Search - Saigon Kick :: Greatest Mrs - Best of

Saigon Kick Where Have You Gone ?

Kent Miller | Rock Rapids, Iowa | 07/16/2003

(5 out of 5 stars)

"With a band that could rock your butt off and then give you some of the most heartfelt ballads and then add some synth, they always kept you wondering. To the press and the critics the acoustic love song 'Love Is On The Way' will forever define the band. This is sad bacause Saigon Kick fans know that there was far more to the band than that song. This cd takes the music of a glorious career and gives you a sample of everything the band had to offer. Jason Bieler is one of the greatest musicians of the modern era. His guitar solors are blistering and the riff to the harder songs make you stand up and take notice that you are listening to something truly special. Matt Kramer (while in the band) had a vocal presence that many vocalists only dream of. Even when he left the band and Bieler took over vocals, he proved a worthy replacement.
The rock ballads 'Love Is On The Way', All I Want Is You', 'Colors' and 'I Love You', carry you away to a different world (which is exactly what a ballad is supposed to do). Tracks like 'Hostile Youth', 'The Lizard' and 'One Step Closer' rock you hard and demand your attention. 'Water' throws a total curve ball at you and almost has a Prince vibe to it. The newest track not on the band's other discs 'Hey! Hey! Hey!, is a fun fist pounding rock anthem (do you remember when rock was still fun?). This album spans the carrer of one of the greatest musical and lyrical bands to have come around in a long time. The purchase of this disc will only leave you wanting more Kick. So fill your collection by buying "Saigon Kick", "The Lizard", "Water" and "Devil In The Details". There are a pair of imports out there as well.
I will leave you with this note. If you want a record that you can play over and over again, this is your band. If you want the same boring every song sounds the same disc, then go buy one of todays rock artists. Saigon Kick is one of the greatest bands to have come and gone. So purchase and enjoy!!![.]"

Underrated is an understatement

T. Meisinger | Denver, CO | 10/07/2005

(4 out of 5 stars)

"Now, let me start by saying that I do not own this album, however, I do own all of the studio releases, and there are no 'unreleased' songs on here, so I've heard them all. Saigon kick is an extremely underrated band. The reason I only give this album a 4 our of 5 is because there are some huge omissions for an album titled the 'best of'. I was really shocked that the song 'Still the One' was not put on this album. It was never released on any of the studio albums, and it is certainly one of their best (and possibly their last recorded song). Some other tracks that should have made it are 'Meet Your Maker' and 'Jehovah' (from the import album Bastards); 'Dizzy's Vine' (the last song recorded with original singer Matt Kramer), 'Spot Him A Beer' and 'You and I' (from Moments From the Fringe ); 'Sunshine' and 'Afraid' (from Devil in the Details); 'When You Were Mine' (from Water); 'Feel the Same Way', 'Freedom', and 'All Alright' (from The Lizard); and finally, 'My Life' (which includes a kazoo harmony) and 'Love Of God' (from Saigon Kick).



I've been following Saigon Kick's music since I heard 'Love Is On The Way', as well as Jason Bieler's music in general. I think it is a disgrace that the band is known most widely as "that 80's hair band that did 'Love Is On The Way'", especially since none of their albums were released before 1991, with the last studio release 'Bastards' coming out in 1999. There was so much more to the band than that one song, even though I admit that was the song that made me go out and buy 'The Lizard' album.



I was a little shocked when 'Water' was released and Matt Kramer had left the band. The way he and Jason harmonized together was amazing. As I told someone when discussing the band in the early days, "Power chords and harmony, who knew they could sound THAT good together?". They put on a good show, too. I saw them open for Extreme and was impressed with the live sound.



Jason did a great job taking over for Matt on vocals, and the music changed a bit, I think more to Jason's style. Now, I think he is an extremely talented musician and songwriter (and is apparently doing pretty well producing albums with his brother), but from what I've read about him and given the progression of the band and different members, I think he's probably a control freak and difficult to make music with. But, when it comes to the music, I really don't care...except that maybe if he hadn't been, he'd still be making music. He released a solo album after Saigon Kick that, had it gotten any air time, no doubt would have gone platinum. If you're a real Saigon Kick fan, you need to find a way to get this album. The name of the album is 'Houston, We Have a Problem' (yeah, about as overrused as "you had me at...") by, simply, Jason. Amazingly, I can't even find a reference to this album online anywhere, so good luck finding it. You may be relegated to finding his songs to download. I also have a host of unreleasead Saigon Kick and Jason songs that I downloaded from a website dedicated to and, I believe, partially run by Jason (the site no longer exists...sigh). If you're familiar with 'Super Transatlantic', Jason was also a member of that short-lived band.



So, all this to say, if you like Saigon Kick and don't want to shell out the money to buy all of their albums, I definitely recommend this one to give you a good and very ejoyable, albeit small, sampling of what they were capable of."

SAIGON KICK

T. Meisinger | 02/25/2000

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Great CD, although I recommend buying the first two SK cd's instead of the Greatest Hits, you'll get more good songs and will love them both. Matt Kramer and Phil Varone ARE this band...making The Lizard and self-titled CD's the best put out so far. So pick up those two. Also, Saigon Kick is currently on tour with original bassist Tom Defile, and new guitarist Jeff Blando (Slaughter), so go check em out!"