Playlist: The Very Best of Quiet Riot features 15 tracks defined on the back jacket as "the life-changing songs, the out-of-print tracks, the hits, the fan favorites everyone loves, and the songs that make the artists who they are." While it may boast little in the way of rare, live, unreleased, or "out-of-print" material, it certainly eclipses 1996's Greatest Hits collection as the most listenable Quiet Riot overview on the market. All 14 tracks (15 is a CD-ROM cut) are culled from the group's three biggest albums -- Metal Health (1983), Condition Critical (1984), and QR III (1986) -- and while many listeners may only know the group's breakout hit, a cover of Slade's "Cum on Feel the Noize," the band consistently turned out its own quality pop-metal during its mid-'80s heydays. Less successful singles like "The Wild and the Young," "Sign of the Times," "Slick Black Cadillac," and "Metal Health (Bang Your Head)" may not make as many appearances on the myriad genre compilations as their more famous predecessor, but they're as good (if not better) than much of the juvenile crap that pushed them out of the limelight.
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