The Best of Poison: 20 Years of Rock
Encyclopedia
The Best of Poison: 20 Years of Rock is a compilation album
from the American rock
band Poison
, released to celebrate the band's 20 year anniversary. It has sold more than 1 million copies to date in the U.S as of September 2009.
The album was released on April 3, 2006 on EMI
. It features many songs from the band's 20-year career. Most notable is the song "Every Rose Has Its Thorn
", which was the band's biggest hit, a power ballad. A rare cover of the KISS
classic "Rock and Roll All Nite" appears, previously only available on the soundtrack to the movie "Less Than Zero". The compilation also includes a new single, the Grand Funk Railroad
roadie classic "We're an American Band
", which also features a music video.
The cover art is taken from the book Pornography: Opposing Viewpoints.
and marked Poison's return to the Billboard 200
top 20 charts for the first time since 1993. The compilation debuted at #17, quite an impressive showing for a hair metal band in 2006, and perhaps showing the beneficial effect of many Behind the Music
-type shows on VH1
, where Poison's hair metal antics were relived. The album also charted at #5 on the Top Rock Albums, #4 on the Top Catalog Albums and #10 on the Top Hard Rock Albums chart.
"The Best of Poison: 20 Years of Rock" was certified Gold in 2006 by the RIAA
.
Former band members featured on the album
:
Compilation album
A compilation album is an album featuring tracks from one or more performers, often culled from a variety of sources The tracks are usually collected according to a common characteristic, such as popularity, genre, source or subject matter...
from the American rock
Rock music
Rock music is a genre of popular music that developed during and after the 1960s, particularly in the United Kingdom and the United States. It has its roots in 1940s and 1950s rock and roll, itself heavily influenced by rhythm and blues and country music...
band Poison
Poison (band)
Poison is an American glam metal band that achieved great success in the mid-1980s to mid-1990s. To date, Poison has sold over 30 million records worldwide and have sold 15 million records in the United States alone. The band has also charted ten singles to the Top 40 of the Billboard Hot 100,...
, released to celebrate the band's 20 year anniversary. It has sold more than 1 million copies to date in the U.S as of September 2009.
The album was released on April 3, 2006 on EMI
EMI
The EMI Group, also known as EMI Music or simply EMI, is a multinational music company headquartered in London, United Kingdom. It is the fourth-largest business group and family of record labels in the recording industry and one of the "big four" record companies. EMI Group also has a major...
. It features many songs from the band's 20-year career. Most notable is the song "Every Rose Has Its Thorn
Every Rose Has Its Thorn
"Every Rose Has Its Thorn" is a power ballad by American glam metal band Poison. It was released in 1988 as the third single from Poison's second album Open Up And Say... Ahh!. It is the band's only number-one hit in the U.S., reaching the top spot on Christmas Eve in 1988 for three weeks . It was...
", which was the band's biggest hit, a power ballad. A rare cover of the KISS
KISS (band)
Kiss is an American rock band formed in New York City in January 1973. Well-known for its members' face paint and flamboyant stage outfits, the group rose to prominence in the mid to late 1970s on the basis of their elaborate live performances, which featured fire breathing, blood spitting,...
classic "Rock and Roll All Nite" appears, previously only available on the soundtrack to the movie "Less Than Zero". The compilation also includes a new single, the Grand Funk Railroad
Grand Funk Railroad
Grand Funk Railroad is an American rock band that was highly popular during the 1970s. Grand Funk Railroad toured constantly to packed arenas worldwide. A popular take on the band during its heyday was that, although the critics hated them, audiences loved them...
roadie classic "We're an American Band
We're an American Band (song)
"We're an American Band" is a 1973 song by the band Grand Funk Railroad. It was the group's first number one single. Written by Don Brewer and produced by Todd Rundgren, the huge chart success of this single broadened Grand Funk's appeal to a much wider audience...
", which also features a music video.
The cover art is taken from the book Pornography: Opposing Viewpoints.
