Sometime during 1996, Jeff Scott Soto and Marcel Jacob were completely thrown for a loop when a best of album was released in Japan for their band Talisman. No one told them. The album was called “Besterious” and consisted of all songs that were previously released from the band. In response to this, Jeff and Marcel, along with Empire Records, decided they were going to release their own band approved version of a greatest hits compilation. It was called “Best of…” and it was chock full of hits plus a ton of previously unreleased tracks that any diehard fan would want to buy. I should know, I bought it!!

Two of the biggest treats were the first two tracks. These were both demos yet they had Goran Edman on vocals instead of Jeff Scott Soto. Goran was the singer for John Norum’s band and joined Talisman prior to Jeff. Goran left to join Yngwie’s band. The first of the demos is “Day By Day” and musically is no different than what ended up on the debut. It is a very Bon Jovi style song. Goran’s vocals are higher than Jeff’s but I’m not sure they have the power Jeff’s have. Regardless, it is still a stellar version of the song.

The second Goran demo is “Lightning Strike” seems a little more raw than the final Soto version, but all the elements are there. The chorus has some great harmonies and layers of vocals. Jeff sings it in this same style as Goran. I’m not sure which one I like better with this one. The rawness of this one adds a little to it.

The next three songs are off the debut album so we’ve already discussed those. The next three though are cool for me as the guitarists on it is Jason Bieler from Saigon Kick. I had the pleasure of interviewing him about 6 weeks ago and he was awesome. Jason toured with the band on their first album and helped with these three demos all from the ‘Genesis’ album. I don’t think he is on any others. “Coming Home” is up first and the Jason’s guitar sound isn’t as heavy as Fredrik Akesson who is on the album version. However, Jason’s solo is better and more in your face. The production on the studio neutered Fredrik’s a little.

On “Time After Time”, the opening guitar picking is rather muted on the demo compared to the album version, but when it comes to the solo, I think Jason’s is better again. Maybe final production or mixing on the album version, but Jason’s is more interesting. The final Jason demo is “Give Me a Sign” and his opening riffs don’t have the power and flair that Fredrik had on the final version. No real solo difference between the two as there isn’t much of a solo to begin with. The demo version is almost a minute shorter as well. Still a good version though.

Next up is the single version for “Mysterious (This Time It’s Serious)” which shaves about 15 seconds off the song, but basically the same animal. That is all the songs from ‘Genesis’. The next batch of tracks all come from ‘Humanimal’ and all are album versions so nothing new to report here. We get 6 songs from the album and it is a double album so should be a lot of songs from it as it is that good.

The final four tracks are all from the ‘Life’ album which was released the prior year so they wanted to give the fans something new so we get 4 previously unreleased mixes of the song. “Soul 2 Soul” adds about 45 seconds with including a slightly extended guitar solo towards the end with Jeff singing along. “Tears in the Sky” is also extended by about a minute with a whole funked up scat back and forth between Soto and the guitar. It is pretty cool. The last two tracks both are about the same length of their album cuts so no major overhauls that I can distinguish. “Crazy” (Seal cover) might have a slightly longer fade out, but nothing dramatically different than the original. “Body” seems identical to me but I don’t have an ear for those tiny little tweaks in sound or mix. I like it no matter what though as it is a beast of a song.

Now this is how you do a best of package. You give us some studio tracks, but the rest are demos or remixes with different singers or players and all worth buying if you have all the bands studio albums. It is great for new fans being introduced to the band, but a nod to the diehards as well. I wish more bands would do this on their compilations. This is the way to go. For that, My Overall Score is 5 out of 5 Stars. Thank you Talisman!!

UP NEXT: AXEL RUDI PELL – ‘MAGIC’ (1997)

THE JEFF SCOTT SOTO SERIES:

