Survivor - Greatest Hits [Original recording reissued]

Survivor | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (June 22, 1993)
• Original Release Date: 1989
• Number of Discs: 1
• Format: Original recording reissued
• Label: Scotti Bros.
• ASIN: B00000I021
• Also Available in: Audio CD  |  Audio Cassette  |  MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (27 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #66,221 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

12 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Not their best greatest hits package, but still good, December 18, 2001

By 

jeffrey343 "jeffrey343" (Plano, TX United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Survivor - Greatest Hits (Audio CD)

I own all seven Survivor studio CDs, from "Survivor" to "Too Hot To Sleep", so I bought this one mainly for four songs - the two movie soundtrack tunes ("Burning Heart", "Moment Of Truth") and the two new tunes ("You Know Who You Are", "Hungry Years").

Overall, this is a pretty good compilation. Survivor put out a greatest hits CD in 1989, also called "Greatest Hits", that included ten tunes (none of them new for that CD). That one is now out of print, although I'm sure you can find it at a used CD store or somewhere online. This new one came out in 1993 and replaced a few songs on the old one and added the two new songs.

All the major hits are on this CD, and some of the lesser ones as well. Everyone knows "Eye Of The Tiger", "Burning Heart", "The Search Is Over", "High On You", "Is This Love", and "I Can't Hold Back". "American Heartbeat" is a keyboard-driven tune from the "Eye Of The Tiger CD - it got some airplay. "Poor Man's Son" is from "Premonition" and was a minor hit. "The Moment Of Truth" is from the "Karate Kid" soundtrack and got some airplay back in 1984. "Somewhere In America" was a minor hit from their debut CD.

The two new tunes - well, I tried to like them, I really want to like them.... They're OK tunes, but honestly they just don't have the same sound as the earlier stuff. I guess I was expecting more crunching guitars, but these two tunes are more mellow than I thought they would be.

If you really want a true greatest hits CD, get the "Fire In Your Eyes" CD. It is an import, and it contains 18 tunes, including the two sountrack songs mentioned earlier. I cannot attest to the sound quality, but the song list is better. It is missing "Somewhere In America", but the other tunes more than compensate for that omission. Even though this is a good CD, I think that one is a better collection.

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Melodic rock at its best, January 21, 2002

By 

Brad (CT) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Survivor - Greatest Hits (Audio CD)

This band had one decade of fame--the 1980s, and this collection proves that they certainly made their mark. Anyone who was around back then remembers the Rocky soundtrack songs "Eye Of The Tiger" and "Burning Heart"--their two biggest hits on the charts. It's also impossible to forget the trio of big hits off of the legendary album "Vital Signs"--"I Can't Hold Back", "High On You", and "The Search Is Over". These songs are all among the best hits from the best decade of music--and they are all on this CD. "Is This Love" and "American Heartbeat" are other noteworthy, awesome hits included on this collection.

As I often do with greatest hits collections, I will point out what is missing. While I like the inclusion of "Somewhere In America" from their unknown first album and "Poor Man's Son" from their second album (their first top 40 hit), I do wish that they had included something from the forgotten 1983 album "Caught In The Game" (perhaps the title track). Also, nothing was included from "Too Hot To Sleep"--their underrated 1988 album. Songs like "Didn't Know It Was Love" and "Across The Miles", while not big hits, would fit proudly on any Survivor collection. "How Much Love" from "When Seconds Count" is another small radio hit I remember that isn't included here.

All in all, this is an absolutely fantastic collection that no melodic rock fan will ever tire of listening to. All of the biggest hits are here, along with some minor ones. The two new tracks fit right in as well (don't understand the criticism of them by some--both are definitely Survivor-sounding songs). For radio fans of the band plus fans of all their albums (as I am), this collection is a must-have. If you love melodic rock, you will love this.

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars This is the CD to get if you like Survivor..., April 24, 2001

By 

Robert J. Schneider (Tacoma, WA USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Survivor - Greatest Hits (Audio CD)

...but don't have anything by them. The first song (both literally and figuratively) is "Eye of the Tiger" (with original lead singer Dave Bickler), which was the song that broke them out into the open. It spent at least 3-4 weeks as Billboard's #1 back in 1981, and was the spirited catchphrase of the times. It's just one of those songs that only took me a couple of listens before I started hearing it in my sleep and singing it in the shower. Even though it was eventually played to extinction on the radio, I still feel it is singularly the greatest song that Survivor has ever done. It defined them as a band, both in terms of their music and upbeat attitude. Too bad it eventually got too commercialized, not just from the "Rocky III" soundtrack, but from countless TV commercials as well. But I still think that it's their best song ever.

My 2nd favorite song on this is "I Can't Hold Back" (with Jimi Jamison on lead vocals). Even though Survivor were starting to soften up their sound a little bit in 1984 when this came out, this is not a soft song by any means. It starts slow and eventually gets pretty hard, with heavy-metal style rhythm guitars for a moment. I'm not going to get into a Dave Bickler vs. Jimi Jamison argument, as I like them both. Basically, I think that Bickler has a slightly better range, but Jamison has more emotion in his voice, so I think they're both about equal. 'Nuff said :)

"High On You" is okay, but that got overplayed. Even more's the case with "The Search Is Over," which is really a great love song but has gotten endlessly ruined thru overplay. "Burning Heart" is good too, even though it's basically "Eye of the Tiger, Part Deux" from the "Rocky IV" soundtrack. "American Heartbeat" is okay. "Is This Love" is also just okay.

Basically, Survivor started out strong and new, but eventually petered out from sounding too similar. I still recommend this CD, however, but only if you don't already own their individual albums on CD. There's some good rock 'n' roll on this record! :)