For some, VH1 is somehow a recollection of what MTV used to be,
\nwith 24-hour rock\/pop videos varying in decade as well as artist.
\nFor others it’s a non-stop crapfest which shows the absolute worst
\ntendencies of top-40 production artists. Like it or not, there are
\nsome really good songs on this 1st album from the network, the 1995
\nrelease,
\nVH1 Crossroads<\/i>.<\/p>\n
“Crossroads” started airing on VH1 in 1993, partially as the
\nnetworks answer to “Unplugged, ” when they really didn’t need to
\nanswer. Since both networks are owned by Time-Warner, they aren’t
\nreally in direct competition. This sampler, much like
\nThe Unplugged Collection<\/i>, is a good overview of songs taken
\nfrom this series. (I don’t want to call them highlights.)<\/p>\n
It is also a pretty good map of top-40 pop from 1995 through
\n1997. The album opener, “Run-Around”, from Blues Traveler, is an
\nexample of a very well written song, which got bad after about the
\nthousandth time you heard it. The same could be said for Chris
\nIsaak’s “Somebody’s Crying,” Del Amitri’s “Roll to Me,” and Deep
\nBlue Something’s “Breakfast at Tiffany’s.” Each of these four songs
\nsuffers a similar curse. They would be great as album tracks, if
\nthe album was strong, but get somewhat tiresome when played every
\nfifteen minutes by some incompetent program director that doesn’t
\nlike any music other than the sound that the cash register makes as
\nit opens, overflowing with cash, as he drives his Jaguar home,
\nlooking very silly in it, and waiting to become station manager.
\nMeanwhile, he punishes us by playing “Who Will Save Your Soul”, ad
\nnauseum, while laughing in his corner office, waiting to se what
\nwe’ll swallow next! Sorry, I got carried away. Back to the
\nreview<\/p>\n
But speaking of Jewel, her “Foolish Games” is one of the
\nstronger tracks here. Other good songs include Edwin McCain’s
\n“Solitude,” and Gin Blossoms’ “‘Til I Hear it From You.” These are
\nsongs you are undoubtedly familiar with, and which are enhanced by
\na live format.<\/p>\n
The best track here is Tori Amos’s cover of the Springsteen
\nclassic, “I’m on Fire,” which, (dare I say it), just may be better
\nthan the version from
\nBorn In The USA<\/i>. Maybe it was a misstep to put it here,
\nbecause it reminds everyone involved of what a quality pop song
\nshould sound like. I need a fix, Bruce, please make the new album
\nsoon. Also, I find Goo Goo Dolls’ “Name” to be one of the best
\nsingles in recent memory. It’s one of those teen-angst love songs
\nthat make you want to cry every time you hear it. That’s not a
\nproblem here, because with the concert version of then song, unless
\nyou are already familiar with it, you will not understand a word
\nuttered.<\/p>\n
The problem with much of the album is in the lack of flow. There
\nare some very popular songs here, and a few of them are even good.
\nIt’s just hard to listen to them in one sitting without wondering
\nwhy you aren’t listening to the radio. If you like a lot of the
\nsongs listed above, but didn’t want to buy the albums, here’s your
\nchance. If you are looking for another unplugged collection of
\ntunes, then look elsewhere. (The new Bryan Adams one is a
\nkiller.)<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":14,"featured_media":27356,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"artist":[5827],"rating":[5612],"class_list":["post-38721","review","type-review","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","artist-various-artists","rating-rating-b-minus"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/review\/38721","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/review"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/review"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/14"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=38721"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/review\/38721\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/27356"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=38721"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"artist","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/artist?post=38721"},{"taxonomy":"rating","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/rating?post=38721"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}