1. Panther – ‘Panther’ (1986) – recorded in 1984
2. Yngwie Malmsteen’s Rising Force – ‘Rising Force’ (1984)
3. Yngwie Malmsteen’s Rising Force – ‘Marching Out’ (1985)
4. Kuni – ‘Lookin’ For Action’ (1988)
5. Kryst the Conqueror – ‘Deliver Us From Evil’ (1989) / ‘Soldiers of Light: The Complete Recordings (2019)
6. Eyes – ‘Eyes’ (1990)
7. Eyes – “Nobody Said It Was Easy” (1990) – 7″ Single – Bonus Edition
8. Talisman – ‘Talisman’ (1990)
9. Talisman – “I’ll Be Waiting” (1990) – 7″ Single – Bonus Edition
10. Skrapp Mettle – ‘Sensitive’ (1991)
11. Axel Rudi Pell – ‘Eternal Prisoner’ (1992)
12. Bakteria – ‘Deficate! Suffocate! Mutilate! Masturbate!’ (1992 / 2009)
13. Eyes – ‘Windows of the Soul’ (1993)
14. Talisman – ‘Genesis’ (1993)
15. Axel Rudi Pell – ‘The Ballads’ (1993)
16. Biker Mice From Mars – ‘Biker Mice From Mars (Soundtrack)’ (1993)
17. Takara – ‘Eternal Faith’ (1993)
18. Talisman – ‘5 Out Of 5 (Live in Japan)’ (1994)
19. Talisman – ‘Humanimal’ (1994)
20. Axel Rudi Pell – ‘Between the Walls’ (1994)
21. Gary Schutt – ‘Sentimetal’ (1994)
22. Jeff Scott Soto – ‘Love Parade’ (1994)
23. Axel Rudi Pell – ‘Made in Germany (Live)’ (1995)
24. Takara – ‘Taste of Heaven’ (1995)
25. Talisman – ‘Life’ (1995)
26. Axel Rudi Pell – ‘Black Moon Pyramid’ (1996)
27. Human Clay – ‘Human Clay’ (1996)
28. Talisman – ‘Best of’ (1996)
29. Axel Rudi Pell – ‘Magic’ (1997)
30. Human Clay – ‘U4IA’ (1997)
31. Boogie Knights – ‘Welcome to the Jungle Boogie’ (1997)
32. Talisman – ‘Truth’ (1998)
33. Takara – ‘Blind in Paradise’ (1998)
34. Talisman – ‘Live at Sweden Rock Festival’ (2001)
35. ‘Rock Star (Soundtrack)’ – Various Artists (2001)
36. Jeff Scott Soto – ‘Prism’ (2002)
37. Jeff Scott Soto – ‘Holding On E.P.’ (2002) – Bonus Edition
38. Humanimal – ‘Humanimal’ (2002)
39. Jeff Scott Soto – ‘JSS Live at the Gods 2002’ (2003)
40. Talisman – ‘Cats & Dogs’ (2003)
41. Jeff Scott Soto – ‘Lost in the Translation’ (2004)
42. Jeff Scott Soto – ‘Live at the Queen Convention 2003’ (2004)
43. Talisman – ‘Five Men Live’ (2005)
44. Soul Sirkus – ‘World Play’ (2005)
45. Jeff Scott Soto – ‘Believe in Me E.P.’ (2006) – Bonus Edition
46. Jeff Scott Soto – ‘Essential Ballads’ (2006)
47. Talisman – ‘7’ (2006)
48. Journey – ‘Live from Atlanta (Bootleg)’ (2006)
49. Jeff Scott Soto – ‘B-Sides’ (2006)
50. Redlist – ‘Ignorance’ (2007)
51. Jeff Scott Soto – ‘Beautiful Mess’ (2009)
52. Jeff Scott Soto – “21st Century” / “Gin & Tonic Sky” CD Single (2009) – Bonus Edition
53. Jeff Scott Soto – ‘One Night in Madrid’ (2009)
54. Trans-Siberian Orchestra – ‘Night Castle’ (2009)
55. W.E.T. – ‘W.E.T.’ (2009)
56. Jeff Scott Soto – ‘Live at Firefest 2008’ (2010)
57. Jeff Scott Soto – ‘Damage Control’ (2012)
58. W.E.T. – ‘Rise’ (2013)
59. W.E.T. – ‘One Live in Stockholm’ (2014)
60. SOTO – ‘Inside the Vertigo’ (2015)
61. SOTO – ‘Divak’ (2016)
62. Jeff Scott Soto – ‘Retribution’ (2017)
63. Sons of Apollo – ‘Psychotic Symphony’ (2017)
64. W.E.T. – ‘Earthrage’ (2018)
65. SOTO – ‘Origami’ (2019)
66. Sons of Apollo – ‘Live With the Plovdiv Psychotic Symphony’ (2019)
67. Jeff Scott Soto – ‘Wide Away (In My Dreamland)’ (2020)
68. Jeff Scott Soto – ‘Live and Loud in Milan 2019’ (2020)
69. Sons of Apollo – ‘MMXX’ (2020)
70. SOTO – ‘Revision’ (2020)
71. W.E.T. – ‘Retransmission’ (2021)
72. Jeff Scott Soto – ‘The Duets Collection, Vol. 1’ (2021)
73. Jeff Scott Soto / Jason Bieler – Live In Concert (2022) – Bonus Edition