Customer Reviews

Greatest Hits - Burning Cats and Amputees: People with Issues

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

 

 

It's true that these are just re-recordings and Marq's voice isn't as good as it was, but this is a great CD for those who have all the B-Boys CD's and want something new. The band sounds tight despite the barebones production and the remakes are often heavier and looser than the Templeman produced tracks of old. If you are a true Bulletboys fan then this is a must, trust me. If you are just curious by hearsay, then pick up the self titled CD first.

I got this disc, excited to that I could replace CD's I'd lost at one fell swoop. I was sorely disappointed. Torien's voice isn't what it used to be; and it all sounds live, rough, and unfinished. That's fine if you want a live album, but not what I was looking for. Had I known it was re-recorded, I probably wouldn't have bought it. If you like live albums, go for it; if you're looking for the sound quality, and in particular the vocals, of the original songs, go buy the original CD's.

What an original, creative & refreshing way to present an excellent band's greatest hits collection to its fans! To not only re-record the songs (without over-producing the crap out of it, I might add) with a heavier, more raw & garage-like sound; but to reunite the original members to do so, resulted in an amazing album.

While every track is truly enjoyable, my hands-down favorite is "St. Christopher". Listen about half-way thru the tune for Marq's voice to transform from a heroin-like, out-of-it-ness; into a psychotic, eruptive scream that demands the listener's full attention. When the band's backup vocals continually repeat "Let it ride....", Marq yells "YEAH" over & over until he ends the track by seemingly nose-diving off a cliff into oblivion. Quite possibly one of recorded music's finest moments of all time.

Also, check out "THC Groove" at about the half-way point, where the Boys break into a reggae-type jam, & Marq provides perfect vocals for the occasion. Very cool.

Being a gigantic Bulletboys fan, this CD is easily one of my most-played & never seems to get old. It's just a goddamn shame that they could not all stay as the great unit they once were.

I highly recommend that any fan of good, hard rock music pick this one up!

The biggest problem with this CD is that for the price, thereis only ONE previously unreleased song included (...)The other songs are a mixture of tracks from the three WB releases; nothing from their fourth album (with only Marq Torien and Lonnie Vencent from the original lineup present) "Acid Monkey" has been included. Rock Candy, an excellent cover of the Montrose classic is here, but WAS released previously on the Wayne's World soundtrack, so chances are that the true BB fan already has spent $$ on that disc. It's disappointing that there is only one new song on the disc. Fans can only hope that the BulletBoys will release an album of new material soon.

This is the first Bulletboys cd in five years. This is not really a greatest hits cd, instead the original lineup rerecords all of their classic songs. The track selection is quite good, no big songs are missing but there is also no representation from the "Acid Monkey" cd. All of the remakes sound great and as another reviewer said earlier, it sounds like it was done in one take, live in the studio.

Out of all the remakes, "Talk to your daughter" is the biggest improvement over the original. A lot of the songs have different intros and outros, as well. A new song is tacked on the end "Something good" (a cover). I only have a couple complaints about the cd. First, the production is very murky, some of the songs seem hard to hear. Second, the guitar and drums sound great but the bass is a little loud.

Marq Torien (lead singer) does a great job and only slips on one or two notes throughout the whole cd. If you're already a Bulletboys fan, pick this one up. If you are new to the Bulletboys, look for the self-titled or "Freakshow" album first. By the way, keep in mind that the original lineup has split up again, so this is likely the last time you will hear them together.

This CD is EXACTLY what a greatest hits package should be. The original Bulletboys regrouped in the late, late 90s and got together in 1999 to re-record all their greatest hits for this CD. The disc rocks from beginning to end, and there are a lot of surprises in store for the die-hard BulletBoys fan. Most of the songs rock with more of a vengeance than ever before, there are lots more bluesey/jammin'/messin' around intros (see "When Pigs Fly", "Hang on St. Christopher" and "FTLO Money", for example) and outros, and the inclusion of the cover of "Something Good" (in true four to the floor, uptempo BulletBoys fashion no less) is an excellent way to close out the compilation. Torien still wails on lead vocal, Sweda attacks the guitar with the most in-your-face, crunching, awe-inspiring guitar sound since Freakshow, and D'anda and Vencent are stronger than ever. These guys have a reputation for recording all of their CD's "almost-live" (i.e., no layers of useless studio overdubs and such). THIS album sounds almost like the whole thing was done in one fantastic take - it's spontaneous, it's magical, it's fun, it sounds INCREDIBLE, and most of all, it rocks. If you like the BulletBoys, this CD is well worth twice the price, even if you already have all four of their other albums. GET IT NOW, and keep your fingers crossed for another new Bulletboys disc!

