Change (In the House of Flies) [Acoustic] - Deftones
Leader of Men - Kroeger, Chad
One Step Closer - Linkin Park
Waiting to Die - Benekos, C.
Freestyle [Knock 'Em Out The Box Mix] - POD [1]
Down - Bell, Carl
Mechanical Animals [Live] - Marilyn Manson
Back to the Primitive - Cavalera, Max
Goin' Down - Erna, Sully
Godless - Albro, Shawn
The Spectrum - Biechler, Wylie
The title of this second compilation begs all sorts of questions, such as what happened to the rock? Where did it go? When did it come back? And when did MTV start showing videos again? This compilation won't really answer... more » these questions, but it does give an idea of the state of rock & roll circa 2000. Rock sort of vanished for awhile, while alternative, industrial, and hip-hop took the limelight. The rock bands that have emerged in the wake of several subcultures going mainstream more or less simultaneously have absorbed the strengths of those subcultures, turning the rock of 2000 into a very different beast from what existed in 1990. You can consequently put all kinds of things under the rock umbrella: Limp Bizkit, (hed) Planet Earth, and P.O.D., who all reference hip-hop; Marilyn Manson and Orgy, who borrow from industrial; and U.P.O. and Nickelback, who sound for all the world like they're trying to be Alice in Chains. Like its predecessor, this compilation includes bands both well-known and obscure who've absorbed genres that had small, select audiences a decade ago. If you can't beat 'em, co-opt 'em. --Genevieve Williams« less
The title of this second compilation begs all sorts of questions, such as what happened to the rock? Where did it go? When did it come back? And when did MTV start showing videos again? This compilation won't really answer these questions, but it does give an idea of the state of rock & roll circa 2000. Rock sort of vanished for awhile, while alternative, industrial, and hip-hop took the limelight. The rock bands that have emerged in the wake of several subcultures going mainstream more or less simultaneously have absorbed the strengths of those subcultures, turning the rock of 2000 into a very different beast from what existed in 1990. You can consequently put all kinds of things under the rock umbrella: Limp Bizkit, (hed) Planet Earth, and P.O.D., who all reference hip-hop; Marilyn Manson and Orgy, who borrow from industrial; and U.P.O. and Nickelback, who sound for all the world like they're trying to be Alice in Chains. Like its predecessor, this compilation includes bands both well-known and obscure who've absorbed genres that had small, select audiences a decade ago. If you can't beat 'em, co-opt 'em. --Genevieve Williams
"Unlike other reviewers I am trying to forget I bought this CD. I am a rock fan. LOVE ROCK MUSIC. I thought there was a winner here with tons of artists I recognized but most of the songs absolutely... Great artists but their worst work. MTV2's new album, Handpicked, does a great job with alternative rock music as there are tons of great songs on it......LOADED with at least 8 but this one... in comparison as there were 1-2 songs I really liked. I was personally VERY suprised how few good songs there were on this one..........There are alot of artists you know but not their best work, let alone good work. Spend your money on better albums folks. Do another...search for rock compilations and, most importantly, listen to the album first. I wished I did. I wish I had some other great compilations to provide but they are few and far between. Hopefully MTV will quit harming their brand image by putting out... like this."
Better Than Volume 1.
Nick Watkins | New Albany, Indiana | 08/13/2002
(5 out of 5 stars)
"MTV's back, with another album full of bands that Kurt Loder and Carson Daly have no idea who they are. But, beside that, this is a good Cd for true rock fans, who don't just go and purchase anything MTV puts out. I'll now review the songs I like:
1.Limp Bizkit-Show Me What You Got (Live)-2/5-A weird choice to put on here as a song, even more a weirder choice to put on here as a song...live, pretty much because it's a thanks song. But, besides that, the original pretty much [stinks] and it sounds awful live, and it annoys me on how much MTV love Limp Bizkit, to put them as the first track, in front of all the other bands that have so much more talent then them. That's a [downer].
2.Papa Roach-Legacy-5/5-An rare cut from Papa Roach, and it's awesome. MTV made a good choice on this pick, unlike something else. (See previous.)
3.Spineshank-Synthetic-4/5-Here's one of the bands I was talking about: Carson Daly probably has no idea who Spineshank is. But, here it is, one of Spineshank's best. The songs pretty loud, except for the verses.
4.Disturbed-God Of The Mind-5/5-Like Papa Roach's "Legacy", this is a rare cut from Disturbed, which can also be found on (I think) the Dracula 2000 soundtrack. It has that Disturbed touch to it, which makes you just love it.
5.Cold-Just Got Wicked-4/5-Just like Spineshank, Carson Daly has no idea. Cold's a great band, and they deserve more popularity. I think they're better than Staind, but Staind still rocks, too. This is a good song, but does get old. They better release their new album soon.
6.Deftones-Change (In The House Of Flies)(Acoustic)-4/5-Not as good as the original, which attained many new fan for the Deftones, but it's still good.
7.Nickelback-Leader Of Men-4/5-Kinda overrated, this is Nickelback's first single, ever. Great, but it just gets dulled down by all the hype.
8.Linkin Park-One Step Closer-4/5-Like you don't know this song.
10.POD-Freestyle (Knock 'Em Out The Box Mix)-2/5-I didn't like the original versionof this, and this is even worse, but I'm a POD fan, and I don't have the heart to give them a 0 or 1.
14. Goin' Down - Godsmack-2/5-Like the previous: I don't like this song, but I'm a Godsmack fan...and you know the rest.
16.Orgy-The Spectrum-5/5-A cool Orgy song, which could be found on the first thousand or so copies of "Vapor Transmission". Very rare, and MTV is kind enough to re-release it, in all it's glory, on their album.If you're gonna get a "Return Of The Rock" album, get this first, as it has many more likable songs."
Finally a Compilation Series for Rock Fans
Jeff Wiseman | United States | 11/18/2000
(5 out of 5 stars)
"Over the past couple of years there have been a surge of compilation albums due to the sucess the Now and Totally Hits Series. In the Return of the Rock there is finally a compilation that rock fans can enjoy. The various Now & Totally Hits collections have been sucessful because they give listeners 15-20 of their favorite radio hits in a row without changing CDs. What makes the return of the Rock Vol 1 & 2 shine is that while you do have a collection of radio favorites you also have a mix of rare, unreleased, and live tracks to go along with them. So while you get alot of your favorites you also get some stuff you've never heard before. If you like the show on Mtv or are just a fan of rock music then these CDs are a must."
Good Set of Tracks.........................
Jeff Wiseman | 11/08/2000
(4 out of 5 stars)
"First of all ur list is quite wrong........Testify is not included on this cd, in its place is a remix of POD's Freestyle from there last major effort "the fundamental elements of southtown"...... other then that all of the songs on this cd are great...... except for Soulfy and the Live version of Limp Bizkit's "show me what you got"..........all in all a good set with the stand out tracks being Linkin Park, Deftones (acoustic change), Cold, Godsmack, Nickelback, and Papa Roach......... im glad i bought this instead of Blair Witch 2!"