The Best of Poison: 20 Years of Rock

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The Best of Poison: 20 Years of Rock
Poison20.jpg
Greatest hits album by
ReleasedApril 3, 2006 (2006-04-03)
Recorded1986–2006
Genre
Length71:19
Label Capitol
Producer Don Was
Poison chronology
Best of Ballads & Blues
(2003)
The Best of Poison: 20 Years of Rock
(2006)
Poison'd!
(2007)
Singles from The Best of Poison: 20 Years of Rock
  1. "We're an American Band"
    Released: 2006
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
Allmusic Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svg [1]

The Best of Poison: 20 Years of Rock is a compilation album from the American glam metal band Poison, released by Capitol Records on April 3, 2006, to celebrate the band's 20th anniversary. It sold more than one million copies to date in the U.S as of September 2009.

Contents

Release and promotion

The Best of Poison: 20 Years of Rock features many songs from the band's 20-year career. Most notable is the song "Every Rose Has Its Thorn", which was the band's biggest hit, a power ballad. A rare cover of the Kiss classic "Rock and Roll All Nite" appears, previously only available on the soundtrack to the movie "Less Than Zero". The compilation also includes a new single, the Grand Funk Railroad roadie classic "We're an American Band", which also features a music video.

The cover art is taken from the book Pornography: Opposing Viewpoints. [2]

The album was produced by Don Was and marked Poison's return to the Billboard 200 top 20 charts for the first time since 1993. The compilation debuted at No. 17, [3] quite an impressive showing for a hair metal band in 2006, and perhaps showing the beneficial effect of many Behind the Music -type shows on VH1, where Poison's hair metal antics were relived. The album also charted at No. 5 on the Top Rock Albums, No. 4 on the Top Catalog Albums and No. 10 on the Top Hard Rock Albums chart. [4]

The Best of Poison: 20 Years of Rock was certified Gold in 2006 by the RIAA. [5]

The album was bundled with the 2004 remastered single-disc version of Swallow This Live in the 2010 box set Nothin' But a Good Time: The Poison Collection. [6] [7]

Track listing

All tracks are written by Bret Michaels, Bobby Dall, Rikki Rockett, and C.C. DeVille, except where noted.

No.TitleWriter(s){{{extra_column}}}Length
1."Talk Dirty to Me"  Look What the Cat Dragged In (1986)3:44
2."I Want Action" (Single Version) Look What the Cat Dragged In3:05
3."I Won't Forget You" (Single Version) Look What the Cat Dragged In3:34
4."Cry Tough" Look What the Cat Dragged In3:38
5."Look What the Cat Dragged In" Look What the Cat Dragged In3:10
6."Nothin' But a Good Time"  Open Up and Say... Ahh! (1988)3:43
7."Fallen Angel" Open Up and Say... Ahh!3:56
8."Every Rose Has Its Thorn" Open Up and Say... Ahh!4:20
9."Your Mama Don't Dance" (Loggins and Messina cover)Open Up and Say... Ahh!3:00
10."Unskinny Bop"  Flesh & Blood (1990)3:49
11."Rock and Roll All Nite" (Kiss cover) Less Than Zero soundtrack (1987)3:35
12."Ride the Wind" Flesh & Blood3:53
13."Something to Believe In" Flesh & Blood5:30
14."Life Goes On" Flesh & Blood4:49
15."Stand"
Native Tongue (1993)5:14
16."The Last Song"  Power to the People (2000)4:22
17."Shooting Star"  Hollyweird (2002)4:37
18."We're an American Band" (Grand Funk Railroad cover) Don Brewer New recording3:10
Total length:71:19

DVD

A special edition of The Best of Poison: 20 Years of Rock was released which included a bonus greatest hits DVD compilation. The DVD includes the new video "We're an American Band" plus some of the band's biggest hits.

  1. I Want Action
  2. Every Rose Has Its Thorn
  3. Your Mama Don't Dance
  4. Nothin' But a Good Time
  5. Something To Believe In
  6. Unskinny Bop
  7. Talk Dirty to Me - Live on MTV Unplugged
  8. We're an American Band

Personnel

Charts

Chart (2006)Peak
position
US Billboard 200 [8] 17
US Top Catalog Albums (Billboard) [9] 4
US Top Hard Rock Albums (Billboard) [10] 10
US Top Rock Albums (Billboard) [11] 5

Certifications

RegionCertification Certified units/sales
United States (RIAA) [12] Gold500,000^

^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Poison (band)</span> American glam metal band

Poison is an American glam metal band formed in Mechanicsburg, Pennsylvania in 1983. The most successful incarnation of the band consists of lead singer and rhythm guitarist Bret Michaels, drummer Rikki Rockett, bassist Bobby Dall and lead guitarist C.C. DeVille. The band achieved huge commercial success in the mid-1980s through the mid-1990s and sold over 40 million records and DVDs worldwide.

