Search - Slaughter :: Then & Now

Track selection could have been better

William Matson | Maine | 03/11/2005

(3 out of 5 stars)

"Here is another addition to the Sanctuary/CMC Records "Then and Now" collection, which consists of a 'greatest hits package' made up from previously released studio and live material. This release is taken from three different albums released by Slaughter on CMC between 1995-1998. Some of these cuts come from the 1995 studio album, "Fear No Evil." Other cuts are taken from the 1997 studio album, "Revolution" and a few more come from a 1998 live cd called "Eternal Live."



Commenting on the cuts, 'Unknown Destination' from "Fear No Evil" could have been easily replaced by 'Hard Times' which was the actual single from that album. What was the producer compiling the tracks thinking here? 'Tongue N Groove', a weak song from "Revolution" could have been removed. I would like to have seen their excellent Joe Walsh cover, 'Rocky Mountain Way' from that album make it on here. It would have certainly made this release a little more interesting, especially for the casual fan. Again, somebody really dropped the ball.



You can't go wrong with the live cuts, though, especially since a lot of the songs from "Eternal Live" were shortened or abnormally long live versions that served as medleys or crowd sing-alongs. That album also featured live versions of countless Slaughter songs that weren't necessarily hit tracks.



However, the haphazard track selection from the two studio albums represented here does cost this release a whole star. I normally would never gripe about what songs got left off or which ones should not have made it on but it's almost like somebody picked more than a couple studio cuts from those releases out of a hat. There are clearly better songs that could have been included. 'American Pie' and 'It'll be all right' are the only sure-fire winners, though a few of the other ones are certainly adequate. But there is a stinker or two on here, those of which I mentioned above.



The liner notes give a brief description of this release and Slaughter, you also get an idea of where the cuts come from. The label doesn't go out of their way to dress this release up, though.



The worst blunder, though, was the complete lack of representation for the 1999 studio release, "Back to Reality." Slaughter also recorded that for CMC International. It's one thing to package previously released material, with absolutely no new stuff, onto a compilation and sell it to the masses. It's another thing altogether to totally forget to include an entire album that wasn't going to cost CMC any money to pull some tracks off of, since they already own the music. This "Then and Now" cd came out a few years after that studio album, so it is inexcusable. It would have been a much better buy for a casual fan to get a sampler of Slaughter's entire output for this record label (four albums: 3 in the studio and one live).



Instead, they get short changed of music from Slaughter's most recent release. They'd still have to buy "Back to Reality" if they want to get a taste of that album, when it would have been easier for the label to include at least one or two cuts. It wasn't the best in their catalog, but if you're going to represent everything else from the CMC label, why not that one, too? It's a shame the label allowed that oversight.



Think about it. The average person buying this is looking for a hits collection. It may also be someone who knows about the CMC albums, but is just looking for a way to get some tracks from each one without having to buy all four releases (this is reasonably priced). Maybe somebody doesn't want to buy four albums when they can get a few songs from each all in one place. I mean, if someone wanted to buy "Back to Reality" to check out a few cuts, they would already be inclined to buy all of those other Slaughter albums and they wouldn't have any need for this collection of music. The only bright side is that by ignoring that album, it allows for more cuts to be taken from each of the other releases, but that still is unacceptable. I'll say it again. It was also stupid to not consider including 'Rocky Mountain Way.' Four cuts picked from "Revolution" and not this one? It would have been good as a novelty or curiosity alone. Why make someone chase down that studio album when they could have their cover song packaged on here along with some live hits? Considering this will have more shelf visibility than "Revolution," it certainly wouldn't have hurt sales any and might have gotten a couple more people to pick this one up. I understand maybe not wanting to pay royalties to Mr. Joe Walsh, but I'd like to have seen it included on here.



Nonetheless, if you don't plan on diving too deep into the rather small discography of Slaughter, this is a nice companion album, if you already have "Mass Slaughter," their REAL greatest hits compilation, which includes the original studio versions of their hits for Chrysalis. Despite a few flaws, this one still covers a key period of Slaughter's career.



Here, you have an incomplete retrospective of hit songs (all of which are live) and studio tracks, all of which are newer songs that a lot of casual fans have never heard of. Clearly one of the weaker entries in the "Then and Now" collection for Sanctuary Records, which stands at now over a dozen compilations and running.

"

Always a slaughter fan

lauraB | ohio | 07/21/2003

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Like all the rest from slaughter this is a great album for the listener who enjoys good time music. I would recommend this album as a sampler for someone who is not familar with the band. Trust me there is alot more where these came from. If you enjoy this cd i would recommend also trying stick it to ya, the wild life, fear no evil, revolution, and the most recent back to reality. As with any musicians, not everyone enjoys their style, but if you enjoy fun lyrics with a nice groove and music that is just about having a good time, with your touching ballads added in, Slaughter is the band for you. I also recommend their live show. They are all great, but Blas sticks out as my personal favorite:) This is a wonderful band to get attatched to, i've been a fan since i was 12 years old and they havn't let me down yet!!!"