Best of the Beast

Product Information

I found that on the fourth vinyl, side b with the whole "Soundhouse Tapes" session, the transfer sounding distorted - especially on the right channel. Best of the Beast has long since been out of print and has been "replaced" by Edward the Great in most countries as a greatest hits package for the band.

Inarguably, the simultaneous release of three variations of the same album was an entirely inspired yet predictable move, indicative of the band's newfound depth of awareness regarding modern music consumption and the pre-millennial expansion of metal. It kicks off the The Number of the Beast and blasts its way through Can I Play With Madness and Fear of the Dark from Donington 1992, one of the band's best live performances. Best of the Beast was Iron Maiden's first "best of" album, [4] released in 1996 in three formats: a 34 track (four disc) vinyl, a 27 track (two disc) CD, a 16 track (single disc) CD and MiniDisc.

A 2CD box set of of the The Best of the Beast was released as a limited edition of the 1996 compilation album. It is generally accepted that most printed-tee-wearing non-metalhead subordinate people are best served by a greatest-hits album since it can sustain their very limited attention, therefore by targeting audiences new and old with a collection works varying according to different tastes, sales are maximised, and with all editions of "Best of the Beast" weighted towards the iconic Bruce Dickinson hard-rocking era - symphonic live renditions and highlights from Blaze Blayley and Paul Di'Anno's respective periods at the helm notwithstanding - as well as some tasteful remastering and cogent sequencing applied throughout, the compilers have succeeded where many have failed, covering all the bases and pretty much pleasing everyone in the process, including Iron Maiden's own very finicky fanbase!

As far as conventional career-spanning anthologies go, and there are few in the Iron Maiden catalogue, this one is hard to beat, especially the more inclusive and as such definitive two-disc version. Maybe you would be able to grab stuff from cars with your teeth afterwards with having lost the use of your hands to a flashing scimitar ? The track listing differs slightly between the various editions of the compilation album, but consists mainly of the band's singles and most well-known songs from their 1980–1995 albums.

Finally, in 1996, long after the band's imperial phase had ended, a round-up of all their best-known songs was released.