The early Judas Priest albums

James B. wrote:

manny wrote:

James B. wrote:

Just to add insult to injury

In the above clip I posted of "Rock Forever", from the o:12 mark untill Halford starts singing, you can hear a Boston vibe in the drims and chord progression. I am NOT saying it is a Boston influence, it is something I never noticed till OCI brought it up.

I dig "Rock Forever"......The way Halford wails and holds the note at the end of the chorus is so

Stop hanging out with those teenage hoodlums in your neighborhood, you are starting to get a contact buzz

or maybe it's the bass line ?

"my neighborhood" closest neighbor is mile and a half away and the next one after that is about 5 miles away. The closest town is 12 miles away and it has a whoppin 200 people in it. What really sucks is that I can't go down to the neighborhood 7/11 for a slurpee either

anyways, I can hear it, a slight Boston vibe. You can pick 20 seconds from ALOT of songs and say it sounds like somebody else. So I don't see the big deal.

I hear it, in the beginning it does kinda sound like Smokin' from Boston. I figured that it was just an old Rock 'n' Roll groove.....

chewie wrote:

I hear it, in the beginning it does kinda sound like Smokin' from Boston. I figured that it was just an old Rock 'n' Roll groove.....

It never really clicked untill OCI mentioned Boston and that particular tune. Last night it was easier to find an old clip than dig the vinyl out and that was the lil nuance I heard. There is also that harmony lead break, but like I stated in that same post. More of a Wishbone Ash thang than Boston (IMHDO)

ultmetal wrote:

I've actually never met a Priest fan that felt that Screaming for Vengeance is a weak album.

Well, as we've never met, your record is safe but I think it's a weak (for Priest of that era) album. I got into metal with British Steel and loved that record to death, Point of Entry was a bit disappointing and SFV was the album when I pretty much gave up on the band and started going backwards through the catalogue, there were many people in the U.K who thought that Priest were trying too hard for the U.S radio market with that one. This all changed with Defenders though which was and still is my favorite Priest record. I have revisited all of these records in adulthood and I think that I was way too harsh on Point of Entry and too in love with British Steel, but I still don't really like SFV and I still completely love DOTF.

wow.... I think "Defenders" applies to trying too hard in catering to U.S radio market than the album before it. I'd try hard too compared to U.K. market, afterall even the state I live in which is about twice the size as U.K and 1/26th of the poulation has about 100 or more radio stations than the U'K. (which is what 2 or 3 stations) Do the math and wonder why ?

S.D. wrote:

ultmetal wrote:

I've actually never met a Priest fan that felt that Screaming for Vengeance is a weak album.

For me, "Screaming For Vengeance" is one of those albums that defines exactly what heavy metal is. "The Hellion/Electric Eye" is absolutely brilliant. I remember the first time we played that record, our jaws hit the floor. There's not a song on the album that I don't sing along to and headbang to. Again, perhaps it's perspective and nostalgia. I was hugely into that album when it came out, so it will always sit in my mind as essential heavy metal.

Yeah, I agree. There is no denying that Screaming For Vengeance has been overplayed through the years thus I don't listen to it as often anymore, but the quality of the album I have never questioned.

In my mind it's the last truly great Judas Priest album and also the last one where I like every song on the album.

Speaking for myself, it's a case of having the "luxury" of a non biased mindset when it comes to the band. I was never a huge fan back in the day, but started to get more interested in the and around 2000/2001. The only JP albums that got regular spins, ecasue they were in my house growing up, was Turbo, Ram It Down and Screaming For Vengeance. And to me, SFV was the weaker one. Yes, "The Hellion/Electric Eye" is amongst their best, but it's pretty much downhill from there. "You've Got Another Thing Comin'" is a weak song, just as bad as "Breaking The Law" and "Living After Midnight".

That said, I did not call it a weak album, just one of the band's weakest.

I like SFV, but I honestly think Ram It Down is a better album as a whole.

James B. wrote:

wow.... I think "Defenders" applies to trying too hard in catering to U.S radio market than the album before it. I'd try hard too compared to U.K. market, afterall even the state I live in which is about twice the size as U.K and 1/26th of the poulation has about 100 or more radio stations than the U'K. (which is what 2 or 3 stations) Do the math and wonder why ?

