Greatest Hits 1986-1996

With over 17 million albums sold since '86, Poison returns with 16 of their greatest hits, plus 2 new tracks: "Sexual Thing" and "Lay Your Body Down." Includes the #1 hit "Every Rose Has It's Thorn" (MTV's record-breaking most requested video), "Unskinny Bop," the ballad "Something to Believe In," the party song "Nothin' But a Good Time," "Fallen Angel" and "Your Mama Don't Dance." All tracks digitally remastered; features liner notes and annotation by Bret Michaels and rare photos. Servicing to classic rock, AOR and college formats.

Pop pundits might contend that a Poison greatest-hits collection should be an EP. Yet despite jeers from critics, these glam-metal pretty boys produced big hits, filled arenas, and fueled MTV in the late '80s. And the opening track on this 18-cut compilation sets the record straight: "Nothing but a Good Time," indeed. From down 'n' dirty rockers such as "Talk Dirty to Me," "Look What the Cat Dragged In," and "I Want Action," to mega-ballads "Something to Believe In" and "Every Rose Has Its Thorn," this is a treat for those who like big hair and bigger hooks. Included are two previously unreleased songs, "Sexual Thing" and "Lay Your Body Down," the latter a lush, likable five-minute power ballad. One complaint: the song-by-song notes by singer Bret Michaels somewhat lack the pizzazz one anticipates from a band with such a colorful comportment. --Katherine Turman