Tag: Judas Priest

Judas Priest – ‘Sad Wings of Destiny’ (1976) – Album Review (The Complete Albums Collection Series)

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Judas Priest recorded their second album in only 2 weeks in November and December of 1975. That is not much time at all, but the record label, Gull, was pretty freaking cheap and the boys were only living on one meal a day. Heck, some of the guys had to work a side job to make ends meet. Doesn’t sound like a good record deal in my book, but what do I know. It was recorded at the Rockfield Studios in Wales and finally saw its release on March 23, 1976.

The album had positive reviews, but that did not translate in to sales as the timing in the UK wasn’t the best. There was a genre that was popping up and becoming real popular. It was called punk rock. As a result, the band only released one single and the album only went to #48 on the UK Charts. What is really great about this album though, is this is really the birth of the Judas Priest sound. This is what I was expecting on ‘Rocka Rolla’, but I didn’t get. This was the real beginning of Priest.

The band was basically the same line-up with Rob Halford, Glenn Tipton, K.K. Downing and Ian Hill. They did have a new drummer as John Hinch left the band and they replaced him with Alan Moore. This was be the only album that Moore would play on because he wasn’t overly thrilled with the money situation and would soon leave the band. They seemed to have trouble keeping a drummer as I have counted around 9 different drummers over the years. Crazy!

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Judas Priest – ‘Rocka Rolla’ (1974) – Album Review (The Complete Albums Collection Series)

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Welcome to another series on 2 Loud 2 Old Music. This time we are going to go through all the Albums that were in ‘The Complete Albums Collection’ Box Set that I received as a gift for this last Christmas. Here’s the thing, I have only really ever listened to the 80’s singles for Priest. I don’t know much about them other than who they are and maybe a couple albums, but I thought it was time to take a deep dive in to the Priest World and see what all the fuss is about. I also have Rob Halford’s new book ‘Confess’ that I am dying to read to learn even more. When I do something, I am not going to do it half-ass so we are going to start with the first album and work our way up to the final one. Now, this box set was missing the Ripper albums and the two most recent Priest albums, plus I am sure some live albums, but we will have 17 albums to go through that I am hoping to have done by the end of the year. Once I am done with those, we will go back and do the ones this set missed.

Judas Priest is out of Birmingham, England and were formed in 1969 and what I learned quickly is that Rob Halford was not the original singer of the band. That role was filled by Al Atkins. In fact, when the band released their first album in 1974, Ian Hill was the only original member. K. K. Downing didn’t come on board until 1970, Halford and John Hinch was 1973 and the Glenn Tipton was 1974. The classic line-up of the band was complete just in time for their first album. The main four guys less Hinch would go on to be together until 1992 then back again in 2003 up until 2011. Quite an impressive run.

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Judas Priest – ‘The Complete Albums Collection’ – Box Set Review

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As you read yesterday, for Christmas I received Queen’s ‘Queen 40’ Box Sets. I also received this box set from Judas Priest called ‘The Complete Albums Collection’. Now this is not a very accurate title because it really isn’t the “Complete” albums collection as it is missing quite a bit. But before we get to tell you what it is missing, let me tell you why it is called the “Complete” album collection. That is because it contains all 17 Judas Priest albums featuring the classic line up of Rob Halford, Glenn Tipton, K. K. Downing and Ian Hill (2). That was the focus of the collection.

As a result, it is missing the 2 Ripper Owen albums including ‘Jugulator’ (1997) and ‘Demolition’ (2001) as well as 2 Live albums, ’98 Live Meltdown’ and ‘Live in London’ (2003). And since this was released in 2011, it is missing the two newer albums ‘Redeemer of Souls’ (2014) and ‘Firepower’ (2018) both Richie Faulkner on guitar and not K.K. Downing. Oh yeah, and the live album ‘Battle Cry’ from 2016. So technically this isn’t really the “Complete Albums Collection”…but I am okay with that as this is a great beginners set as you get a 17 albums for one low price to get things going.

Let us go through the timeline of what is included. But before we do that, all the CDs come in a cardboard sleeve that is similar to a vinyl album jacket with the original artwork recreated on the album jacket. There are no plastic cases and no CD booklet for each disc. Instead you get a 40 page booklet with photos, liner notes and album credits. And that is it. There is nothing extra special thrown in although a lot of the discs have a couple of the bonus tracks included. This really is just the CDs and no frills.

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December 2020 Purchases – Vinyls & CDs

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We are at the final month of 2020 and thank the Heavens. I hope 2021 sees an end to Covid, but not an end to my music buying. This month we have another treasure trove of stuff I have obtained over not just the month, but the last 6 months as a couple things I ordered in prior months finally arrived. And being December, there is everything I got for Christmas that is music related.

