Judas Priest are prepping to end their live career with a bang, taking their final Epitaph tour to the U.S. from October to December. But they're not done as a band (their next studio effort is slated for 2012), nor are they done with handling their catalogue, putting out a massive singles box in October.
Interestingly, they're celebrating the catalogue further with not one but two compilations around the world, both of which cover much of the same ground in slightly different ways.
The first one was actually released August 22 in the U.K., and is the simpler of the two. Single Cuts, bearing the same name as the aforementioned box set, simply includes all 19 of the band's U.K. single A-sides for CBS Records from 1977 to 1992.
Meanwhile, the track list for the upcoming compilation Chosen Few has been picked by some of Priest's famous fans. Rock legends, including members of Black Sabbath, Def Leppard, Metallica and Slayer; modern rockers from Slipknot, Korn and Lamb of God and even rocker/professional wrestler Chris Jericho have all turned in 17 favorite tunes, complete with track-by-track notes. Either looks to be a good primer for new fans with their own advantages - one covering their greatest hits while the other serving as a nice collectible for those wondering what virtues, say, Ozzy Osbourne and Alice Cooper have to extol about Priest.
Chosen Few is out October 11, and the full track list for both sets are after the jump.
Judas Priest, Single Cuts (Columbia/Sony Music U.K., 2011)
- Diamonds and Rust
- Better by You, Better Than Me
- Before the Dawn
- Take on the World
- Evening Star
- Living After Midnight
- Breaking the Law
- United
- Don't Go
- Hot Rockin'
- You've Got Another Thing Coming
- (Take These) Chains
- Freewheel Burning
- Some Heads Are Gonna Roll
- Turbo Lover
- Locked In
- Painkiller
- A Touch of Evil
- Night Crawler
Tracs 1 from Sin After Sin (Columbia, 1977)
Track 2 from Stained Class (Columbia, 1978)
Tracks 3-5 from Killing Machine/Hell Bent for Leather (Columbia, 1978)
Tracks 6-8 from British Steel (Columbia, 1980)
Tracks 9-10 from Point of Entry (Columbia, 1981)
Tracks 11-12 from Screaming for Vengeance (Columbia, 1982)
Tracks 13-14 from Defenders of the Faith (Columbia, 1984)
Tracks 15-16 from Turbo (Columbia, 1986)
Tracks 17-19 from Painkiller (Columbia, 1990)
Judas Priest, Chosen Few (Columbia/Legacy 88697 96960-2, 2011)
- Diamonds and Rust (chosen by Joe Elliott of Def Leppard)
- Dissident Aggressor (chosen by Steve Vai)
- Exciter (chosen by Accept)
- Beyond the Realms of Death (chosen by Lars Ulrich of Metallica)
- Delivering the Goods (chosen by Kerry King of Slayer)
- The Green Manalishi (with the Two-Pronged Crown) (chosen by David Coverdale of Whitesnake & Randy Blythe of Lamb of God)
- The Ripper (Live) (chosen by Ozzy Osbourne)
- Victim of Changes (Live) (chosen by James Hetfield of Metallica)
- Breaking the Law (chosen by Lemmy of Motörhead)
- Rapid Fire (chosen by Vinnie Paul of Pantera & Hell Yeah)
- Grinder (chosen by Zakk Wylde of Black Label Society)
- Living After Midnight (chosen by Alice Cooper & Geezer Butler of Black Sabbath)
- Screaming for Vengeance (chosen by Slash)
- You’ve Got Another Thing Coming (chosen by Klaus Meine of Scorpions & Corey Taylor of Slipknot)
- The Sentinel (chosen by Chris Jericho)
- Turbo Lover (chosen by Jonathan Davis of Korn)
- Painkiller (chosen by Joe Satriani)
Tracks 1-2 from Sin After Sin (Columbia, 1977)
Tracks 3-4 from Stained Class (Columbia, 1978)
Tracks 5-6 from Killing Machine/Hell Bent for Leather (Columbia, 1978)
Tracks 7-8 from Unleashed in the East (Columbia, 1979)
Tracks 9-12 from British Steel (Columbia, 1980)
Tracks 13-14 from Screaming for Vengeance (Columbia, 1982)
Track 15 from Defenders of the Faith (Columbia, 1984)
Track 16 from Turbo (Columbia, 1986)
Track 17 from Painkiller (Columbia, 1990)
I just got the Single Cuts disc from Amazon and it is a great single disc span of the hits even though Heading Out To The Highway isn't on it. While the track listing on The Chosen Few isn't that different, I think there is going to be a trend which was started with Queen's Deep Cut series, to have compilations released based on famous fan picks. In the case of Judas Priest, I think another compilation is like beating a dead horse. However, Iron Maiden would greatly benefit from a Chosen Few type of disc to include many rarities like Women In Uniform and their version of Jethro Tull's Cross Eyed Mary since any retrospective they put out always leaves a lot to be desired (like the strange absence of any Paul Dianno tracks) and a lot many want to forget about like the drowsy Blaze Bailey tenure of the mid 1990s.