Axxis was never a household name and this best of collection will help to explain the reason why. While there are some very good power ballads and fine performances, there is also an abundance of material that really is uninspired and even some that should never have seen the light of day.
Disc one is a straight ahead greatest hits with some alternate versions of a lot of their most popular ballads. The long version of the power pop/metal "Touch The Rainbow" is one of the highlights on this disc. It is a classic piece of rock and roll and you get the best of the many variations of the song on this album.
Live cuts of "Face To Face" and "Heaven Seventh Train" are very mediocre and not what I would consider worthy of a Greatest Hits collection.
Remixed versions of "Only God Knows" and "Brand New World" will be interesting to die hard fans but overall do not add much to the originals.
The main problem is that they did not include many of their best works on this disc so that they might be included in the acoustic disc that is included in the package. Not only do they deprive you of some of Axxis' best work, they present these songs in a way that will make you cringe. Take for example the Hee Haw version of "Living In A World". I do not know why they felt the need to make a country version of this song but, it is just wrong. Especially to the unsuspecting fans who are expecting the power pop hit but get something that is square dance ready!
Another mistake is the sped up disco take on the song "Little War". This one falls just short of Alvin and the Chipmunks taking a stab at the song.
This is not to say that there aren't some enjoyable cuts on the acoustic disc. "Ships Are Sailing" and "Touch The Rainbow" are two good remakes that get another dimension with the way they are presented here. "Heaven In Black" is my favorite song on here. This song is even better than the original with the treatment it gets from Axxis on this album. The rest of the disc is neither inspiring or really worth mentioning. This one is for the Axxis maniacs without a doubt and the ordinary fan will be very disappointed in the lackluster effort that they give on this disc.
This one falls in the category that many a greatest hits package suffers from, how to package it as something new and in trying to do so they give the people something that is really sub par. The inclusion of two videos do not help as most fans will have seen them already and they are enhanced versions that can only be played on a computer so you could just pull up you tube anyway.
All in all this is a very mixed bag and I would recommend that you find your favorites elsewhere. The stuff that is on here and not available anywhere has been unreleased for good reason and should have stayed buried.
Track listing CD 1:
1. Only God Knows
2. Stay Don't Leave Me
3. Waterdrop
4. Touch The Rainbow
5. Fire And Ice
6. Brand New World
7. Hold You
8. Face To Face
9. Tears Of The Trees
10. Love Doesn't Know Any Distance
11. Sarajevo
12. On My Own
13. Heave Seventh Train
14. Hide Away
15. World Of Mystery
Track Listing CD 2:
1. Living In A World
2. Kingdom Of The Night
3. Little War
4. Ships Are Sailing
5. Touch The Rainbow
6. Heaven In Black
7. C'est La Vie
8. Fire And Ice
9. Another Day
10. Kings Made Of Steel
11. Julia
Enhanced Videos
1. Touch The Rainbow
2. Idolator
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