Disc One ("The Hits") is just Greatest Hits 1986�96 with the track order scrambled and four of the 18 songs swapped out. And they're not good swaps, either: The two tracks from Crack a Smile . . . and More!, the band's decent but C.C.-less 1996 record, lose out to songs from the group's miserable post-2000 output. (Yes, there were Poison records in the 21st century.)

Disc Two ("The Hits - Live"), meanwhile, certainly seems to be the single-disc version of Swallow This Live! Same songs. Same order. iTunes identifies the disc as Swallow. And the booklet lists 1991 and 2004 as the copyright dates -- those would be the years that Swallow came out, first as a two-disc collection, then as the aforementioned single disc.

Don't get me wrong. As far as live albums go, Swallow isn't half-bad. It's a great listen if you want to hear a classic glam band work a room, or if you'd like to bring back your own memories of Poison concerts, or if you're really craving the sound of "Something to Believe In" being played on a really awful keyboard. The problem is just that, well, nowhere on the package, or even in the fine print of the booklet, is it mentioned that "The Hits - Live" is in fact a slimmed-down version of a record that was released under the name Swallow This Live! 20 years ago.

Speaking of the booklet, even it is a letdown: It's just copyright information with a few current photos of the band members. Perhaps the only upside here is the included bandanna, which makes you look exactly like Bret Michaels. I haven't taken mine off in two days, except, of course, when I have to leave the apartment.

If you're a big Poison fan, you already have the hits, and you can snag a brand-new single-disc copy of Swallow (if you're missing it) for a mere $7 online. If you learned about Poison via Rock of Love and want to play the hits at your next '80s party, Greatest Hits 1986�96 is a far better buy. But if you're in the very weird position of wanting both a Poison greatest hits and a live recording of the band from 1991 in a single package, this is the record for you!

-- Robert VerBruggen is an associate editor at National Review. You can follow his writing at http://www.google.com/profiles/robertv4311#buzz or http://www.twitter.com/raverbruggen.