Would you like cheese with that?

A cheesy compilation of Poison's 1991 2-disc live set, this is hands-down the worst "remaster" I've heard in a long time. Not bothering with such technicalities as remixing it or presenting new material, it's an obvious cash-grab by the record label. The bass, which was poorly mixed on the original live recording, hasn't been fixed and the vocals at times are muted and difficult to understand. They didn't even bother to re-release the entire 2 disc set, just grabbing the hits from the original, digitally remastering it and releasing it with pretty much the same packaging. I'm sure they could have dug into the "archives" for a show they hadn't released or better yet, record a new show for the release. At the very least, include the entire two-disc set, remastered AND remixed.

To be fair, they only really took one live song off, the sucky "Poor Boy Blues," but they also took out the drum and guitar solos and trashed the studio tracks that were really the highlight of the original. The music is solidly played, as anyone who's actually been to a Poison concert knows. Sure, they were the cheesy, hairsprayed make-up wearing glam kings, but they could PLAY live. An energetic visit to the hits of the late '80's and early '90's, it's not a terrible live set. The songs of the time are there, from the raunchy "Look What The Cat Dragged In" and "Talk Dirty To Me" to the glam-ballads "Life Goes On" and "Every Rose Has It's Thorn" and pretty much every Poison radio-hit in between.

If you're a fan of the band and don't have the original set, it's fair to say you may enjoy this CD. If you're not a fan or have the original or can pick it up on e-bay or something, there's no value here for you.

rating: 2 of 10