Cheap Imitators at Best
I liked this band much better when they were called....KIX!
What a bunch of rip off artists these guys are.
They came to every Kix show they could and stole their act.
Has anyone noticed that Poison is the name of an early Kix song?!
Coincidence? I think not. Enjoy this album if you must.
Go check out the real McCoys by supporting Kix's albums. They are true rock and roll. These guys are total clowns.

Plenty of hits, not many misses
This best of collection is worthy of note for a few reasons. Firstly, you know those best of albums where it seems that the person putting the project together didn't really know what the bands best songs actually were? Like the couple of Savatage best of discs and the Collection of Metal disc that did such disservice to Saxon? Well this ain't one of them. This actually is basically the best of Poison, the hard rock band who gave us so many memorable if brainless good time party rock anthems back in the 80's.

The party gets started here with Nothin' But A Good Time which is probably the bands biggest rock hit. Talk Dirty To Me and Unskinny Bop bounce along with swerve and verve and then things tone down for the bands massive ballad hit Every Rose Has It's Thorn. Now back in the 80's it was compulsory for hair metal bands to talk the talk and then churn out soft ballad hits for the record company. Well Poison certainly did have the big ballad hit but they actually did rock out. After Rose... Fallen Angel kicks things back into a rock vein before I Won't Forget You reminds us that not all the hits have stood the test of time. A couple of anonymous tunes mar proceedings before Look What The Cat Dragged In and I Want Action take you on a timewarp to the best party you ever went to in the 80's - or would of if you were alive at the time.

The rest of the thing cruises on down the highway with buoyant and simple musicality and the only cover that scored the band a bit of a hit Your Mama Don't Dance stands out a bit from dross like Cry Tough and So Tell Me Why. The `standard' tracks are finished off by Something to Believe In which was from the bands difficult Flesh & Blood album and is a good example of the bands somewhat faltering attempt to show growth from their brainless brief of rawk rock.

Extra quality is in the form of bonus tracks entitled (I kid you not) Sexual Thing and Lay Your Body Down both if which are previously unreleased. Neither is up there with the bands most vital hair metal moments but they aren't band and I love getting extra quality, so these tracks are still a plus.

Overall the album feels remarkably coherent given the songs were recorded over the course of a decade and that's probably largely due to the undemanding nature of the bands modus operendi, these guys aren't exactly pushing for a spot in Dream Theatre.

Many people have rubbished this band over the years, myself included at times, but the infectious optimism of this band deserves a place in the record collection of even the most jaded hard rock/metal fan. This album is not perfect because Poison don't have sixteen songs you simply have to own but they do have a clutch of `em and this disc is an excellent way to gather them all up. And besides, your buying it online dude, nobody is gonna see you in the store with this in your hand so click it into your shopping cart.

Poison
The ultimate collection of this once great group. All the hits are here but little else. CC still rocks!

Good
Awesome songs and horrible songs. Although more awesome then horrible.
3 1/2 stars. 6 Awesome, 4 Good, 2 ok, and 6 horrible.

poison:the first 10 years
poison's greatest hits 1986-1996 starts off with my three favorite songs, nothin' but a good time talk dirty to me,and unskinny bop.other songs i like are every rose has its thorn,i won't forget you,cry tough,life goes on,stand,ride the wind,(flesh and blood)sacrafice,something to believe in,and so tell me why.this is a good album for all you poison fans out there. ed wilson