Best Of The Beast

About

"Best of the Beast" is a compilation album by Iron Maiden, released in 1996 as the band’s first greatest hits collection. It was issued in multiple format, including a 34-track four-disc vinyl edition, a 27-track two-disc CD, a 16-track single-disc CD, and MiniDisc. The vinyl version, with a running time of over three hour, is the longest release in the band’s catalogue. The track listings vary between editions but primarily consist of singles and well-known songs from Iron Maiden’s albums released between 1980 and 1995. The compilation also includes the newly recorded single "Virus" and previously unreleased live recordings of "Afraid to Shoot Strangers" and "Revelations", the latter of which appears only on the vinyl edition. Both "Virus" and "Afraid to Shoot Strangers" were accompanied by promotional music video, with the live version of "Afraid to Shoot Strangers" recorded during "The X Factour", featuring vocalist Blaze Bayley, who had replaced Bruce Dickinson at the time. The two-disc CD edition includes two tracks from the 1979 demo "The Soundhouse Tapes", namely "Iron Maiden" and "Strange World", the latter of which had not been officially released before. The four-disc vinyl edition features the complete "The Soundhouse Tapes" EP on its final side, along with "Strange World" from the same recording session. Over time, the vinyl edition has become relatively rare and has increased in value, while standard editions have remained more widely available, with some regional pressing, such as those from Japan, becoming more sought after. "Best of the Beast" has since gone out of print and has been largely superseded in many markets by the compilation "Edward the Great". .

via Last.fm

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