NEW PANTERA GREATEST HITS COLLECTION INFERIOR TO OLD PANTERA GREATEST HITS COLLECTION
Yesterday we discussed all the upcoming Pantera reissues, as well as the fact that the band’s second greatest hits collection, 1990-2000: A Decade Of Domination, is coming out on March 30. I said that it’s hard not to see this compilation as a cash-in, and now that track list has been revealed and details of how the album will be sold, it’s even harder.
For one thing, the band’s original greatest hits album, Far Beyond the Great Southern Cowboys’ Vulgar Hits, not only had six more songs than this new one will, but came with a bonus DVD showcasing twelve (!) music videos.
Here’s the track list for the new collection, A Decade of Domination…
- “Cowboys From Hell”
- “Psycho Holiday”
- “Cemetery Gates”
- “Mouth For War”
- “Walk”
- “This Love”
- “5 Minutes Alone”
- “I’m Broken”
- “Drag The Waters”
- “Revolution Is My Name”
…and here’s the track list for the old one:
- “Cowboys from Hell”
- “Cemetery Gates”
- “Mouth for War”
- “Walk”
- “This Love”
- “I’m Broken”
- “Becoming”
- “5 Minutes Alone”
- “Planet Caravan”
- “Drag the Waters”
- “Where You Come From”
- “Cat Scratch Fever”
- “Revolution Is My Name”
- “I’ll Cast a Shadow”
- “Goddamn Electric”
- “Hole in the Sky”
Now, three of the above songs are covers, so I guess you could argue that they’re highly unnecessary (although I have a soft spot for Pantera’s version of “Planet Caravan”). But poor “Becoming!” And I know Reinventing the Steel is probably Pantera’s weakest record (if you don’t count the pre-Anselmo glam stuff), but, y’know. Two more songs is two more songs. And I actually really like “Goddamn Electric.”
(Of course, as I said yesterday, I’d prefer new fans just seek out whole Pantera albums. But maybe that’s too much is to ask in 2010.)
Now here comes the punchline: Decade will be sold exclusively at Wal-Mart stores – and Wal-Mart has apparently refused to carry Pantera albums in the past, because Phil Anselmo likes to use naughty language in his lyrics, and that’s a big no-no for a wholesome, all-American retailer like Wal-Mart. Which explains why “Goddamn Electric” didn’t make the cut.
In other words: this really is just a cash-in. Oh well. Hopefully that Cowboys from Hell reissue will be awesome enough to wash the taste of disappointment out of my mouth.
-AR
