Judas Priest's "Rocka Rolla" 50th Anniversary Remix/Remaster

In honor of its 50th (!) anniversary, Judas Priest will release a freshly remixed and remastered version of their debut album Rocka Rolla this Fall.

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The remixed and remastered version of JUDAS PRIEST's classic debut album, 1974's "Rocka Rolla", will be released digitally in the U.S. and Canada on Friday, September 13. The CD and vinyl versions of "Rocka Rolla - 50th Anniversary: Remixed And Remastered 1974 - 2024" will arrive on Friday, November 22.

The band has never been shy about their dissatisfaction with the sound quality of the album, which was recorded on the cheap during night-shift hours. In 2022, the band were finally able to buy the rights to Rocka Rolla and Sad Wings of Destiny back from the owner of Gull Records, the indie label that originally released them in the '70s (and with whom the band had been feuding for years). This paved the way for a long overdue sonic upgrade of Rocka Rolla courtesy of Tom Allom, producer of Screaming For Vengeance and Defenders of the Faith.

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As Allom states: "What we did with the multitracks is quite unusual, to completely remix an album from that era, from scratch. So to clarify what we're doing, we're not adding anything musically. We're not re-recording any of the musical parts… We're remixing them, rebalancing them using the technology we have, the modern tools we have now, to sonically upgrade them, and make them sound more powerful."

The results of this remixed version are now available for posterity — the artist-approved version of "Rocka Rolla" is finally here for fans to add to their JUDAS PRIEST collection.

The "new" version of Rocka Rolla is now up on Priest's official YouTube channel. I checked out some of the tracks this morning and they definitely have more "heft" in the guitar sound, which sounds beefier and more prominent:





I already own two different versions of Rocka Rolla (a 1990s "Transluxe" version with the armored-warrior reissue cover, and a Russian 2-on-1 counterfeit paired with Sin After Sin) so I'm not entirely sure I need a third, but it's still cool to hear these tracks re-energized and sounding closer to the band's orignal vision.

I own a copy on vinyl. I wouldn't mind picking up this remastered version on cd.

I think it was OOP for a long time, so for that alone it's a great thing. But I don't think I need a new copy personally.

The song “Never Satisfied” reminds me of classic Ted Nugent.

I have a version on CD already, so I'm not too sure I'd be getting this remaster.

I have the Japanese remaster that were a time considered the best sounding version of the album. I will definitely pick up the vinyl and CD of this though. It's on Spotify and other streaming services if you want to listen to it right now.

Why no "Deluxe Version" with live stuff from the era? I really dig that stuff. Would buy that, this has no appeal to me in and of itself.

I am interested to hear the remaster and compare to the original.

I’m not sure I ever owned this album. I may have… I used to buy CDs like crazy in the 90’s.

I think now is the time to get it for the improved sound quality.

James B. wrote:

Why no "Deluxe Version" with live stuff from the era? I really dig that stuff.  Would buy that, this has no appeal to me in and of itself.

How much live stuff is there anyway? Outside the Old Grey Whistle that was already put to video on the Electric Eye DVD.

Lari wrote:

How much live stuff is there anyway? Outside the Old Grey Whistle that was already put to video on the Electric Eye DVD.

Who knows? My comment was referring to audio format as well. There were quite a few bootlegs from the mid 70's floating around in the early 80's. I had one from their set when they opened for Zeppelin at Oakland Coliseum in 1977. It got ate in a car tape deck

I have a bootleg CD of Priest from the 1975 Reading Festival. It's cool as a collector's piece but the sound quality is crap-ola.

https://rateyourmusic.com/release/unauth/judas-priest/live-and-rare-1973-75/

Fat Freddy wrote:

but the sound quality is crap-ola.

Sometimes that gives it charm.

Thanks for the link Keith

Gonna have to hunt that puppy down

James B. wrote:

Fat Freddy wrote:

but the sound quality is crap-ola.

Sometimes that gives it charm.  

Yeah, it's a cool historical document, but it's not something I put on frequently, either.
It's obviously an audience tape, you can hear people talking over the music occasionally

James B. wrote:

Thanks for the link Keith

Gonna have to hunt that puppy down

It's on YouTube if you wanna check it out. Actually I think this is better quality than the CD I have
Note that the set list includes "Mother Sun," a track which never made it onto an album.



Aug. 22, 1975
Reading, UK

Setlist:

1. Victim of Changes
2. Dreamer Deceiver
3. Deciever
4. The Ripper
5. Mother Sun
6. Island of Domination
7. Rocka Rolla

It’s funny they had two songs called Deceiver back to back.

Thanks again Keith

I don't really think there is anything that was recorded during the Rocka-Rolla era other than the Reading Festival set and a 1975 show from Slough College. I have the massive 33 CD 50 Heavy Metal Years box set from Priest and the only live songs from that era is Mother Sun from Slough College. The bootlegs I have been able to find usually combine the Reading Festival show with the Slough College show. The only songs from Rocka-Rolla on that bootleg is the title track.

There is a bootleg from 1974 but it's only one song and it's a Budgie cover.

Hopefully something will resurface but we all know that Priest is really bad at exploiting their legacy and they don't seem to take care of their catalog with cool archival releases like Maiden.

Witchfinder wrote:

I don't really think there is anything that was recorded during the Rocka-Rolla era other than the Reading Festival set and a 1975 show from Slough College. I have the massive 33 CD 50 Heavy Metal Years box set from Priest and the only live songs from that era is Mother Sun from Slough College. The bootlegs I have been able to find usually combine the Reading Festival show with the Slough College show. The only songs from Rocka-Rolla on that bootleg is the title track.

There is a bootleg from 1974 but it's only one song and it's a Budgie cover.

Hopefully something will resurface but we all know that Priest is really bad at exploiting their legacy and they don't seem to take care of their catalog with cool archival releases like Maiden.

thanks