them during one of my late night searches on Amazon and I must say that I'm impressed! These guys should have been one of the biggest bands of the 70s. Their sound is like perfect mixture of Aerosmith, Boston, and Kiss.

Anyways, "Brightest Starz" showcases an impressive amount of songs, although their fourth (and final) album only has 2 tracks here which is disappointing. Still, I guarantee that music lovers of hard rock will have a blast getting acquainted with this disc. Yea, it "lived" in my car's cd player for over two years -- and it's easy to hear why because the music is fun and it takes you back to a better time! To be honest, I was just a baby when Starz was recording, but still something about their music just triggers all kinds of positive feelings and memories inside of me. It's like a time machine.

This cd is excellent and for any starz fan you can always add another 10 songs to this anthology! But you have to remember that the record companies and possibly the band choose the tracks! I've seen and photographed Starz and loved the band live! They are one of my favorite all-time bands. But don't shun the Anthology cd because it doesn't have all your favorite songs. They had some great hits in the 70's and in my opinion some other songs that could have been hits! I'm fortunate enough to have some of my pictures on the bands web site and if you want check it out www.starzcentral.com . The anthology cd is still a great deal or buy all the studio albums that have been remastered and with bonus tracks from the requiem cd.
Either way enjoy the music!!!

Crazychefjoe
Joe Werner