If you’re looking at The Singles Collection 1979-2012, my best bet would be that you’re interested in the B-sides and other such rarities. If you’re actually looking for a compilation that can introduce you to Killing Joke, well… this is probably the best place for that, as well. Other compilations focus too much on their early, ’80s post-punk work and neglect their equally as good (if not better) industrial rock/metal work that began in the ’90s. To my knowledge, this is the only official Killing Joke compilation that encapsulates all phases of their long, varied career. I don’t know how expensive this set is, but if money’s not an issue, then it makes for a solid career overview.
I will say this, though: Killing Joke aren’t really a singles-focused band. They barely released any after the ’80s, nor were they exactly hit makers, save for “Love Like Blood,” their highest-charting single and indeed one of their highlights. Killing Joke are very consistently high-quality, though, and their albums are full of songs equal to or better than most of their singles. Still, there’s not really a single studio album to direct an uninitiated listener to because their career is so broad. The Singles Collection may be the best compromise, if you don’t want to invest the time needed to listen to a dozen or so albums.
Here’s a list of non-album songs the three-disc version of this set contains:
- “Birds of a Feather”
- “Me or You?”
- “A New Day”
- “Drug”
- “Hollywood Babylon (Longer Intro Mix)”
- “Our Last Goodbye”
- “Sixth Sun (Rough Mix)”
- “Timewave (Demo)”
- “Feast of Fools (Rough Mix)”
- “Zennon”
- “Four Stations of the Sun”
“Birds of a Feather,” “Me or You?,” and “A New Day” are all from the band’s post-punk days, with the first two sounding strangely like nothing else they’ve done on album. They’re strangely upbeat and happy, and also neither are particularly good. “A New Day” is a Night Time outtake that has a decent riff but the song isn’t fully realized and isn’t very dynamic.
“Drug” and “Hollywood Babylon” are outtakes from Democracy (you can tell by the crappy, muddy production). “Drug” is a fast-paced techno industrial rock dance song that’s definitely a highlight of this set. “Hollywood Babylon” is a bit similar and fiercer, but not as catchy.
“Our Last Goodbye” is a decent outtake from Absolute Dissent. “Sixth Sun” is a plodding, slow outtake from Hosannas From the Basements of Hell. It’s dull and lacking the monolithic strength of the rest of the album. “Timewave,” despite being a demo, does not and is another highlight from those same sessions. “Feast of Fools” is yet another outtake from Hosannas and is strangely chipper and poppy, particularly with Coleman’s vocals, and it’s worth getting.
“Zennon” is a B-side from the Loose Cannon single and a distinctive song in their discography. It’s split between alternating segments where one is made up of only a strumming bass, drums, and Coleman’s chanting vocals, before shifting to a shorter, heavy industrial metal slam with Coleman picking up the pace as he increases the strength of his vocals. It’s possibly the brightest hidden gem in The Singles Collection.
“Four Stations of the Sun” also sounds like it came from the Hosannas From the Basements of Hell sessions with its symphonic synthesizers. It’s all right, gets good at the parts where Coleman roars the song title, but outside of that it almost sound like industrial surf metal. If they expanded on that, that could be pretty damn cool, but it was likely unconsciously done, and the track needed more work, besides.
I’m giving this 3.5/5 stars for the bonus material, though I really wish there was more of it. If you want to include the album singles in that rating, consider it a 4 or a 4.5. Killing Joke are one of my favorite bands, but there’s too many essential songs missing here, and the singles from the middle of their post-punk era can be a little weak.
It’s worth noting that there’s a ~*super rare ultra limited edition*~ of The Singles Collection that contains every single release the band did, including all of their B-sides and even more rarities. However, it was only available via pre-order and costed a fuckton of money because it came with cigar wrappers the band smoked while working on Hosannas From the Basements of Hell, as if anyone gives a shit. I would’ve rather had real cigars for that much money. I’d rather the band have not smoked them, personally. Anyway, that version has been impossible for me to find, but it’s something to keep an eye out for…
Still on the fence about using The Singles Collection as a primer? I recommend these four albums as a general tour of Killing Joke:
That’s roughly three-and-a-half hours of material. Find your favorite(s), then listen to their subsequent album. Killing Joke’s genre stylings are cordoned into very strict eras, so that approach works well. I’d love to hear your reactions!
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