Bone Thugs-N-Harmony

The third time Cleveland's quick rapping Bone Thugs-N-Harmony get compiled by their former label Ruthless starts out clever, but the packaging, lack of input from the band, and too-long run time make it nothing to get excited about. Kicking off with the short and dramatic "Carole of the Bones" is a clever move, but where are the liner notes, and who laid the tracks out in such a lame order? Too many hits upfront weaken disc two's punch and too often likeminded tracks are put right next to one another. All the producer and engineer credits you'd ever want are included, but good luck figuring out which track was on what without jumping on the Internet. Stick with 1998's Collection, Vol. 1 if you want a concise look at Bone, then pick up their E 1999 Eternal if you need more. Bone Thugs never rose above that brilliant album, as the numerous lesser tracks on Greatest Hits point out. There's no love lost between Bone and Ruthless, and with Ruthless handling their history like this, it's easy to see why. ~ David Jeffries, Rovi