(Rated this album with 8 out of 10) Reviewed by
george noriega jr.
from West Hempstead, NY United States
"The Best, the Rest, the Rare" is a pretty good Helloween sampler, a good album to pick up if you want to find out what all the buzz was about Helloween in the late 80's... "I Want Out" is the opener, the song that was pushed ad nauseum by MTV to hype up the Headbangers Ball Tour (remember that?); it's nonetheless a great song and one of their more accessible, friendlier tracks... a shame they don't do it live anymore... "Dr. Stein" is next, again a great track, off the legendary "Keepers Part 2" album... "Future World" is one of their best, Michi's vocals begin to come into their own on this track... "Judas", an old Kai Hansen-era track, was one of their heaviest up to that point... great lyrics... "Walls of Jericho" is an instrumental with the now familiar "Happy Happy Halloween" fanfare... "Ride the Sky", another Kai Hansen vocal track, is one of my favorites... great drums & guitars... "Halloween", the 13+ minute opus: what can be said? If you haven't heard this track by now then you don't know what songwriting is all about... "Livin' Ain't No Crime", a b-side, is kinda cool... "Save Us": Why is this here? I mean, out of all their tracks that they can label as "the rest" or "the rare", why this? Why not "White Christmas" or better yet "Oernst of Death" (if you've heard these rare babies then you know what I'm talking about)... "Victim of Fate", a re-mix done with Michi's vocals, is pretty good; the original, off the "Helloween" EP, is still heavier, though... "Savage", my absolute favorite track off this compilation, is the fastest thing Helloween has ever done; Michi's songwriting is so good on this song, I listen to his other stuff and I wonder, "What happened? You started out so promising..."... "Don't Run for Cover" is awesome; not too fast, but heavy... "Keeper of the Seven Keys" rounds out the album, their other 13+ minute song. Not as good as "Halloween", but pretty damn close... Like I said, Helloween fans will get this just to complete the collection (as any die-hard Helloween fan already has these songs through their various albums & EPs)... Newbies may want to pick it up to listen to one of the greatest metal bands of all times... the choice is yours...
