Animal Instinct
Artist: Gary Hoey
Abraxas
Artist: Santana
Community Score: 8.39

The San Francisco Bay Area rock scene of the late '60s was one that encouraged radical experimentation and discouraged the type of mindless conformity that's often plagued corporate rock. When one considers just how different Santana, Jefferson Airplane, Moby Grape, and the Grateful Dead sounded, it becomes obvious just how much it was... Read More

Santana - JAPAN BONUS TRACKS
Artist: Santana

Released in 1969, Santana's first album shot the group from local San Francisco band status to a worldwide forum. Included were the group's first hits ("Evil Ways" and "Soul Sacrifice") and others that combined Latin grooves with a rock sensibility. The newly remastered compact disc also adds three bonus tracks recorded live at Woodstock in... Read More

Whirlygig - JAPAN
Artist: Lovemongers

Whirlygig is an album of all new compositions from the Wilson sisters and their Heart side project; it will likely appeal to fans of both Heart's earlier and later material. [The Japanese edition boasts bonus tracks.] ~ Steve Huey, All Music Guide Read More

Forty Seasons: The Best of Skid Row
Artist: Skid Row
Community Score: 6.38

This after-the-fact compilation from one of the last hard rock bands to make any sort of impression before the alt-rock revolution made most of it meaningless does its job, limited as it is, fairly well. All the hit singles that Sebastian Bach and company cranked out during their brief run of superstardom are here; none particularly holds up out... Read More

Greatest Hits
Artist: Heart

Heart had a pair of greatest-hits collections to their credit by 1997, but both did not contain all the renowned studio versions of their classic hits from the '70s (both 1980's Heart Greatest Hits: Live on Epic and 1997's Greatest Hits on Capitol contained half studio and half live material). 1998's Greatest Hits on Epic/Legacy finally... Read More

Santana/Abraxas/Santana III - 1998 BONUS TRACKS
Artist: Santana
Wishpool
Artist: Brother Cane
Community Score: 9.00

Seeds proved to be Brother Cane's breakout release, launching a string of hard-rock radio hits. For its sequel, Wishpool, the quartet wisely decided to replicate the sound of Seeds, turning out a set of heavy rockers that have the style of '70s AOR and the production of '90s post-grunge. While it lacks anything as flat-out catchy as "Got No... Read More

Crystal Planet
Artist: Joe Satriani
Community Score: 8.40

Joe Satriani always stood apart from the legions of guitar virtuosos who surfaced in the late '80s, largely because he had a sharper ear than his peers. He didn't limit himself to hard rock or heavy metal, preferring to draw in elements of pop and jazz as well. At his best, he stood head and shoulders above his peers, many of whom were his... Read More

Whirlygig
Artist: Lovemongers

Whirlygig is an album of all new compositions from the Wilson sisters and their Heart side project; it will likely appeal to fans of both Heart's earlier and later material. ~ Steve Huey, All Music Guide Read More

Joe Walsh's Greatest Hits: Little Did He Know...
Artist: Joe Walsh

The double-disc Look What I Did! was simply too much for anyone but the dedicated Joe Walsh fan, which makes the release of the 15-song, single-disc Joe Walsh's Greatest Hits: Little Did He Know... so welcome. Drawing highlights from his solo career and his early records with the James Gang, Greatest Hits contains almost every song that most... Read More

Celtic Collections
Artist: Horslips

This is an ambitious and laudatory effort from K-Tel Records. While most of that label's releases in the Celtic music field centered on the new agey and commercially trendy sector of Celtic music (Altan, Clannad, Phil Coulter, et al.) and failed to represent the artists' body of work properly, this Horslips release actually paints a historically... Read More

Gary Hoey
Artist: Gary Hoey
Community Score: 6.00
Poison's Greatest Hits 1986-1996
Artist: Poison
Community Score: 8.62

Poison's Greatest Hits 1986-1996 is as definitive as a Poison compilation could hope to be. Featuring a full 18 tracks, including all of their Top 50 hits ("Talk Dirty to Me," "I Want Action," "Nothin' but a Good Time," "Fallen Angel," "Every Rose Has Its Thorn," "Your Mama Don't Dance," "Unskinny Bop," "Something to Belive In," "Stand," among... Read More

Santana III - JAPAN BONUS TRACKS
Artist: Santana

The group's third album, simply titled Santana on its original September 1971 release, was the last work of the original Woodstock-era lineup. With hit singles and albums under their belt, the group became more experimental on their third go-round. This yielded some of their best work and another number one for the band. ~ Cub Koda, All Music Guide Read More