Kerrang 4

If you just want big chart hits - such as Blurry (Puddle of Mudd) or Girl All The Bad Guys Want (Bowling For Soup) (both of which are, admittedly, good) - then perhaps this is for you. On the other hand, I never find such a collection of hits as satisfying as an album, and this gives no indication of what else these bands offer - while the 'hits' presented here are over-exposed anyway.

Not all is bad by any means. Queen Adreena's 'Pretty Like Drugs' is fantastic, and deserves to be their breakthrough hit at least - if enough people like the kitsch/goth riot grrl punk that is. The tracklisting also includes recent material from heavyweights (Soulfly, Rammstein) and up and coming British acts (Raging Speedhorn, InMe). Indeed, Gary Numan's re-invention as industrial forefather even sees him sneak in with a cut from his 'Pure' album.

Against that though is the rather superficial approach. As I suggested earlier, too many commercial acts and trying to be all things to all people doesn't make a decent compilation in my opinion. Bands such as Drowning Pool, Sum 41 and Nickelback will probably be long forgotten in a few years.

An overall verdict's hard to draw. It's reasonably diverse, but all in a commercial rock way; and one that may fail to please any particular tastes (punk/nu-metal/indie/etc). If you're new to rock, this may be quite enjoyable and introduce you to some new names. If you've been around (like me) there's little on offer - the half you like, you probably own, the rest is filler.

Most of these bands have already had chart success. Of course, if you want to get the hits from the likes of Puddle of Mudd (Blurry) and Bowling For Soup (Girl All The Bad Guys Want) then I suppose this saves buying the albums. But if you want the albums, you won't get much joy here - no tasters of what else the band offer, just the same old over-exposed tracks again.

There are a few hidden gems - Queen Adreena's 'Pretty Like Drugs' is immensely cool, in a slight-goth/kitsch riot grrl way. The album certainly does include some heavyweight talent (Soulfly, Rammstein) and rising British stars (Raging Speedhorn, InMe) too. The inclusion of Gary Numan (in a NIN-influenced industrial vein of his last album, 'Pure') shows it doesn't have to be hip and trendy either. Too many of these tracks are sub-standard filler by bands that will be forgotten in a few years though - I'm talking Drowning Pool, Sum 41, Nickelback etc.

So do I recommend it? Hard to say. If you're a relatively new rock fan, you might enjoy this and find it a useful 'who's who'. If you've been around a while (like me) you'll probably find it too superficial in parts, and have most of the stuff you like already.

However, I would still recommend this album as its a good compilation to listen to, as well as having some tracks from artists I ahve not heard alot of and therefore opened my ears more.

The first CD is more or less pop-punk/feel good tunes with Weezer, Jimmy Eat World etc and the second CD is more heavier.

If you already own some of the tracks this makes a good compilation to put in your player, and if you have heard some of the tracks on the TV Station then you will probably love this album. In my opinion, if you havent already got the respective albums for whatever reasons, then this album will be the catalyst for you to go buy the full albums from the respective artists.

Great album!