Search - Russ Ballard :: Voices - Best Songs of

A decent overview of this vastly underrated power rocker

M. B. Link | USA | 02/01/2004

(4 out of 5 stars)

"Voices(1994). The Germany-issue "best of" Russ Ballard collection.Through the 70s and 80s, there existed a power rocker that few actually know about. Russ Ballard was originally the vocalist for the late 60s early 70s rock n roll band Argent, but left in the mid-70s to start a solo career. Judging by some of the material he's released over the years, that was probably the best decision he has made. He managed to turn out some excellent power rock hits, though like Aldo Nova, another excellent underrated rock artist, he's never received the recognition he rightfully deserves. Russ's best songs are easily as good as songs by some of the more popular rockers such as Loverboy and Eddie Money. Russ sings in a very recognizible soulful manner, perfect for the catchy anthems he has created.This collection covers most of his career. The songs are not in chronological order, but for the most part all the hits are there. Generally, there were two periods where Russ put out a lot of music: the mid-late 70s and the mid 80s. 'Hold Your Head Up', 'Liar', 'God Gave Rock And Roll To You', and 'Tragedy' were all taken from the early 70s when Russ was with the band Argent. At the time, GGRARTY was a fairly big classic rock hit. Then there's the mid-70s solo material with 'You Can Do Voodoo', 'Winning', and 'Since You've been gone'. These are decent classic rock tracks. The rest of the songs, however, come from his excellent mid 80s era. 'Two Silhouettes', 'I Can't Hear You No More', 'A Woman Like You', and especially the Miami Vice-famed hit 'Voices' are outstanding anthems which highlight the collection. Thankfully they included some other underrated gems which weren't hits, such as 'Your Time Is Gonna Come' and the Loverboy-like 'Dream On'. Overall, you get a perfectly balanced compilation digging from both the 70s and 80s eras.However, there is one major flaw with this collection, which brings me to the reason why I'm only giving this 4 stars: THERE IS NO MATERIAL FROM THE 1981 ALBUM "INTO THE FIRE", ALSO THE BEST RUSS BALLARD ALBUM! This is inexcusable, because they carelessly left off some amazing punchy rockers such as 'Rock N Roll Lover', 'Don't Go To Soho', and 'Tonight'. I highly suggest checking out that album as well.Overall, if you like both classic rock and 80s power rock bands like Loverboy, Eddie Money, and REO Speedwagon, then you can't go wrong with this Russ Ballard collection. It'll provide you with a fair overview of what he's done. Unfortunately it's very difficult to find, and usually it costs an upwards of $20 (thankfully, I found a used copy for only $5). If you do see it sitting in a used CD shop, pick it up. You won't regret it. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED."

Rockin' (Memories of Argent and Miami Vice..)

tekarra | Montreal,Qc, Canada | 01/14/2002

(4 out of 5 stars)

"for those of you who can recall Argent and Miami Vice notable soundtrack tunes, you will certainly remember Russ Ballard's key voice and memorable rock melodies with the fabulous Voices, A Woman Like You, Can't Hear You No More, The Fire Still Burns..to mention just some of the best! It's noteworthy that the best tunes on this compilation appear to be the ones written by Russ himself. A great boost to the body when you want to move and groove..! Perhaps a gym workout or a jog! Brings back Walter Rossi tunes, as well..! Absolute prime classic rock!!"

Missing A Classic of His

G. J. Rohr | ny | 11/17/2006

(4 out of 5 stars)

"'In the Night' isn't on this CD...I'd say the greatest songs Ballard ever made were the power-charged, haunting vocal synthesized rock songs from the Miami Vice soundtrack (the tv show, not that horrible 2hr waste of film reel that came out this summer)...'In the Night', 'Voices', 'Two Silhouettes', 'Dream On' and my own favorite 'You're Time Is Gonna Come' from 'Stone's War'...even thought the third season of that show was clinging to life. Ballard has come and gone as far as how good his music'll ever be, buy this and drop it in the passenger seat of your car, cause you probably won't wind up buying anything else by him."