First up this month are a couple things I bought back in April/May timeframe, right when Covid started. My brother saw these on the Facebook market from a friend of his and knew I would like it so I told him I wanted them and he bought them (I paid him back of course). I told him to hold them and I would be down to Atlanta soon and boy was I wrong. We are now in December and I haven’t been down. I eventually asked him to mail them. I got another Kiss Tour Book and this was from the Alive/Worldwide Tour (1996-97) and the other is The Ultimate Kiss Fanzine Phenomenon 1976-2009 hard back book. They are both awesome and will be reviewed in detail in 2021.

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1980 – The Greatest Year in Music?

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If you are new to the site, I started this series with the year 1987 and then noticed that 1991 and 1983 were also a couple of the greatest years in music.  I got to thinking, was there a pattern that every 4 years we have another great year in music.  Well theory didn’t last long as I don’t think the next two years I researched were “great” years in music.  Those years were 1979 and 1995. If you want to explore all the years I have examined so far, click on the link below…

1971 – The Greatest Year in Music?

1979 – The Greatest Year in Music?

1983 – The Greatest Year in Music?

1987 – The Greatest Year in Music?

1991 – The Greatest Year in Music?

1995 – The Greatest Year in Music?

Now that my theory is busted, I am now on the hunt for the “Greatest” year in music. I reviewed 1971 first and it was pretty fantastic and I am now on 1980.  I know, I know.  I am not going in any kind of order.  I am going with what I am in the mood to explore and this time 1980 has me jazzed as so many great albums are now 40 years old!!

Will 1980 be another great year or will it be the greatest year.  Let us explore and see and then decide at the end.  But first we have to ask What were the top albums of the year?, What were the debut albums from some of the great rock bands? and What was going on in the world of music that year?

NEWS:

400px-Original_Sony_Walkman_TPS-L2The Sony Walkman: I wrote about the advent of the Sony Walkman in the 1979 post as that was when it went on sale in Japan.  In the U.S., it went on sale on June 25, 1980 almost a year later.  The way you listen to music was changed forever!! (at least until the CD and then the MP3 and now streaming).  Who didn’t have one of these if you were a kid in the 80’s.  I definitely did.  It helped spur my love for music as it now was more portable and more personal.  It was better than just the radio, I could listen to what I wanted to wherever and whenever I wanted.  I used mine while I mowed the lawn (and every now and again I would snag the cord on the mower and pull my headphones off). I had a boombox, but that wasn’t the same as the Walkman.  There was nothing better (until my iPod). Continue reading “1980 – The Greatest Year in Music?” →

Kiss – ‘Barbarize’ (Bootleg Series) – Album Review

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In my quest for collecting Kiss Bootlegs for every tour they have done, I found another fantastic addition to the collection.  My local record shop, Hardy Boy Records, has been a goldmine of late for Bootlegs. I have now bought four over the last few months and all for tours I didn’t have (or a collection of Wicked Lester demos – that is another story that will be told later).

The last 2 I bought were actually at the same tour, so I guess that statement wasn’t entirely true.  The difference was one was the European Tour setlist (which will come in the next week or two) and this one is the North American leg of that tour with an ever so slightly different setlist.

Before we get in to where the show was and the music, lets first discus the cover as it is  pretty cool and what drew me to this one in the first place.  The cover is the same artwork as the Judas Priest album ‘Hero Hero’.  Thanks to Mike Ladano for pointing that out to me when I sent him a picture of the album and sure enough, he was right.

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The Top Rock Albums of 2018

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2018 was another year with some great releases and way too many to get through them all so I am sure I missed a number of great albums and if you look around the web, there will be tons of Top Album lists you can get a pretty good idea of what you should check out in case you missed any of these.

This list will be my favorite “Rock” albums of the year.  All other types of music will be for a later post.  I am going to leave this one to my favorite genre.  It is a broad genre, but these are the albums that I consider to be ROCK!!

Also note, these are MY FAVORITES!!  These are not the most popular or trendy albums.  These are the albums that I connected with during the year and I kept coming back to again and again.  And without further adieu, here are the Top Rock Albums of 2018:

My #1 Album of the Year:

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Reach – The Great Divine: A modern, yet melodic rock album that just grabs hold and won’t let go from beginning to end.  A band I had never heard of prior to this album and I am now wondering where they have been my whole life.  Just a fantastic album with no songs to skip or delete.  Almost pure perfection.  The first album I bought that was new in 2018 and still listen to it today.  With songs like “The Great Divine”, “Nightmare” and “Into Tomorrow” you can see they have the goods.  The production value was great, the music, the vocals, it was all solid and my favorite album of the year!!  Give it a try (and check out my original review by clicking the album title).

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Friday New Releases – March 9th

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Finally a Friday with an abundance of new releases.  There are so many I am interested in that this could take awhile.  I hope to get to them all sooner or later. I think there is a little something for everyone today.  The ones that are striking my fancy are highlighted in Blue.  Let me know what you are looking forward to getting or if I am missing something added to the comments.  Have a great listening weekend.