<i>Look What the Cat Dragged In</i> 1986 studio album by Poison

Look What the Cat Dragged In is the debut studio album by American glam metal band Poison, released on August 16, 1986, by Enigma Records. Though not a success at first, it steadily built momentum and peaked at #3 on the US Billboard 200 on May 23, 1987. The album spawned three successful singles: "Talk Dirty to Me", "I Want Action", and "I Won't Forget You".

<i>Open Up and Say... Ahh!</i> 1988 studio album by Poison

Open Up and Say... Ahh! is the second studio album by American glam metal band Poison, released on April 27, 1988, through Enigma Records. It proved to be the band's most successful release, and spawned four hit singles: "Nothin' But a Good Time", "Fallen Angel", "Your Mama Don't Dance" and their only number one single to date, "Every Rose Has Its Thorn". The album peaked at number two on the US Billboard 200.

<i>Flesh & Blood</i> (Poison album) 1990 music album

Flesh & Blood is the third studio album by American glam metal band Poison, released on July 2, 1990, through the Enigma label of Capitol Records. It peaked at number 2 on the Billboard charts and more than 7.2 million copies were sold worldwide. It peaked at number 1 on the Cash Box charts.

<i>Hollyweird</i> 2002 studio album by Poison

Hollyweird is the sixth studio album by American glam metal band Poison, released through Cyanide Music on May 21, 2002. It debuted at No. 103 on the Billboard 200 chart and No. 8 on the Independent Albums chart and sold 11,000 copies in its first week. As of 2023, it is the band's most recent album of original material.

<i>Native Tongue</i> (Poison album) 1993 studio album by Poison

Native Tongue is the fourth studio album by American glam metal band Poison, released in 1993 through Capitol Records. It peaked at #16 on the Billboard 200, #20 on the UK Albums Chart and was certified gold by the RIAA on April 21, 1993. It has also been certified platinum in Canada. This is the only album to feature lead guitarist Richie Kotzen. Kotzen was hired as the band's guitarist following the firing of C.C. DeVille in late 1991. The album features the singles "Stand", "Until You Suffer Some " and "Body Talk".

<i>Swallow This Live</i> 1991 live album by Poison

Swallow This Live is the first live album by American glam metal band Poison. It was released in 1991 by Capitol Records. The album features 16 live tracks from Poison's first three studio albums Look What the Cat Dragged In, Open Up and Say...Ahh!, and Flesh and Blood. These live tracks were recorded in Miami, Orlando, and Tampa in Florida, as well as the Irvine Meadows Amphitheatre during Poison’s Flesh & Blood world tour. The album also contains four new studio tracks, which were the last recorded before guitarist C.C. DeVille departed from Poison later in 1991. One of these, "So Tell Me Why", was released as a single and reached number 25 in the United Kingdom in November 1991 and features a music video.

<i>Crack a Smile... and More!</i> 2000 studio album by Poison

Crack a Smile... and More! is the fifth studio album from the American hard rock band Poison. The record was released on March 14, 2000. The album features guitarist Blues Saraceno, who was hired as the band's new lead guitarist following the firing of Richie Kotzen in late 1993. Saraceno appeared on the band's last album release Poison's Greatest Hits: 1986–1996 in 1996, which featured two new tracks with him on lead guitar. Those two new tracks re-appear on this album along with thirteen new songs and five bonus tracks. The album moved around 12,000 copies in its first week of release to debut at #131 on the Billboard 200 album chart.

<i>Power to the People</i> (Poison album) 2000 studio album with live tracks by Poison

Power to the People is an album by the American rock band Poison, released on June 13, 2000, on the band's independent label, Cyanide Music. It marked the return of the original lineup, together for the first time since 1991's Swallow This Live with the return of C.C. DeVille who replaced Blues Saraceno.

<i>Poisons Greatest Hits: 1986–1996</i> 1996 greatest hits album by Poison

Poison's Greatest Hits: 1986–1996 is the first greatest hits compilation CD by the glam metal band Poison, released on November 26, 1996, by Capitol Records to celebrate the band's 10th anniversary. The album contains 16 tracks from the band's first four studio albums and also the live double-album Swallow This Live.