First off, I want to say that I've been a Bulletboys fan since their first release back in 1988. With a producer such as Ted Templeman, former producer to Van Halen during their David Lee Roth days, there's no way anyone would've figured this band could go wrong. Bulletboys launched their career during the heyday of "hair metal", and weren't even close to being a hair metal band. No lipstick. No hairspray. No pouting. No glitter. No costumes. Just straight-across-the-board, right-in-your-face rock, which is why they were often tagged as the second coming of Van Halen. The band started out on a very strong note, with a very loyal following, strong rotation on MTV, frequent appearances on MTV's "Headbanger's Ball", once even hosting an entire episode, touring with Ozzy, Poison, et al, and, inexplicably, watched their career suddenly careen south.

"Freakshow" is actually the name of the Bulletboys' second album, but this disc of re-recordings is exactly that: a freakshow. It's like a car skidding on a surface of black ice...just all over the place with no recovery in sight. At least with this collection of songs, you can stop the havoc by pressing the "Stop" button on your CD player, thus gaining instant relief.

Whatever the band was aiming for at the time of recording their previous hits clearly didn't come through with this release. As the old saying goes, "If it ain't broke, don't fix it."

Well, the band ignored that and tried to fix what obviously didn't need fixing. The tunes in their original state surpass anything on this collection of re-recordings from their previous albums.

Marq Torien, who has always had a very underrated voice for a band frontman, clearly shows what happens when you live the rock and roll lifestyle, and push yourself to excess. His voice is beyond shot, a shadow of what it once was. Imagine the late Pavarotti trying to sing with a bad case of laryngitis.

After getting the original band (Mick Sweda on guitar, Lonnie Vencent on bass, and Jimmy D'Anda on drums) back together, Marq & Co. have failed at trying to create a "raw" and "back to their garage days roots" vibe. Other bands, better and worse, have done just what the Buletboys have tried to do with reissuing new recordings of old material, and it's usually a hit and miss venture. The Bulletboys missed their mark on this one.

It's a shame to see a talented, and underrated, band with so much potential from back in the "hair metal" days of rock reduced to something like this. 2 stars for this release; 1 for including their cover of "Something Good", originally done by Herman's Hermits, and 1 just because it's the Bulletboys.

On a side note, "Sophie", the follow-up to their 4th release, "Acid Monkey", is a vast improvement, and is also what should've been released after their debut. "Freakshow" is good, but "Sophie" is better.

Don't get me wrong, I've liked the Bulletboys since I first saw their video for "Smooth Up In Ya" in 1988 on MTV. But this album is poorly done. Why not just make a compilation of greatest hits and be done with it? The songs do not sound the same as Torien's voice has gone to crap, and the music itself sounds like it was done in an oversized trashcan.

I'd suggest to others not to buy this album, and instead purchase a good one like "Freak Show" or their self-titled masterpiece.

Although just one new track is kinda disappointing, the newly recorded old stuff is awesome. Some songs are even heavier and better than the originals (Hard as a rock, For the love of money, etc.) The new song is fast and furious and is another welcome bulletboys cover. As far as musicianship, the boys seem tighter than ever and seem like they're having a blast rerecording their classics. Pick this up, fan or not.

I love the Bullet Boys and I still listen to their old cd`s. I cannot honestly say that this disc is worth purchasing because it is not. The newly recorded old tracks sound like they were all done in one take and on a shoestring budget. Unfortunately, Torien`s voice does not shine on this disc as it did back in the bands younger days which is something that could have easily been fixed with a few more takes on each track and a producer with the slightest of abilities. I think that a long awaited live recording of this band is what its fans really wanted and also what Deadline Cleopatra Records should have requested of the band. If you are a diehard Bullet Boys fan who has collected all of their old stuff on cd (including Acid Monkey), then you should buy this latest release by the boys. Otherwise, go and checkout Bar 7 (singer and guitarist from Tesla). I promise you that this record is full of incredible, original, hard rock that is second to none!