The Best of Atomic Rooster Volumes 1 & 2 is a double compilation album by British rock band Atomic Rooster

Atomic Rooster

Atomic Rooster were an English progressive rock band, composed of former members of the The Crazy World of Arthur Brown. Throughout their history, keyboardist Vincent Crane was the only constant member, and wrote the majority of their material. Their history is defined by two periods, in the early...

.

It is unofficial and unlicensed; like numerous other such collections, it consists mostly of latter-era, John Du Cann

John Du Cann

John William Cann , later known by his stage name John Du Cann, was a British guitarist primarily known through his work in the 1970s band, Atomic Rooster...

-penned recordings. It was, however, made without any involvement from Du Cann, nor has he ever received any royalties from its sales.

It is particularly notable for the fact that, besides being more representative of that era than similar compilations, it also contains a quantity of previously unissued recordings, of great interest to keen collectors of the band.

It has been issued on at least three separate occasions; the first time was in 1992 on Saraja Records, a subsidiary of Satellite Music Ltd. Satellite Music is owned by Ray Dorset

Ray Dorset

Ray Dorset is an English guitarist, singer, songwriter, and founder of Mungo Jerry...

, of Mungo Jerry

Mungo Jerry

Mungo Jerry is an English rock group whose greatest success was in the early 1970s, though they have continued throughout the years with an ever-changing line-up, always fronted by Ray Dorset. They are remembered above all for their hit "In the Summertime". It remains their most successful and most...

 fame.

As this is only a semi-official release, it could be considered a bootleg

Bootleg recording

A bootleg recording is an audio or video recording of a performance that was not officially released by the artist or under other legal authority. The process of making and distributing such recordings is known as bootlegging...

 of sorts; indeed it has itself been bootlegged twice:

It was repackaged, retitled The Millennium Collection and re-released in 1999 by Digimode Entertainment Ltd.
Secondly, in 2000 it was repackaged yet again, retitled simply Anthology and released on the Double Classics/Delta Music label.

Both latter versions used crude noise filtering to suppress the inherent ‘hissiness’ of the source material, but this had the added effect of making them sound duller and less distinct than the original CD issue.

CD 1

1. "Devil's Answer" 4:12 - live in Milan 1981
2. "Play it Again" 3:12
3. "End of the Day" 3:31
4. "Tomorrow Night" 4:52 - live studio version 1981
5. "Lost in Space" 5:53
6. "Lose Your Mind" 3:36
7. "Control of You" 4:49
8. "She's My Woman" 3:15
9. "Death Walks Behind You" 7:12 - Death Walks Behind You
   Death Walks Behind You
   Death Walks Behind You is the second studio album by British rock band Atomic Rooster. It was their first album to receive US release, albeit in a different sleeve. It is commonly thought of as the archetypal Atomic Rooster album, recorded by the 'classic' line-up of Vincent Crane, John Du Cann and...
   
   album version; dubbed from LP
10. "Sleeping for Years" 5:25 - as above; as above
11. "I Can't Take No More" 3:24 - as above; as above

CD 2

1. "Do You Know Who's Looking for You" 3:04
2. "Don't Lose Your Mind" 3:36
3. "Watch Out!" 4:06
4. "I Don't Need You Anymore" aka "I Can’t Stand It" 3:49
5. "He Did it Again" 4:04
6. "The Show" 3:54
7. "Start to Live" aka "Rebel With a Clause" 2:58
8. "Living Underground" aka "Night Living" 3:38
9. "End of the Day" 5:25 - full alternate/demo version, incorporating "Moonrise" instrumental 1980
10. "Take it for Granted" aka "It's so Unkind" 4:07 - unreleased track 1979
11. "Sleepless Nights" aka "When You go to Bed" 3:46 - unreleased track 1979
12. "Hold it Through the Night" 3:13 - unreleased track 1981
13. "No Change by Me" 3:19 - unreleased track 1981
14. "Throw Your Life Away" 2:54 - "Do You Know Who's Looking for You?" single B-side