Like their Brit-metal peers
Iron Maiden and
Motorhead,
Judas Priest issued quite a few singles in England during their heyday. And like the others,
Priest would include non-album B-sides with many of the singles, to entice fans who already had the A-side on their full-length to splurge for the single. The 1999 release
Priest, Live & Rare is just what the title says -- a ten-track compilation of their B-sides (nine of which are live recordings, one a remix). For fans of
Priest's late-'70s/early-'80s work (the group's "heaviest" period),
Priest, Live & Rare is quite a find, since it includes great live takes of forgotten classics. Included are such molten heavies as "Beyond the Realms of Death," "White Heat, Red Hot," and "Starbreaker," as well as the better-known compositions "Living After Midnight," "The Green Manalishi," "You've Got Another Thing Coming," and two versions of "Breaking the Law." But not all of
Priest, Live & Rare is top notch, especially the inclusion of
Turbo-era material (
Priest's brief stab at more mainstream rock) -- as evidenced by a bland live version of "Private Property" and a preposterous remix of "Turbo Lover," the latter bordering on dance music! Still the good definitely outweighs the bad on
Priest, Live & Rare.
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Greg Prato, Rovi