The opening song on Metal Mania: Stripped is Every Rose Has Its Thorn by Poison, but a more appropriate title for this whole collection should be that Every Thorn Has Its Rose, as it is a very fine collection of acoustic songs by otherwise slightly dodgy 80s hair metal bands.

Most self-respecting music fans would baulk at the idea of having songs by the likes of Tesla, Slaughter or Queensryche in their collections, but listening without prejudice, this is great stuff.

It is mostly comprised of live unplugged performances of hit songs by these groups, although there are six brand new recordings, including Night Ranger's Sister Christian (one for fans of Grand Theft Auto: Vice City!).

The aforementioned Poison is a perfect introduction to the album, with Malcolm Dome's liner notes recalling a conversation with Bret Michaels about how "if a song is strong enough then it can be adapted to any style". It turns out that Every Rose Has Its Thorn is exactly that kind of song, as it sounds really good unplugged.

Casual music fans will instantly recognise Scorpions' Wind Of Change, which was a huge hit all those years ago when the Cold War was ending and the Berlin Wall was coming down. Even the opening whistle is anthemic and this live rendition has the bonus of a crowd singalong to the chorus.

Another very famous song in the collection is More Than Words by Extreme, which appears in a rare a capella version - backed up only with congos - and sounds remarkably good even without that classic guitar work by Nuno Bettencourt. The only real problem with Metal Mania: Stripped is that 15 acoustic ballads is perhaps a bit too much to take in.

But for old rockers and new rockers alike, this is an album that will get you singing along and swaying with your cigarette lighters held up in the air. You might need to hide it away behind your Libertines and Futureheads CDs on the shelves, but you'll certainly be digging it on a regular basis...