Monster Ballads

Recently I’ve rediscovered an old cd of mine. It’s the first of the Monster Ballads compilation CDs and was released June 29, 1999. The genre of this cd is found under a couple of subcategories under Rock, including glam, arena rock, and pop metal on Amazon. To put it simply though, it’s the late 80s and early 90s rock music. I pop this cd in the player at home or in the car and instantly I’m in a much better mood. My reasoning for why this happens is based on its variety, sequence of songs, and the style of music itself. This cd is sure to take you back when music took more talent than technology to make a hit. The variety of this cd is great! It’s got its hair band hits and love ballads. It has upbeat strong ballads and slower songs. An example of a strong ballad is “Headed for a Heartbreak” by Winger versus a slow song “More Than Words” by Xtreme. This also demonstrates a change in tone by having some songs strong in electric guitar and have another be acoustic. While on this note, I doubt anyone likes listening to all love songs all the time, that would drive anyone insane. So thankfully on this cd, there are a few not love songs to mix things up a bit, like “Something to Believe In” by Poison. The compilers could have just as easily put “Every Rose Has its Thorn” by Poison on the track, but they spared us. While listening to the cd I also realized there are a variety of vocalists. You go from “Almost Paradise” with Ann Wilson and Mike Reno singing a sweet duet to the lead singer of Cinderella, Tom Keifer who has a raspy, smoker voice. This cd is far from monotone or static. The sequence of the songs is also dynamic. The transitions between the songs are natural and seem well mixed. The songs transition well from an upbeat strong ballad to a slower song. This can be seen in the transition from the song “To Be with You” Mr. Big to “Carrie” by Europe. This is not an easy task, especially when you’re dealing with the different styles of each artist. I’ve listened to several other compilation CDs and they do not have the same flow as this cd. In fact, at times the others can be jarring. At one point you’re listening to a punk song and the next an instrumental piano song. This is something I pay close attention to even when I’m burning my own personal mixes. The sequence or flow of songs on a track will make or break a cd as great in my view. The 80s and 90s are a gold mine of great guitar solos and riffs. I’ve been a guitarist for a couple of years and have always been a guitar junkie from the time I was little. Two of several examples on this cd of guitar solos is found in “High Enough” by Damn Yankees and “Is This Love” by Whitesnake. I also appreciated that the compilers put in an acoustic song like “More Than Words” by Xtreme. I still have my Fender Acoustic I’d love to play that one on. The slapping sound you hear in this song is a style of playing called percussive guitar. Then in a few songs, there are some very 80s keyboard intros like in “When I’m With You” by Sherriff. The assortment of instruments and playing styles really adds to the flavor of the cd. Whether you listen to this cd out of nostalgia or out of pure curiosity of Hairband hits, this is the perfect cd for you. One concession I will make about this cd is I wish it wasn’t just late 80s and early 90s hair bands. There are also some great 70s rock artists, like Blue Oyster Cult, Lynyrd Skynyrd, Boston, Journey, and Kansas, that would sound great in the mix on this cd as well. I don’t know, maybe there is a sister cd out there that is 70s rock hits? Overall, I rate this cd a 4 and a half stars.

If you're looking for a collection of love songs that will inspire you or fuel your romantic fantasies, Monster Ballads will help you with that and more. My favorite songs on the CD are "Is This Love?" by White Snake, "When I See You Smile" by Bad English, and "Headed for a Heartbreak" by Winger. Come to think of it, there's not one bad song on this CD. Any one of them could be used for slow dancing or other romantic activities.

I like this collection so much that it has been stolen twice, and I have bought it a third time.

This is one of my best cd s if you like 80 s rock ballets you need to purchase this cd you want regret it

Great Product

The disc was in amazing condition. Thank you for helping me cross off a bucket list item. Really do appreciate it.

Have bought this CD 4 times throughout the years, one for me, my 2 sisters and my mother. Absolutley love, if you wanna hear great music then buy this

It arrived as expected and it was in perfect condition. And the songs are some good ones as well.

Absolute Hammer CD!! Viele super alte Balladen zum Dahin schmelzen!! US-Import!! Bei Sammler bestimmt bald sehr gefragt!! Sehr Empfehlenswert!! Super!!