  • 51Xejf8pEwL._AC_US436_QL65_  Myles Kennedy – Year of the Tiger – (Napalm Records):  Whether with Alter Bridge, Slash or just by himself, there is no getting by the immense talent that is Myles Kennedy.  He can definitely sing, but his guitar playing is just as sensational.  Looking forward to the focus being all about him.  I have purposely not listened to anything off this album yet so I can enjoy it all at one time.

  • 61juEljtrLL._AC_US436_QL65_  Judas Priest – Firepower – (Sony Music):  Judas Priest is back with a brand new album.  Enough said…Mic drop!!!

  • 61OAkFDlBoL._SY300_QL70_  Thirdstory – Cold Heart – (Verve Label Group):  After waiting for two years, we finally get the full length album they have been promising.  My daughter and I saw them open for Tori Kelly two years ago and we bot really enjoyed their harmonies and just the power of their voices.  Three guys doing amazing things singing together.  We are going to see them again in April when they headline a little club here in Charlotte.

  • 41Tg4xMSIqL._AC_US436_QL65_  Calum Scott – Only Human – (Capitol Records):  This former Britain’s Got Talent contestant from 2015 finally gets his debut album.  After the release of his cover of “Dancing On My Own”, I was completely blown away by his vocals.  Can’t wait to enjoy this one.

  • 91D-QeKEaBL._SX522_  Three Days Grace – Outsider – (RCA Records):  I have had two heavy and two soft albums and now back to heavy with Three Days Grace. I followed them since their debut in 2003 with the song “I Hate Everything About You”.  They have given me consistently good albums and I expect nothing less from this hard rock band out of Canada.

  • 51hvL2s57GL._AC_US436_QL65_  Jimi Hendrix – Both Sides of the Sky – (Experience Hendrix LLC):  Jimi Hendrix…worth giving a listen solely for that matter.  This is the third and final in a series of unreleased tracks and surprised their have been so many and why did it take so long for them to come out.

  • 71+ROZdl3aL._SS500  The Fratellis – In Your Own Sweet Time – (Cooking Vinyl): (MOVED TO MARCH 16) And there is still one more I want to hear and that is the Fratellis.  When I heard their album Costello Music, I adored their sound and the whole vibe.  As a result, I have been absorbing all their albums and this one will be no different.

  • A1tacv-Bk2L._AC_UL320_SR320,320_  Nathaniel Rateliff & the Night Sweats – Tearing at the Seams – (Bottleneck Music)

  • the-neighbourhood-8943  The Neighbourhood – The Neighbourhood – (Columbia Records)

  • 71uNAtyyFzL._AC_UL115_  Suicidal Tendencies – Get Your Fight On! – (Suicidal Records)

  • 51ODSEkcvjL._SS500.jpg  Ministry – AmeriKKKant – (Nuclear Blast)

  • 61oWXk3LmPL._SS500  Nightwish – Decades – (Nuclear Blast Records)

  • 91QjB6kYcLL._SX522_  David Byrne – American Utopia – (Todomundo LTD)

 

What to Expect for New Music in 2018!

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2018 is upon us and always fun anticipating what new albums are and will come out in the year.  There are quite a few we already know about, but some haven’t been officially announced or even a date set yet.  From what I have gathered around the internet, here are the bands that should have new albums out in 2018, but no dates announced yet. The ones I want will be highlighted in Blue.

  • Godsmack
  • Exodus
  • Shinedown
  • Stone Temple Pilots (I know this is coming as they have said)
  • Jack White – Boarding the House Reach
  • Vance Joy
  • The 1975 – Music for Cars
  • Ace Frehley
  • Arctic Monkeys
  • Avatar
  • Avril Lavigne
  • Bastille
  • Borns
  • Bon Jovi
  • Bring Me the Horizon
  • Bullet for My Valentine
  • Celine Dion
  • Charli XCX
  • Cowboy Junkies
  • DevilDriver
  • Echosmith – Inside a Dream

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Friday New Releases – February 3rd

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The year is already flying by as we are now in February in what seems like a blink of the eye. I am still getting through all of last week’s releases so luckily there are only 2 I find intriguing this week. They are highlighted in Blue.

  • 170x170bb-10  Black Star Riders – Heavy Fire – (Nuclear Blast):  Black Star Riders returns with their third album.  The band is basically Thin Lizzy but they are not using the name.  Not sure why, but regardless, I love the new material.  The first two albums were great and I feel they are just getting warmed up.  High hopes for the new release.

  • 71wxshqv-8l-_sx522_  Judas Priest – Turbo (30th Anniversary 3CD set) – (Sony Legacy):  Wow!  30 years since the release of Turbo.  I am looking forward to revisiting this classic Judas Priest album and eager to hear what special they might have added to this addition.  Here is the original video to “Turbo Lover” and the video was awful…sorry.

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