Greatest Fits [Explicit Lyrics, Import]

Ministry | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (June 19, 2001)
• Number of Discs: 1
• Format: Explicit Lyrics, Import
• Label: Warner Bros UK
• ASIN: B00005KKCL
• Also Available in: Audio CD
• Average Customer Review: 3.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (26 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #113,953 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Track Listings

1. What About Us?

2. Stigmata

3. The Land of Rape and Honey

4. Thieves

5. So What [Live]

6. N.W.O.

7. Just One Fix

8. Jesus Built My Hotrod

9. Reload 12"

10. Lay Lady Lay

11. Supermaniac Soul

12. Bad Blood

13. Supernaut

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com

Greatest Fits spans many years of the band's history, from their industrial dance breakthrough "Land of Milk and Honey" to a pair of previously unreleased 2001 tracks. In that sense, this 13-track compilation is a great overview that careens from one jagged sonic peak to another, including the dizzy "Jesus Built My Hot Rod" (with guest vocalist Gibby Haynes calling out his nonsensical lyrics like he's at a nuthouse square dance), rarities (a dark, charged live version of "So What," the spare efficiency of "Reload"'s 12-inch remix), and the '90s MTV fodder of "Just One Fix" and "NWO." But those tracks also underscore the fact that while Ministry may have evolved dramatically from '80s synth-poppers to a pioneering '90s industrial powerhouse, their formulaic mix of thrash guitar riffs, monstrous mechanized bass and drum grooves, and occasionally clever samples seemingly ran out of gas mid-decade. And if one doubts Ministry's troubling cliché potential, check out Steven Spielberg's A.I.; when mainstream cinema's most successful director wanted a sleazy house band for the film's WWF-meets-SRL Flesh Fair sequence, he turned to Al Jourgensen and company to essentially play themselves. Ironically, their contribution to the film, "What About Us?" (along with a new cover of Black Sabbath's "Supernaut") offers some hope; the group's ever-assaultive take on the Ministry sound is at once stripped down, better structured, and--dare we say it?--more accessible. Why, we're whistling it right now. --Jerry McCulley

Product Description

MINISTRY GREATEST FITS

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A good overview of Ministry's career, August 4, 2003

By 

N. Durham "Big Evil" (Philadelphia, PA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (HALL OF FAME REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Greatest Fits (Audio CD)

After disappointing albums like "Filth Pig" and "Dark Side of the Spoon", Warner Bros. decided to part ways with Ministry; but not before they could try to make a quick buck with this greatest hits release. However, "Greatest Fits" does provide a satisfying overview of Ministry's career, and offers some bonuses as well. Beginning with "What About Us", a song written for Steven Speilberg's wanna be blockbuster film A.I., and going forward with Ministry classics like "Stigmata", "Land of Rape and Honey", a ten minute live version of "So What", "N.W.O.", "Just One Fix", "Jesus Built My Hot Rod", a 12' remix of "Reload", and a cover of Black Sabbath's "Supernaut". And while this is an all around great collection of Ministry tunes, one can't help but wonder why fan favorite tracks like "Psalm 69" and "Burning Inside" aren't here. I would rather listen to those any day as opposed to "Bad Blood". All in all, "Greatest Fits" is a good overview of Ministry's career, and is a nice introduction for newer fans of the band.

6 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars "Land of Milk and Honey"?, August 18, 2001

By A Customer

This review is from: Greatest Fits (Audio CD)

Jesus, get it right. I'm a die-hard Ministry fan, but I'm tempted to give this weak-willed compilation album a neutral rating simply because the reviewer doesn't know Jourgensen's Ministry for Ministry of Sound's 2000 clubber's guide to trance. "Land of Milk and Honey" should be "Land of Rape and Honey". Is it so hard to read the liner notes? You'd think someone mildly knowledgable could have been curtailed to write the review.

9 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars familiar songs repackaged and resold...., June 20, 2001

By 

man_invisible (Dork, PA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: Greatest Fits (Audio CD)

I saw this new Ministry album and had to have it. Being an avid fan of the band, though, I was struck with a scary thought when I noticed the familiarity of the tracks listed on back: Does this greatest hits album somehow signify that Ministry is on the verge of calling it quits? I'm not kept abrest in the gossip loop, and have no idea what's going on with the band, but the idea of this legendary group splitting up puts a stitch in my heart.

That being said, 'Greatest Fits' is a pretty thorough compilation of classic & more recent Ministry tracks. Most likely anyone who's into the band already owns what's on this CD, but it is worth it just to have all the strong tracks on a single disc. There is a new song (done for the upcoming movie "A.I.") called "What About Us?" which echoes 'Dark Side of the Spoon' and is pretty average. Also included is an alternative live version of "So What," a 12" version of "Reload," and "Supernaut," which I believe (but am not sure) was previously unreleased.

Overall, this is an ideal sampler to get someone started on Ministry, but anyone who's been following the band for years will see it as nothing more than an attempt by the band to milk out some extra $. As far as getting a lot of good songs from several albums on one CD, this is a solid compilation.