Early Priest

Greetings, Metal Brothers


I don't know if this is just me, but I seems to have a grudge against the production on early Judas Priest records, especially "Sad Wings of Destiny" - While tracks like "Victime of Changes" are awesome, the production on the album versions are, well.....weak - They play it a lot heavier live, and I have tried to get into the album versions, but it is hard - I don't know if this is just a young-man's problem, but..yeah.

Any of you guys feel the same?

yeh, some of the early albums are like that, but thats what makes live cds so killer

I understand what you're saying, but you should realise that those albums were a product of their times. The production was acceptable, if not the best at the time.

I am sometimes surprised at the poor recordings on a lot of classic albums when I revisit them. Peace Sells by Megadeth is a great example of this. I played the heck out of this when it was brand new, but when I picked up the original cd in a pawn shop a few years back, I was shocked at how muddy it sounded.

The same thing happens when I dig out old albums that sounded heavy to me back then. Now they are not quite as bone-crunching as I remember because the metal scene has gotten much heavier across the board. It's still great music, though.

There had been experiments with multi-channel sound for many years --
usually for special musical or cultural events -- but the first
commercial application of the concept came in the early 1970s with the
introduction of Quadraphonic sound. This spin-off development from multitrack recording used four tracks (instead of the two used in stereo) and four speakers to create a 360-degree audio field around the listener. Following the release of the first consumer 4-channel hi-fi systems, a number of popular albums were released in one of the competing four-channel formats; Quadraphonic sound was not a commercial success, partly because of competing and somewhat incompatible four-channel sound systems and generally poor quality, even when played as intended on the correct equipment, of the released music. It eventually faded out in the late 1970s.

I love the old Priest albums, production and all. It's metal history. I guess since I was there for it, I may have some nostalgia attached.

I always felt unleased in the east brought out the tru heavyness of the early songs!

I think the early albums sound great. However, it would be cool to hear re-recorded versions for the sake of modern production. Stained Class with Angel Of Retribution-like production would sound so powerful.

I agree with the above statements and would like to add that often we recall the first time or earliest time we heard something and the impression it made on us is what sticks with us. It's important to remember that it's all relative: what seemed (and actually was) very heavy 25-30 years ago is not as much so today; and what seems and is very heavy today will be less in 25-30 years from now. Peace.

ultmetal wrote:

I love the old Priest albums, production and all. It's metal history. I guess since I was there for it, I may have some nostalgia attached.

I was not their yet when those old JUDAS PRIEST albums came out but i love them too and also the production/sound.

get_the_firehouse wrote:

I think the early albums sound great. However, it would be cool to hear re-recorded versions for the sake of modern production. Stained Class with Angel Of Retribution-like production would sound so powerful.

Nah - I think most of us would think they ruined the songs!

thejokeriv wrote:

get_the_firehouse wrote:

I think the early albums sound great. However, it would be cool to hear re-recorded versions for the sake of modern production. Stained Class with Angel Of Retribution-like production would sound so powerful.

Nah - I think most of us would think they ruined the songs!

Most likely. Twisted Sister did it and people complained about it. People hated the 'clean' production on Stay Hungry when it first came out. Long time fans complained that they had 'sold out'. Twenty years later they re-recorded it with a heavier, more modern production and fans still complained. "Dee doesn't sing like he use to...the old recording was better...etc. etc. etc." Re-recording those songs in the studio would be a bad idea for a band like Judas Priest IMO.

I liked Still Hungry just as well, if not better than the original.

thejokeriv wrote:

I always felt unleased in the east brought out the tru heavyness of the early songs!

Big time!

Yes, the first two albums even have very great songs, don't have a great production... However in 2002 all Priest catalog has been remastered, you can take the remastered versions of the albums don't you??...

Many of the remastered albums have bonus tracks as well!...

ultmetal wrote:

I love the old Priest albums, production and all. It's metal history. I guess since I was there for it, I may have some nostalgia attached.

i wasn't there for it (well, some of it i was but not opld enough to appreciate it), but i feel the same way. the production gave it it's warmth & feel. i never was big on huge productions though.

I prefer the older albums, to be honest.

Well, the songs are awesome, don't get me wrong - But I first heard Priest as a live band, and the live sound is so superior to the original recording.

70s Priest is some of my favorite stuff! SAD WINGS OF DESTINY and STAINED CLASS are both in my all time personal top twenty. Perhaps the production on those early records isn't the best but so what? The songs overcome it.

I don't see bad production as a bad thing. The raw sound sounds great on heavy metal and 70's rock. I enjoy more Twisted Sister on LP'S than on CD'S, the music sounds much better, I guess If I had from Judas Priest on LP I would say the same

In my opinion the old albums are good as they are. I'm not a fan of re-recording older albums again.

I dig the old production and the slower tempos of songs like Tyrant. They sped some of them up on the Unleashed From The East album which was fine but I like some of the original pacings better.

its like Scott says, metal history. besides, the production works with the music. don't get me wrong, i get annoyed when the production is so crappy that it interferes with the music, but that's never really been a problem with any of the Priest albums... now, with some of the early Razor or Tygers of Pan Tang albums, that's another story

I don't have a problem with the production. Those records are great like they are.

I like 70's Priest a lot better than 80's Priest as well. I think they had a lot more imagination early on, and I never had a big issue with the production either.

ultmetal wrote:

I love the old Priest albums, production and all. It's metal history. I guess since I was there for it, I may have some nostalgia attached.

I absolutely agree.