<i>Best of Ballads & Blues</i> 2003 greatest hits album by Poison

Best of Ballads & Blues is a compilation album by the American glam metal band Poison, released by Capitol Records on August 5, 2003. Unlike Poison's Greatest Hits: 1986-1996, this compilation focuses on the group's power ballads and blues-oriented songs, and also includes acoustic recordings of "Something to Believe In" and "Stand".

<i>Rock Champions</i> (Poison album) 2001 compilation album by Poison

Rock Champions is a compilation album by American rock band Poison, released in Europe in 2001 by EMI Plus. The album consists of 14 studio tracks from the band's previous albums, from Look What the Cat Dragged In to Native Tongue.

<i>Great Big Hits Live! Bootleg</i> 2006 live album by Poison

Great Big Hits Live! Bootleg is an album by American glam metal band Poison, released by Sony BMG on July 4, 2006. The album consists of 10 live tracks from Poison's successful 1999-2000 Comeback tour. All the songs but three are Poison singles that charted on The Billboard Hot 100 including the number 1 hit "Every Rose Has Its Thorn".

<i>Poisond!</i> 2007 studio album (part compilation) by Poison

Poison'd! is the seventh studio album by American glam metal band Poison, released through Capitol Records on June 5, 2007. The 14-track album features cover versions of the band's favorite rock classics. Nine new tracks and five previously released covers make up the album.

<i>Poison Greatest Video Hits</i> 2001 video by Poison

Poison Greatest Video Hits is the fifth DVD/video from the rock band Poison, released in 2001 following the success of the VH1 Behind the Music episode of the band.

<i>Nothing But a Good Time! Unauthorized</i> 2003 video by Poison

Nothing but a Good Time! Unauthorized is a documentary film centered around U.S. hard rock/glam metal band Poison that was released in 2003 following the distribution of the band's studio album Hollyweird. Taking its title from the 1988 Poison single "Nothin' But a Good Time", it features interviews with related musicians such as Bret Michaels and C.C. DeVille

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Fallen Angel (Poison song)</span> 1988 single by Poison

"Fallen Angel" is a song by American glam metal band Poison, released in 1988 as the second single from the band's second studio album Open Up and Say...Ahh!. The B-side of the seven-inch was "Bad to Be Good". "Fallen Angel" reached No. 12 on the Billboard Hot 100 and No. 32 on the Mainstream Rock chart and has since gone gold in the US. This made it the only single from the album not to reach the top ten. It also charted at number 21 on the Australian charts and number 59 on the UK Singles chart.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Shooting Star (Poison song)</span> 2002 single by Poison

"Shooting Star" is a song by American rock band Poison. It is the third and final single released from Poison's 7th studio album Hollyweird, which debuted at #103 on the Billboard 200 and #8 on the Independent Albums chart. The song was released as a single in November 2002.

<i>Live, Raw & Uncut</i> 2008 video by Poison

Live, Raw & Uncut is a live video album by the glam metal band Poison, released by Koch Records on July 15, 2008. The video was recorded at the Verizon Wireless Amphitheater in Maryland Heights, Missouri on August 2, 2007 during the band's Poison'd! tour.

<i>Double Dose: Ultimate Hits</i> 2011 compilation album by Poison

Double Dose: Ultimate Hits is a double-disc compilation album by the glam metal band Poison, released by Capitol Records on May 3, 2011, to commemorate the band's 25th anniversary. The album charted at No. 23 on the Billboard Top Hard Rock Albums chart and No. 17 in Canada.

References

  1. Allmusic review
  2. Pornography: Opposing viewpoints. Opposing viewpoints series. Greenhaven Press. 2002.
  3. "Allmusic (Poison charts and awards) Billboard albums".
  4. "Billboard - Poison chart history".
  5. "RIAA Gold & Platinum". Recording Industry Association of America .Retrieved 2010.
  6. Nothin' But a Good Time: The Poison Collection at MusicBrainz (list of releases)
  7. Nothin' But a Good Time: The Poison Collection at Discogs
  8. "Poison Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved 22 April 2018.
  9. "Poison Chart History (Top Catalog Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved 22 April 2018.
  10. "Poison Chart History (Top Hard Rock Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved 22 April 2018.
  11. "Poison Chart History (Top Rock Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved 22 April 2018.
  12. "American album certifications – Poison – The Best of Poison: 20 Years of Rock". Recording Industry Association of America . Retrieved July 19, 2021.