Chart Performance
The album was produced by Don WasDon Was
Don Was is an American musician, bassist and record producer.-Life and career:Was was born in Detroit, Michigan. He graduated from Oak Park High School in the Detroit suburb of Oak Park, then attended the University of Michigan at Ann Arbor but dropped out after the first year...
and marked Poison's return to the Billboard 200
Billboard 200
The Billboard 200 is a ranking of the 200 highest-selling music albums and EPs in the United States, published weekly by Billboard magazine. It is frequently used to convey the popularity of an artist or groups of artists...
top 20 charts for the first time since 1993. The compilation debuted at #17, quite an impressive showing for a hair metal band in 2006, and perhaps showing the beneficial effect of many Behind the Music
Behind the Music
Behind the Music is a television series on VH1. It originally ran from 1997 to 2006, before it was stopped and only aired new episodes sporadically. The series places its generality on documentation of musical artists or groups who are interviewed and profiled, and discuss how their careers became...
-type shows on VH1
VH1
VH1 or Vh1 is an American cable television network based in New York City. Launched on January 1, 1985 in the old space of Turner Broadcasting's short-lived Cable Music Channel, the original purpose of the channel was to build on the success of MTV by playing music videos, but targeting a slightly...
, where Poison's hair metal antics were relived. The album also charted at #5 on the Top Rock Albums, #4 on the Top Catalog Albums and #10 on the Top Hard Rock Albums chart.
"The Best of Poison: 20 Years of Rock" was certified Gold in 2006 by the RIAA
Recording Industry Association of America
The Recording Industry Association of America is a trade organization that represents the recording industry distributors in the United States...
.
Track listing
CD:- "Talk Dirty to MeTalk Dirty to Me"Talk Dirty to Me" is the second single from Poison, originally from the album Look What the Cat Dragged In. It was the band's first big international hit.It is a staple on their live shows and was named by VH1 40th greatest hard rock song of all time...
" - "I Want Action" (single version)
- "I Won't Forget You" (single version)
- "Cry Tough"
- "Look What The Cat Dragged In"
- "Nothin' But a Good Time"
- "Fallen Angel"
- "Every Rose Has Its ThornEvery Rose Has Its Thorn"Every Rose Has Its Thorn" is a power ballad by American glam metal band Poison. It was released in 1988 as the third single from Poison's second album Open Up And Say... Ahh!. It is the band's only number-one hit in the U.S., reaching the top spot on Christmas Eve in 1988 for three weeks . It was...
" - "Your Mama Don't Dance"
- "Unskinny BopUnskinny Bop"Unskinny Bop" is a song by American glam metal band Poison, which was released as the first single from their 1990 Flesh & Blood album.The song peaked at #3 on the US Billboard Hot 100, #5 on the Mainstream rock charts, #15 in the UK and #7 on the Australian charts. This made it the band's second...
" - "Rock and Roll All Nite"
- "Ride the Wind"
- "Something to Believe InSomething to Believe In (Poison song)"Something to Believe In" is a power ballad by American Glam metal band Poison, it's the 2nd single from their 1990 album Flesh & Blood...
" - "Life Goes On"
- "Stand"
- "The Last Song"
- "Shooting Star"
- "We're an American BandWe're an American BandWe're An American Band is the seventh studio album by American hard rock band Grand Funk Railroad, credited as Grand Funk. The album was released by Capitol Records on July 15, 1973 and was certified gold by the Recording Industry Association of America a little over a month after its release. Two...
"
DVD
A special edition of The Best of Poison: 20 Years of Rock was released which included a bonus greatest hits DVD compilation. The DVD includes the new video We're an American Band plus some of the band's biggest hits.- I Want ActionI Want Action"I Want Action" is the third single from Poison, originally from the album Look What the Cat Dragged In.The song was released as a single in 1987 on the Enigma label of Capitol Records, and peaked at number 50 on the Billboard Hot 100...
- Every Rose Has Its ThornEvery Rose Has Its Thorn"Every Rose Has Its Thorn" is a power ballad by American glam metal band Poison. It was released in 1988 as the third single from Poison's second album Open Up And Say... Ahh!. It is the band's only number-one hit in the U.S., reaching the top spot on Christmas Eve in 1988 for three weeks . It was...
