I suspect that there's some kind of concept to this mix, but it's beyond me what that concept may be.
The cd leads off with seven heavy metal/hard rock tracks in a row, by outfits so famous that I've even heard of all but one (the exception being Gojira, which I choose to believe is Japanese for 'Godzilla'; having watched one or two of the Japanese Godzilla films in my time, I don't think that this is completely impossible). The two which have left most of an impression on me are "Phantom of the Opera" by Iron Maiden (live, no less - sadly not a cover of the Lloyd Webber show tune, but equally dramatic) and "Sleepwalker" by Megadeth - both catchy in that riffy kind of way - and, for old times' sake, a live version of "Head Like A Hole" is also welcome.
Then, a glammy 90s-sounding rocker (harmonies and all) by a band called the Wildhearts ("Bi-Polar Baby" - pretty good) and a more meat-and-potatoes hard rock tune from Terrorvision (previously known to me only through their rousing cover of "Forever & Ever"), after which we get, in order, a cover of "Hazy Shade of Winter" by the Bangles (v.g., of course), the theme from "Enter the Dragon", something by the Music, a cool Moloko song ("Fun for Me"), "Central Reservation" (still affecting, and in much the same way, after all these years), a dreamy Ash guitar ballad, an acoustic guitar romance (no vocals, anonymous artist), and then a live Joan Baez weepie. It's all quite surprisingly listenable, but like I said, I don't get it as a whole.
(from Matt in Bournemouth, England)
