Youth Gone Wild: Heavy Metal Hits of the '80s, Vol. 1

• Artist: Various Artists
• Rating:
• Release Date: March 26, 1996
• Type: Collection (various artists)
• Genre: Rock

Review

Rhino's three-volume set Youth Gone Wild: Heavy Metal Hits of the '80s nearly chronicles the excesses of '80s metal accurately, but the set falls just short of being definitive. None of the three discs (available separately) has a logical or chronological sequencing, seemingly throwing all of the songs together in random order. Also, several big stars and definitive songs are missing in favor of negligible cult favorites. Even with these two significant flaws, the series is terrific and captures the essence of the era. Vol. 1 concentrates on early-'80s hits like the Scorpions' "Rock You Like a Hurricane," Twisted Sister's "We're Not Gonna Take It," Accept's "Balls to the Wall," Motörhead's "Ace of Spades," Judas Priest's "Parental Guidance," Ratt's "Lay It Down," and Quiet Riot's "Cum on Feel the Noize," throwing in cuts like Poison's "Talk Dirty to Me" for good measure. It might not make for coherent listening, and several cuts (including Krokus' "Screaming in the Night" and Dio's "The Last in Line") have dated poorly, but the set nevertheless has many metal classics. And if you want to know what mainstream '80s metal and hard rock sounded like, Youth Gone Wild can't be beat. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine, All Music Guide

Tracks

Track Title	Composers	Performers	Time
Rock You Like a Hurricane (Lyrics)	Rudolf Schenker	Scorpions	(4:12)
Talk Dirty to Me (Lyrics)	Bret Michaels, Bobby Dall, C.C. DeVille	Poison	(3:45)
The Last in Line	Jimmy Bain, Vivian Campbell, Ronnie James Dio	Dio	(5:47)
Lay It Down (Lyrics)	Robbin Crosby, Juan Croucier, Warren DeMartini, Stephen Pearcy	Ratt	(3:27)
Never Enough (Lyrics)	Gregg Tripp, Mick Cripps, Tracii Guns, Steve Riley, Kelly Nickels, Philip Lewis	L.A. Guns	(4:14)
Parental Guidance (Lyrics)	Rob Halford, Glenn Tipton, Kenneth Downing	Judas Priest	(3:26)
Blind in Texas (Lyrics)	Blackie Lawless	W.A.S.P.	(4:22)
Ace of Spades	"Fast" Eddie Clarke, Lemmy, Phil "Philthy Animal" Taylor	(Ex) Cat Heads	(2:49)
Balls to the Wall (Lyrics)	Peter Baltes, Udo Dirkschneider, Wolf Hoffman, Stefan Kaufmann	Accept	(5:43)
Street of Dreams (Lyrics)	Ritchie Blackmore, Joe Lynn Turner	Rainbow	(4:28)
Screaming in the Night (Lyrics)	Mark Kohler, Butch Stone, Marc Storace, Fernando Von Arb, Chris Von Rohr	Krokus	(6:40)
Summertime Girls [Studio Version]	Joey Alves, Leonard Haze, Phil Kennemore, Dave Meniketti	Y&T	(3:28)
We're Not Gonna Take It (Lyrics)	Dee Snider	Twisted Sister	(3:40)
Cum on Feel the Noize	Noddy Holder, Jim Lea	Quiet Riot	(4:50)

Credits

Accept (Performer), Accept (?), Dio (Performer), Dio (?), Judas Priest (Performer), Judas Priest (?), Krokus (Performer), Krokus (?), Motörhead (?), Poison (Performer), Poison (?), Quiet Riot (Performer), Quiet Riot (?), Rainbow (Performer), Rainbow (?), Ratt (Performer), Ratt (?), Scorpions (Performer), Scorpions (?), Twisted Sister (Performer), Twisted Sister (?), Y&T (Performer), Y&T (?), L.A. Guns (Performer), L.A. Guns (?), W.A.S.P. (Performer), W.A.S.P. (?), (Ex) Cat Heads (Performer), Alan Di Perna (Liner Notes)