I still do not understand why this release is necessary. Even after listening to it a half dozen times or more, it seems completely frivolous. Not to say that this isn't an enjoyable double disc of Ten tunes, but why did Gary Hughes feel the need to re-record material that is, at the very most, ten years old? Oh wait... ten years of Ten... haha... yeah, very funny.

It could be understood if major changes took place. Most famously, look at the difference between Whitesnake's first recordings of "Here I Go Again" and "Crying in the Rain" compared to the heavy metal revamps that came a few years later. There was such a chasm between the blues rock style of the originals and the slick, metallic sheen of the new versions, that it was like a breath of fresh air. But Hughes does no such huge overhauls to his material, and even though I know that this is just an excuse to showcase his new band, it seems like more could have been done to separate these tracks. Rockers could have been turned into ballads, and vice versa.

However, here they just play it safe. Some songs are screwed around with just enough to be annoying. Take for instance, one of my all-time favorite pieces, "After the Love Has Gone". The original begins with a suspenseful guitar opening and then just slams into the majestic yet sexy meat of the song. For "The Essential Collection", the prelude is overly extended, filled with technical guitar wizardry and talk box action, and when the rhythm finally hits for the song to take flight, the powerful, breathtaking energy is just not there. Gary sounds as sensual as ever, his voice mesmerizing, but the song has already lost its magic. After that it's like going through the motions, which isn't thrilling at all.

Other songs fare better, such as "Rememberance For the Brave/Red", which seems to have even more of a Scottish flair than before, and he can do no wrong on the ballads, so that entire disc is pretty much safe from scorn. In my heart, however, I would still rather just pop in the discs where the songs debuted and listen to them there than sit through these nearly identical twins.

Francis' guitar antics seem to scream more for attention than add to the songs. His playing his very technical and lacks the warmth and natural feel of Vinnie Burns' contributions. Therefore it seems strange to have his obnoxious axe slinging all over the place, throwing off chilly vibes of over self indulgence where this tasteful warmth used to reside.

Things just keep getting worse though. The production is even lacking. This takes away some of the bombastic feel that the overblown hard rock of Ten is known for.

As much as I love Hughes and his band Ten, no matter what the incarnation, I personally would have been more welcoming to a straight up greatest hits package or a double live disc that would serve the same purpose as this dual disc, but would have offered a totally different vibe. Those that already own most of the band's catalogue, there really isn't enough alterations made to your favorite tunes to warrant a purchase. The band just kind of waddles into the fray and mucks things up.

Of course, if you are a Ten newbie, then you really can't get a better collection of songs than this. It's a good chunk of the gravy from the band's work, and Hughes certainly knows how to pick them. Although I wonder why 2001s "Far Beyond the World" was completely shunned but yet there are two songs from "Return to Evermore" which was just released in 2004? Not only that, but his new hot shot guitarist, Chris Francis was aboard then, making a remake of these tracks ("Apparition" and "Evermore") pointless. It makes no sense... no sense at all. Kind of like this release.

Written by Alanna
Monday, January 9, 2006
Show all reviews by Alanna

Ratings

Alanna: 5/10

Members: No members have rated this album yet.

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Comment by VonSeux (Anonymous) - Friday, January 13, 2006

im totally surprised by this review, im a huge Ten fan, and was really happy when they announced tis release i have not yet listened to it, i hope that you are wrong, hehehe, 5/10 is to little for Ten I think that re-recording the songs is grat, whole better than a simple compilation. But maybe an live dvd would be better...

Comment by Steen (Staff) - Friday, January 13, 2006

View Profile Comments: 518 I unfortunately have to agree with Alanna on this one. Being a huge Ten fan I also had great expectations but found most of these re-recordings really disappointing. Posted by Steen (Staff) Friday, January 13, 2006

Comment by metalman (Anonymous) - Friday, January 13, 2006

iv never heard Ten Before, but a friend lent me this cd, and i was very impressed , i cant see why this got a 5

Comment by Alanna (Staff) - Saturday, January 14, 2006

View Profile Comments: 245 If you were impressed with this then the originals would blow your mind. The material here is excellent at its heart but pales to the originals. They could have done so much more but it falls flat, and it really is a kicker that the production is worse here than before. I love Ten and have been following them since day one and this just was not one of Gary Hughes better ideas. I highly recommend Ten's first two albums which are available as a double pack now: Ten & Name of the Rose. Posted by Alanna (Staff) Saturday, January 14, 2006

Comment by metalman (Anonymous) - Sunday, January 15, 2006

i suggest you rather not give a rating in these circumstances,anyone not familiar with TEN, would have read this and given the band a complete miss, i know i would have.

Comment by VonSeux (Anonymous) - Sunday, January 15, 2006

Metalman is right. it is still a pack of kick ass songs, it works as an B-side to me. Im listening to Valentine now and i loved this new version, i've always imagined the original without the guittars at the end

Comment by ISA_ Antarctica (Anonymous) - Saturday, February 3, 2007

Sincerely I hoped a powerful album, because of the suggested name of the album "The Essential Collection". They missed songs on "The Essential: Rockers (Disc 1)", such as: "Glimmer Of Evil", "The Stranger", "Barricade", "Outlawed And Notorius", "High Tide", "Last Of The Lovers", "Venus And Mars", "Goodnight Saigon", "Wings Of The Storm", "Bright On The Blade".. Nevertheless, they were included on this "Rockers", tracks such as: "Return To Evermore" & "Apparition" ; both of them, came from the last released album in 2004, "Return To Evermore". On "The Essential: Ballads (Disc 2)", they missed songs such as "Love Became The Law", "Fly Like An Eagle", They should have unreleased tracks, such as "The Soldier", "The Love Can Ease The Pain".... Well, I could give my rating by the following way: A. If we analize the track-listing , because of the given title, the rating for "The Essential Collection:1995-2005" is : 5/10 (Rockers) & 6,5/10 (Ballads); b. If we analize by the genre which Ten belongs to ("Melodic Hard Rock"), the rating is: 7/10 (Rockers) & 7,5/10 (Ballads). Even if we analize by these options, I believe that the rating would be neither 10/10, nor 9/10. As for these options, I prefer the A, because the cooler tracks are missed on this collection double album. I hope that the next compilation album includes rare tracks, videoclips, interviews, parts of shows,.......

Comment by Blaster_75 (Anonymous) - Monday, February 12, 2007

Maybe one of Ten's members could read all these messages. I believe in Gary as a singer (Notice: nowadays there are "ghost-singers", in addition to "ghost-writers"), not as a composer/songwriter. After all, Gary does not play several instruments (or one of them, except accoustic guitar) as Arjen Lucassen (guitar & other instruments), as Tuomas Holopainen (keyboards), as Alexi Laiho (guitar), as Morten Veland (guitar), as Steve Vai (guitar) and as Vangelis (synthezizer & percussions). Also, I would believe in Mr. Hughes if he had written the major part of the lyrics for "Ayreonauts Only" with Arjen Anthony Lucassen. I hope that he does not try to change something now, after my comments. It gives me the impresssion he was a male model before singer AOR-Hard Rock, but the Media build him as a Rocker-songwriter.