The Essentials [Original recording remastered, Import]

Ratt | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (April 10, 2006)
• Number of Discs: 1
• Format: Original recording remastered, Import
• Label: Wea International
• ASIN: B00006BTAM
• Also Available in: Audio CD  |  MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 3.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #389,459 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Editorial Reviews

RATT emerged out of L.A. s era-defining hard rock/heavy metal scene in 1984
with the monster hit and MTV staple Round And Round from their
Atlantic debut album Out Of The Cellar. That multi-platinum disc also
delivered classics including Back For More and Wanted Man, and
branded the band' s signature sound:
anthem-heavy hard rock with irresistible pop
hooks and Stephen Pearcy' s unmistakable
lead vocals. Those three smashes open this
essential 12-track, single-disc collection from
one of the biggest American bands of the
80s, which also features hits including
Dance, Way Cool Jr., Lay It Down,
and more. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

8 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Ratt 'n' Roll Never Sounded So Good!, July 22, 2003

By 

James Walsh (Mesa, Arizona United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Essentials (Audio CD)

This album was released by Warner Strategic records as the first comprehensive Ratt "greatest hits" release since the 1991 release of Ratt 'n' Roll. To me, it was about time a release was made with remasteerd audio. But, it is a travesty that the release was promoted by no one. The cover art is not even available on the Amazon site, which tends to be the sign of a not very well promoted release.

So, lets review the album. The material on the album is well chosen. Most of the tracks, however, appear on Ratt 'n' Roll. Ratt 'n' Roll also features far more tracks than the Essentials does. But, having both, I must say that the audio quality of Essentials far exceeds that of Ratt 'n' Roll. But, Ratt 'n' Roll isn't exactly a production nightmare either.

So, what should you do? Well, one thing you shouldn't do is complain that another best of album was released. One of my many pet peeves is reading reviews by both paid record reviewers and fans saying that an album was bad because it was "just another" or a "pointless" greatest hits release. Greatest hits releases are for fans that are going to see a band in concert and want to get to know the songs they probably will hear or for casual fans that don't want to buy 10 albums to get the select few tracks they will listen to regardless. Personally, I own all Ratt's albums. I still buy greatest hits because to me it is a lot easier carrying a travel bag with 20 greatest hits recordings in the bag rather than 200 CD's to get the songs I want to hear with me. So, stop complaining.

My advice is simple. If you are looking for great music in today's audio quality, Essentials is for you. If you want to get the best compilation of Ratt material, buy Ratt 'n' Roll. If you just want to complain about greatest hits albums, buy all Ratt's albums. There's not a bad one in the bunch!

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Decent Overview, but..., May 2, 2003

By 

Bleu Allen (Tennessee) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Essentials (Audio CD)

I'm not sure which release the other reviewer was listening to when he said "the sound quality will blow you away". I have Ratt and Roll 8191 and the only major difference I find is the recording level is higher on THE ESSENTIALS release. There is still an audible distortion crackle after the first note of BACK FOR MORE. This should have been cleaned up if it had been remastered properly.

I am not happy about the way The record companies slap on a digitally remastered label and call it good, without really spending much time making the recording sound cleaner with less errors.

I believe the CLASSIC MASTERS series from Capitol Records outshines the ESSENTIALS series hands down.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Ratt - 'The Essentials' (Warner), December 24, 2005

By 

Mike Reed (USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: The Essentials (Audio CD)

The title notes these are the 'Original Master Recordings'.Are they sure about that?Quality seems to be a bit lacking here.Don't get me wrong,if you liked Ratt in their prime like I did,this twelve track compilation shouldn't let you down too hard.We get four tunes from each of Ratt's first three albums.Personally,I haven't heard "Dance","Way Cool Jr." or "Heads I Win,Tails You Lose" in sometime now.Pretty much aimed at Ratt completists.