- Your Mama Don't DanceYour Mama Don't Dance"Your Mama Don't Dance" is a hit 1972 song by the rock duo Loggins and Messina. Released on their self-titled album Loggins and Messina, it reached #4 on the Billboard pop chart and #19 on the Billboard adult contemporary chart as a single in early 1973."Your Mama Don't Dance" was covered in 1985...
- Nothin' But a Good TimeNothin' but a Good Time"Nothin' But a Good Time" is the first single from the second Poison album Open Up and Say...Ahh!. The B-sides are "Livin' For the Minute" and "Look But You Can't Touch"....
- Something To Believe InSomething to Believe In (Poison song)"Something to Believe In" is a power ballad by American Glam metal band Poison, it's the 2nd single from their 1990 album Flesh & Blood...
- Unskinny BopUnskinny Bop"Unskinny Bop" is a song by American glam metal band Poison, which was released as the first single from their 1990 Flesh & Blood album.The song peaked at #3 on the US Billboard Hot 100, #5 on the Mainstream rock charts, #15 in the UK and #7 on the Australian charts. This made it the band's second...
- Talk Dirty to MeTalk Dirty to Me"Talk Dirty to Me" is the second single from Poison, originally from the album Look What the Cat Dragged In. It was the band's first big international hit.It is a staple on their live shows and was named by VH1 40th greatest hard rock song of all time...
- Live on MTV Unplugged - We're an American BandWe're an American BandWe're An American Band is the seventh studio album by American hard rock band Grand Funk Railroad, credited as Grand Funk. The album was released by Capitol Records on July 15, 1973 and was certified gold by the Recording Industry Association of America a little over a month after its release. Two...
Band Members
- Bret MichaelsBret MichaelsBret Michaels is an American musician, actor, director, screenwriter, producer and reality television personality. He first gained fame as the lead vocalist of the glam metal band Poison. Besides his career as lead singer, he has several solo albums to his credit, as well as one chart single...
- lead vocalsSingingSinging is the act of producing musical sounds with the voice, and augments regular speech by the use of both tonality and rhythm. One who sings is called a singer or vocalist. Singers perform music known as songs that can be sung either with or without accompaniment by musical instruments...
; rhythm guitarRhythm guitarRhythm guitar is a technique and rôle that performs a combination of two functions: to provide all or part of the rhythmic pulse in conjunction with singers or other instruments; and to provide all or part of the harmony, ie. the chords, where a chord is a group of notes played together... - Bobby DallBobby DallRobert Harry Kuykendall also known as Bobby Dall is an American musician best known as the bass guitarist for Poison. Dall is the youngest of three children...
- bass guitarBass guitarThe bass guitar is a stringed instrument played primarily with the fingers or thumb , or by using a pick.... - Rikki RockettRikki RockettRichard Allan Ream , better known by the stage name Rikki Rockett, is an American drummer best known for his work with the glam metal band, Poison.-Biography:...
- drumsDrum kitA drum kit is a collection of drums, cymbals and often other percussion instruments, such as cowbells, wood blocks, triangles, chimes, or tambourines, arranged for convenient playing by a single person ....
; percussionPercussion instrumentA percussion instrument is any object which produces a sound when hit with an implement or when it is shaken, rubbed, scraped, or otherwise acted upon in a way that sets the object into vibration... - C.C. DeVille - lead guitarLead guitarLead guitar is a guitar part which plays melody lines, instrumental fill passages, guitar solos, and occasionally, some riffs within a song structure...
Former band members featured on the album
Album
An album is a collection of recordings, released as a single package on gramophone record, cassette, compact disc, or via digital distribution. The word derives from the Latin word for list .Vinyl LP records have two sides, each comprising one half of the album...
:
- Richie KotzenRichie KotzenRichie Kotzen is an American guitarist, singer, and songwriter.At a young age, Richie Kotzen was taken by music and first began playing piano at the age of five. At the age of seven he was inspired by the band KISS to learn the electric guitar...
- lead guitar on track 15