AMG Review of Accidental Collocation of Atoms? The Best of Extreme

Stephen Thomas Erlewine
All Music Guide

To some listeners, An Accidental Collocation of Atoms? may not seem necessary, since Extreme's two hits were already on one album, yet for casual fans who don't have Pornograffitti, or want highlights from the other records, this is a strong, representative collection. Sure, dedicated fans will find some favorites missing -- after all, these are pulled from records that were designed as albums -- but all the singles are here, including such European releases as "Get the Funk Out" and "Tragic Comic," along with such strong album tracks as "Decadence Dance." There's only one semi-rarity to snag the faithful -- the "Horn Mix" of "Cupid's Dead" -- but these fans are likely to stick with the original albums, no matter what. And, truth be told, there's some relevance in that, since the albums were cohesive works, but An Accidental Collision of Atoms remains a first-rate sampler that proves Extreme were better than the vast majority of their Bush-era hard-rock and pop-metal peers.