Greatest Hits

Album Review

A cursory glance at Great White's discography would suggest that they don't need another compilation. But Capitol Records' 1993 kiss-off The Best of Great White: 1986-1992 was a skimpy set that omitted the Top 40 pop hit "The Angel Song" and other key tracks; Back to Back Hits was shared with April Wine and contained only five Great White tracks; the 2000 Best of Great White was a ten-track budget album from Capitol Special Markets; and Latest & Greatest consists of re-recordings. Thus, Greatest Hits is the first thorough compilation of the band's EMI and Capitol recordings, 1984-1992. Most of Great White's pop and album rock hits are included in their original versions, though the minor album rock chart entry "Lady Red Light" is missing, and the versions of "House of Broken Love" and "Desert Moon" are live recordings, the former previously issued only as a single B-side, the latter from the Japan-only album Live in New York. Other rarities include a bluesy alternate mix of "Face the Day" from a cassette EP, the novelty non-LP B-side "Wasted Rock Ranger," and a non-LP single cover of Led Zeppelin's "Babe I'm Gonna Leave You" from the band's 1990 MTV Unplugged appearance that emphasizes their similarity to the earlier group, especially Jack Russell's Robert Plant sound-alike vocals. Capitol has not acquired any tracks from Great White's recordings for subsequent labels, so that, for example, the Top Ten album rock track "Sail Away," originally released on Zoo, is not here. But this is a good survey of Great White's most popular recordings, and it deserves its name.