Search - Staind :: 1996-2006 The Singles

An Above Average Hits Package.

Andrew Estes | Maine | 11/14/2006

(4 out of 5 stars)

"You wouldn't have expected any less, would you? Staind have officially been around for ten years. Five albums into their career, four of which are full of memorable hits, it makes sense that Staind are putting out a "Singles" collection. It also makes sense because like Cold, Nonpoint, Taproot and P.O.D. before them, Staind are apparently severing ties with their record label, Atlantic. What a perfect escape route!



Sounds Like: A contractual obligation.



The Good:

- Well, it's Staind and so long as you're a fan, these songs will always be good.

- Even if you own all the albums, there are more than a few extras thrown your way. In addition to the Family Values 1999 version of "Outside" replacing the rather bland studio version, there are also four live and acoustic tracks (three of which are covers!)



The Bad:

- The omission of "Just Go" (why do they always ignore that song?), "Fade" and "How About You."



Hits: Well, they're all hits, but for the fans, the acoustic numbers are where it's at. "Nutshell," an Alice In Chains cover, stands far and above the rest. There have been many bands performing this song in the past (I have recordings of Seether, Cold, Shinedown and Adema doing it) but no one has done it as beautifully and effortlessly as Aaron Lewis and company. "Sober" and "Comfortably Numb," Tool and Pink Floyd covers respectively, are great as well, in addition to the acoustic rendition of "Everything Changes." Hell, they even threw in a souped up version of "Come Again" from their 1996 indie album, "Tormented," in case you don't own it already.



Misses: Just the songs they left off.



Personally: I've been a Staind fan since "Dysfunction" and this collection does the band justice. I can forgive what they left out mainly because I own all that stuff already and because the unreleased material is worth the while. Few bands are as good with "Greatest Hits" as Staind are with this one. Highly recommended.



Best Listened To When: Ending a relationship with a record label."

Nice Compilation, But Minus 1 Star For Missing Hits

Greg | Houston, TX | 12/06/2006

(4 out of 5 stars)

"Staind is definitely one of the best and most important bands in modern rock music. I've been a fan since '99 and have every album (including the out-of-print "Tormented" album). Any way, the band is about to take a year or 2 off since they've been recording and touring non-stop for 10 years. AND after only 5 albums, they already have a rather large bundle of hits and singles under their belt, so it makes since that they would release a "best of" compilation just in time for Christmas. Now normally when a band releases a compilation album, they might title it "The Best Of" or "Greatest Hits" which would suggest that only the biggest hit songs will be on there. But this collection is titled "The Singles: 1996-2006", so I would expect that every single would be accounted for. Sadly, a few singles and 1 big hit are missing from this collection.

First, let's start with what the album DOES have to offer. It begins with a remix of "Come Again" which was originally on the band's independently released "Tormented" album from 1996. It's cool to here if you don't own the album or if you wanna hear a slightly different version of one of the songs from that CD. Next, you have "Mudshovel" (the band's first big hit) and "Home" from their 1999 album, "Dysfunction." These are great songs, and you're certain to enjoy these tunes from the darker side of Staind. Then the popular "Break The Cycle" album from 2001 is represented with hit songs like "It's Been Awhile", "For You" and "Epiphany." There's also the popular acoustic version of "Outside" that lead singer Aaron Lewis performed with Fred Durst of Limp Bizkit during the 1999 Family Values Tour. Then, from 2003's "14 Shades Of Grey" you'll find songs like "Price To Play", "So Far Away" and "Zoe Jane" (which is a good song but I was never aware that it was a single.) Finally, last year's "Chapter V" album is represented with "Right Here", "Falling" and an acoustic version of "Everything Changes". However, the CD doesn't end there! For those hardcore Staind fans who already own all the albums, you'll get some bonus acoustic cover songs on here..."Comfortably Numb" (Pink Floyd), "Sober" (Tool) and "Nutshell" (my favorite Alice In Chains tune). These are very good acoustic covers, especially "Nutshell". They make the album worth getting if you already own everything else.

Now it's time to go over what this CD is lacking. First, "Just Go" from the Dysfunction album is no where to be found. It wasn't a big hit, but I do believe it got some radio play and may have even been the first single from that album...good song. Then from Break The Cycle, we don't have "Fade" (a VERY big hit for the band) or the studio version of "Outside" (which was equally as popular as the live acoustic version found on here). Next, missing from 14 Shades Of Grey is "How About You", which wasn't a big hit but it got radio play and just happened to be my favorite song from that album. And from Chapter V, they decided to put an acoustic version of "Everything Changes" on here rather than the studio version that was played on the radio. But I suppose this version is just as good.

So yes, this album is missing quite a bit, but only 1 or 2 major songs aren't found on here. It's still a nice compilation, especially for the bonus songs. As a Staind fan, I have to be honest that some of the band's best stuff never went to radio. I think after "Its Been Awhile" became such a huge hit, the record company kept forcing out slow ballads like "So Far Away" and "Right Here" in order to recapture that success (which may have worked). But I think it's too bad that Staind's REAL style (angsty hard rock) is barely shown on here. This album is a good introduction to the band, but it's mostly meant for the people that just follow whatever they hear on the radio. If you wanna hear some of Staind's BEST stuff, listen to their individual albums to here great songs like "Suffocate", "Crawl", "Pressure", "How About You", "Paper Jesus" and "King Of All Excuses"."

Happy with purchase

J. Alexandrian | 02/11/2007

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Why bother with making your own compilation CD, this Staind CD has it all on one disc and it was on my doorstep 2 days after I ordered. Worth every penny."