Not Really A Greatest Hits, But Who Cares!?
Pocha Dot | Los Angeles | 07/07/2009
(5 out of 5 stars)
"I'm so excited about this collection, What I like most about it is that all but four of the songs are sung with Brett's broader vocals. "Teenage Rules" "I Don't Wanna Break Your Head" "Play Your Game" & "Hey, I Wanna Be Your Girl" are the exceptions to this. As I said in two of my "Donnas Reviews" on earlier albums such as "Get Skintight" and "Turn 21" along with the others that came prior to "Spend The Night" were all recorded with Brett's "11 yearold/Kiddie-Squeaky-Voice" which i'm not into at all. The vocals tend to be annoying and has a hard time matching the music, it knocks the edge right off of the songs in my opinion. Moving along >
"Get Off" and "Perfect Stranger" are the only brand NEW songs featured on "Vol.16" and they're Totally Hot! Both are signiture "Donnas" Material. Any true fan will go crazy. "We Own The Night" and "She's Out Of Control" Have already been released in 2007 on different versions of "Bitchin" as (bonus tracks). One is founf on the Japanese Edition and the other was an iTunes Pre-Order track. Which are still brand NEW to me because I never heard them until I purchased "Vol. 16". Both tracks are simply divine, I've been listening to all 4 songs on spinner all week long.
Next up we have the collection's re-worked material, Which i'm even more excited about. "You Make Me Hot" "Get You Alone" "High School Yum Yum" "Get Rid Of That Girl" and "I Don't Wanna Go To School" all have been re-touched with "The Donnas" NEW and improved skills. The songs are better than they ever were! Each NEW version puts it's older version right to shame making them pointless and useless. They're CHARGED up with BASS,THUMP and RED-HOT-GUITARS that you can feel exploding through your speakers. Again and Again these songs are all on fire, But if I had to choose one favorite of the re-worked material it would definitely be "Get You Alone" without thinking. The energy in this one is powerful, The older version DOES NOT compare. It's Hyper, Edgier, Hot and moves at a much better pace. You'll be pleased.
Next we have the albums Alternate Versions of earlier songs. Meaning the songs are still old but they're alternate to the versions we're all familiar with. Those are "Play My Game" "Hey, Im Gonna Be Your Girl" & "I Wanna Be With A Girl Like You". "Play My Game" sounds a bit more charged than the original, both are tolerable but the vocals are in once again "Brett's 11-year-old-Kiddie-Styled-Vocals", It's a turn off so I don't really listen to those. The only time they'll get play is if I'm playing the record straight through and I'm doing something and I can't reach the skip button. "I Wanna Be With A Girl Like You" is a charged up version of the original except there's a minor twist, Brett's not singing. Instead you'll be hearing an unfamiliar male voice. I have no idea what's the point of this but The song is still fair. Moving along >
We also get two Original tracks which are "Teenage Rules" and "I Don't Wanna Break Your Head". Both sound like they were recorded at Summer Camp with a cassette recorder. No bass, No Fire. Sounds like something on AM radio. I know alot of punk fans are into that, not me. I need the full quality of the music, I need to feel the EXPLOSION and the SOUND all around me. The vocals are again Brett's 11 yearold-Kiddie-Styled-Vocals which make them even worse. One good thing I can say is that They're both extra-short "Teenage Rules" is only :54 secs and "I don't Wanna Break Your Head" is exactly 1:15 secs, Thank goodness.
Last and "LEAST" we have the albums LIVE material which were chosen from the DESERT MOON 2 DVD, "Fall Behind Me" and "Take It Off". Listening to The Donnas live is boring if you can't see what's going on. It just sounds Karaoke, The songs are done exactly the same, The only thing difference is that the quality is poorer, so what's the point of that?. I feel like i'm listening to a youtube clip that I can't see. If the songs were done differently I could see the Live versions being something special. other than that it's just something taking up space on the tracklist.
Overall i'm pleased enough with the re-recorded and NEW material that this review still deserves 5 stars. I really am enjoying this album except for the 4 songs I mentioned that were done with Brett's underdeveloped vocals and the two pointless live songs. 10 out of 16 isn't bad at all, That's a reasonable amount to earn a 5 star rating. This collection is a treat, I'm glad the girls went back in time and gave the older songs a new spin.
I can't wait to hear what's next from them. We all know this isn't the last of The Donnas. I can still see them doing a covers album of classic rock songs and include their older covers. Sort of in a way they did this collection. They also have more b-sides and lots more unreleased material that I'm sure will be re-worked as something NEW. Alongside that there are many songs that they perform live that hasn't seen a studio yet. Like their cover of Ratt's "Round & Round" They perform that song at so many shows it's ridiculous they haven't taken it to the studio, They recorded it but not on their own. It will be interesting to see what's next, Whether it's a new album and new material, Or a second chapter to "Vol 16." with a alternate Title. In all they still have unfinished business...