Yeah, I can't say that I blame them particulaly, it just wasn't to my taste. Defenders was a lot heavier than SFV, and with better songs in my opinion. It just seemed less 'for U.S radio' than it's predecessor.

Do you really think that there are two or three radio stations in the U.K or is this another 'funny'? It's a country of 70 million people!

Boris2008 wrote:

Do you really think that there are two or three radio stations in the U.K or is this another 'funny'? It's a country of 70 million people!

Seems I confused radio and TV....The BBC does both correct ? Always thought that since BBC TV was a station or two tha radio was similar. I remember in my youth when ships would float just outside of British waters and broadcast "music" cause of the BBC restrictions and/or limitiations. It was called "Pirate Radio". Guess things have changed

Yeah, TV and (to a much lesser extent) radio were like that, even in my childhood (I remember there being only 3 TV channels) with Radio there have always been a fair few channels but many commercial radio stations were only local. It is true that virtually NONE of them played metal in the Eighties. The only show that played metal was the Friday Rock Show, which to their credit was how I first heard Metallica, Mercyful Fate and many others.

It's all changed now though, with Digital and Satellite/Cable there are dozens of TV channels and hundreds of radio stations, but I guess I forget what things were like back when Screaming for Vengeance came out.

Are you guys sure that England isn't a hoax? Because I just went outside and looked around and all I'm seeing is America here. We are the biggest and best country in the world and it's easy to see how some populations could grow up with their own cultures and believe they are from somewhere else - or be inspired to perpetuate such a tale.

S.D. wrote:

Hey! Surely I'm allowed to defend my imaginary country

Boris2008 wrote:

S.D. wrote:

Hey! Surely I'm allowed to defend my imaginary country

Don't sweat it, Boris. I live in Norway, and these clueless Americans still think it's the capitol of Sweden or something!

Defenders of the Faith is my favourite Priest album. But it does sound an awfully lot like Screaming for Vengeance, so I don't understand how a person can like one but not the other.

Vexer6 wrote:

I like SFV, but I honestly think Ram It Down is a better album as a whole.

Ouch!!!!!

As far as Defenders goes, I prefer it over SFV

Q: Rock Hard

One of my favorite Priest albums is by Saint

James B. wrote:

One of my favorite Priest albums is by Saint

Too Late For Living?

Lari wrote:

Defenders of the Faith is my favourite Priest album. But it does sound an awfully lot like Screaming for Vengeance, so I don't understand how a person can like one but not the other.

Songwriting.

This thread has taken some bizarre turns to be sure.

I didn't discover Priest until the late 90's and that was through the JP Live album with the brown cover. Going back through the albums that I have owned on and off, the one album that I just can't get into is Point of Entry. Don't know why, as I think that Screaming and British Steel are fantastic.

On a side note: every time I hear Electric Eye I want to make a music video featuring scenes with the Robot Santa-Claus from Futurama. Electric Eye is one of my all time favorite Priest songs too.

My top 5 Priest albums are (In No Particular Order):

Defenders of the Faith (the Sentinel, Jaw Breaker, Some Heads Are Gonna Roll)

Screaming for Vengeance (Electric Eye... Nothing more to say)

British Steel (Raking The Lawn, Rapid Fire, Metal Gods)

PainKiller (Painkiller, Night Crawler, Metal Meltdown)

Live In London 2003 (yeah yeah, Ripper is the singer, still a fantastic set)

jettafiend wrote:

Raking The Lawn

The early Judas Priest albums are some of the best albums ever made! I can never tire of them!

What's the deal with the Hero Hero album?


Is this just a compilation of their 1st 2 releases on Koch Records? I'm filling in a few remaining gaps in my JP discography and saw this one. I just assumed it was a "Best of" collection. Is there anything essential on here or should I skip it?

Quote :

Is this just a compilation of their 1st 2 releases on Koch Records?

Yes.

It's a record company cash grab....it has the 'Rocka Rolla' album and a few 'Sad Wings..' tracks...the songs from the debut are remixed, but I've never heard it, couldn't tell you if they sound better or not......