Most Helpful Customer Reviews
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6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
Chopped up and repackaged live release, May 9, 2005
For those of you not familiar with the Sony/BMG 'Extended Versions' product line, they are generally cheap repackagings of previously released live albums, featuring lesser cuts and a shuffled track listing. These are passed off as compilations of greatest hits for the featured band on the cd.
'Warrant: Extended Versions' is a budget priced set culled from an official release, 'Warrant: 86-97 Live.' That album was originally issued on CMC International Records back in 1997. This 'Extended Versions' compilation is a 2005 release. The key differences are that six songs are removed (mostly the later day Warrant material), the track listing is shuffled around and some of the cuts that remained are slightly shortened. That release contained sixteen cuts and this one has ten.
The source album, '86-97 Live' was taken from a single Detroit show recorded in 1996, which meant that everything flowed very smoothly, from song to song. I have to say that despite the tracks being shifted around here, the editing job isn't too bad. 'Extended Versions' doesn't sound all chopped up, like I expected it would.
For an actual account of the set contained here, please view my separate review of Warrant's '86-97 Live' album. I gave that first release five stars. The remainder of this review will continue to compare this cd listed here to that one.
Some random notes on this cd and the cuts contained:
The following cuts from '86-97 Live' do not make it on this album, "Intro/DRFSR" (which takes up two tracks) "AYM", "Machine gun", "Indian giver" and "Vertigo." It is a shame "Machine Gun" wasn't included on 'Extended Versions' because it is a great rendition.
On '86-97 Live', "I saw red" ended with a round of cursing from singer Jani Lane. That ballad has been shortened here and the stage rap which closed that song originally has now been removed.
The worst change of all was that "Family Picnic" got trimmed. Here it is 4:31 while on '86-97 Live' it was over six minutes and featured a tremendous drum solo by Bobby Borg. This is a crime of nature because Borg's round of drumming closing out "Family Picnic" (and leading into "Machine Gun") was the major highlight of '86-97 Live.'
The packaging is brief, and limited, but professional. It is clearly stated that these songs are live on the back. Inside the sleeve, it is stated these were recorded in 1996. You'll also see a listing of other titles in the 'Extended Versions' series, including Slaughter, The Fixx and Tesla, among others. Songwriting credits are listed here, but not a band lineup. The photo of Warrant on the front features two original members who didn't even play on these recordings. Jani Lane, Erik Turner and Jerry Dixon are the only three originals who were part of the group when this concert was taped.
Given the fair price of this compact disc, and the fact that it is taken from an excellent performance, this is still a good purchase. The cuts (mostly newer album tracks) that are not present here, compared to '86-97 Live', won't matter to the casual fan, since all they will want are the hits, and the hits are right here. However, if you are a dedicated Warrant fan, you will want the original source album, '86-97 Live.' There is absolutely no need to pick this up if you already have that first album, unless you need everything with the name Warrant on it.
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