****************UPDATE*********************July 30, 2009
"The Donnas" also released the "Desert Moon ll DVD" in case some of you haven't heard, And it's fabulous. The two Live songs on "Vol 16." which are "Fall Behind Me" & "Take It Off" were chosen for the collection instead of so many others that they did much better jobs on like "Rock N Roll Machine" "Checkin It Out" "Skintight" "Hyperactive" or "40 Boys In 40 Nights" (How can Vol.16 even be considered a Greatest Hits without 40 Boys...?". Instead of choosing live versions of songs that are more receint and already done better with the studio versions they shouldv'e chosen the ones that they put their NEW touch on after years of development like the ones I mentioned or any of the others besides "Fall Behind Me" & "Take It Off". It really wouldv'e made a better collection had they chosen other songs from the "Desert Moon ll DVD". Realizing that the two live songs on "Vol.16" were actually scraped from the DM-DVD really puzzles me why they'd choose those two songs of all the hotter songs they couldv'e chosen that really wouldv'e turned this "Greatest Hits" out. Especially because everyone won't be purchasing the DVD it wouldv'e been more of a treat to hear something from the past AMPED-UP with the band's incredible NEW touch and Brett's broader vocals. Just on a personal note... I would really love to hear "Hot Pants" done live in a Desert-Moon-ll-Manner, That would be a great song to charge up in a live show with the bands NEW gloss.
"
I listened to this twelve times in four days
RockinRobin411 | 07/09/2009
(5 out of 5 stars)
"This could be my personal favorite Donnas album. Except for their Raggady Anne EP and Steal Yer Lunch Money, which they did as the Electrocutes, I own all of their albums. In other words, I own all of the albums they did after becoming the Donnas. The Donnas have always been about rocking hard, instead of hardly rocking. This album shows that they truly do know how to WRAWK!!!
Some overall comments about this album is that it shows how much the Donnas have changed since their beginning. Brett Anderson's voice has matured over the years, and it shows. Allison Robertson's sound is much more gritty and much heavier than in the early years. Maya Ford and Torry Castellano are a much more solid rhythm section with each other, and along with Allison Robertson's guitar riffs, they're playing also blasts the speakers much more than it did. They're also playing the songs more slowly, which in many ways adds more of a kick in the stomach (I mean this in a good way). This album also includes a few recordings from the early years, before they'd made these changes in their sound.
This album includes two new songs, "Get Off" and "Perfect Stranger" which are both great tracks. Allison Robertson's guitar playing on "Get Off" is incredible, and she uses a wah-wah or flanger pedal, which is not something that she does that much. The guitar solo also is pretty good, or should I say guitar solos? It's obvious that she recorded the two halves of the solo in separate takes, which is also rare for her to do. The song is a very aggressive, and it lyrically contrasts "Perfect Stranger."
"Perfect Stranger" is a hard-rocking song, but it has a more lyrical feel than "Get Off." It has some great harmony vocals in it, and the guitar riff is much higher up than most single-note guitar riffs (I hope I'm not getting too technical in music terms).
There are a couple of songs deleted from Bitchin' on this album, "We Own the Night" and "She's Out of Control." "We Own the Night" has some nice harmony guitar playing at the end of the guitar solo, you can't even tell that they used overdubs, and it's another catchy rock song. "She's Out of Control" also is an aggressive killer.
Now they get live with a couple of their big classics, "Take it Off" and "Fall Behind Me." "Take it Off" is probably the biggest hit that the Donnas have ever had, and "Fall Behind Me" was also a pretty big hit. They're both pretty much the same as they were in the studio, except you can tell that they aren't the original studio cuts. There's also that sound that you hear when you know something was done live.
The rest of the album is mainly re-recordings, with a remix of one of "Play My Game," an alternate version of "Hey I'm Gonna Be Your Girl," a version of "Boy Like You" sung by a male singer, and two previously unreleased tunes from the early years. The re-recordings are "Get You Alone," "You Make Me Hot," "Get Rid of that Girl," "I Don't Wanna Go to School," and "High School Yum Yum."
Some people might complain about the re-recordings saying that they were useless when the original versions were fine. However, as I said earlier on in this review that they've changed as a band, so I think that having them re-record these songs is good. They're done a little bit slower, with Brett's voice being matured, Allison's sound being more aggressive and gritty, Torry and Maya playing much more solidly with the sound blasting your speakers much more than in the early years. Brett's singing is also more aggressive. In the original versions, she seemed much more like she was just having fun.
"Play My Game" on this album is pretty much the same, but the mixing was done a little bit differently; I think they just added an echo sound effect and they might have used an alternate take on just one of them (assuming that they used overdubs instead of simultaneous recording). It's still pretty good.
"Hey I'm Gonna Be Your Girl" sounds like it was done more recently than the original version because the sound quality is better, and Brett's voice sounds as if it has matured since the original release. They're also doing it more slowly.
The unreleased tunes are "Teenage Rules" and "I Don't Wanna Break Your Head," which are both good songs that sound pretty much the same as a lot of their songs from their first album. There's nothing wrong with several songs that sound exactly the same when it sounds good, and it does.
This is a really good album and although I was disappointed when looking at the track listing, I thought that the album sounded great."
Balancing Act
Jimi Joplin | Rock Town USA | 10/22/2009
(4 out of 5 stars)
"If you appreciate both the punk rock Donnas and the rock 'n' roll Donnas, then you'll love this album. Myself, I more appreciate the rock 'n' roll Donnas. This is a "tongue-in-cheek" greatest hit album as it features new cuts combined with remakes, remixes, alternate takes and live cuts. I think there might be a couple of original, previously released songs. I was a little stunned by the live versions of "Take It Off" and "Fall Behind Me" that appear on the album. It's not like they weren't good, but were performed almost identical to the studio version and a little pedestrian. The highlights of the album are the 2009 remakes featuring Brett Anderson's more mature, driving vocals. "You Make Me Hot" is my favorite cut and features an additional guitar lick from Allison Robertson that was not present on the original version. At 2:29, however, they missed a great opportunity to add a couple of verses and make this excellent tune last a little longer."
Track Listings (16) - Disc #1