Rocka Rolla

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Rocka Rolla
Rocka Rolla (Judas Priest album).jpg
Studio album by
Judas Priest
Released6 September 1974 (1974-09-06)
RecordedJune–July 1974 [1]
Studio Island, Trident and Olympic, London
Genre
Length38:49
Label Gull
Producer Rodger Bain
Judas Priest chronology
Rocka Rolla
(1974)		 Sad Wings of Destiny
(1976)
Reissue cover
Rockarollareissue.JPG
Side one
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."One for the Road" Rob Halford, K. K. Downing 4:34
2."Rocka Rolla"Halford, Downing, Glenn Tipton 3:05
3."Winter" Al Atkins, Downing, Ian Hill 3:02
4."Deep Freeze"Downing1:58
5."Winter Retreat"Halford, Downing1:30
6."Cheater"Halford, Downing2:59
Side two
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
7."Never Satisfied"Atkins, Downing4:50
8."Run of the Mill"Halford, Downing, Tipton8:34
9."Dying to Meet You/Hero, Hero"Halford, Downing6:23
10."Caviar and Meths" (Instrumental)Atkins, Downing, Hill2:02
1987 remaster bonus track
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
11."Diamonds and Rust" (Joan Baez cover, 1975 recording)Joan Baez3:12

Track notes

The original UK LP has a longer version of "Rocka Rolla" than the version used for the US LP release, and most CD releases. It has an extra verse and chorus at the beginning of the song.[ better source needed ]

The very rare first printing of the UK LP has the words "Thanks for the words Al!" printed last in the credits in the blue circle on the back cover. This, presumably a reference to original singer Al Atkins, has been removed on other versions of the Gull vinyl.[ better source needed ]

On some versions of the CD release, "Rocka Rolla" is timed at 4:00 and "Winter" at 0:45, becoming a medley but remaining on separate tracks.[ clarification needed ] Some releases, e.g. Hero, Hero also combine "Winter", "Deep Freeze" and "Winter Retreat" into one track. The iTunes version combines those three plus "Cheater" into one track.

The version of "Diamonds & Rust" that appears on the re-release is actually from the Sad Wings of Destiny sessions and not the version that appears on Sin After Sin . It was probably included to provide interest in Rocka Rolla, an album that would have been unknown to many of the band's fans due to the band not playing songs from it live after the 1970s.[ dubious – discuss ]

Rocka Rolla features Judas Priest's longest track, "Run of the Mill" (8:34), prior to "Cathedral Spires" (9:17) from Jugulator in 1997. It is also the longest track co-written by Halford, Downing and Tipton prior to "Lochness" (13:28) from Angel of Retribution in 2005.

Rocka Rolla was covered by Swedish black metal band Vondur in the EP The Galactic Rock n' Roll Empire[ citation needed ]

Personnel

Judas Priest
Production

Release

The album, alongside with Sad Wings of Destiny , owned by Gull at that time, was reissued as part of the band's limited edition 50 Heavy Metal Years of Music box-set, released on October 2021, through Sony Music Entertainment and Legacy Recordings. [12]

In 2023, the band regained control of the recordings of Rocka Rolla and also their second album via the company Reach Music and are planning a 50th anniversary release of the album for 2024. [13]

Hill confirmed in a 2024 interview with Detroit radio station WRIF that the album had been "re-engineered" by Priest collaborator Tom Allom in preparation for a release that was "a few weeks away." [14]

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References

  1. ↑ Popoff, Martin (2018). Decade of Domination (2nd ed.). Wymer Publishing. p. 30. ISBN   978-1-912782-63-5.
  2. ↑ Post on the official Judas Priest Facebook page. 2 December 2011. Retrieved 14 December 2011.
  3. ↑ "Metal Recusants". Archived from the original on 2 May 2016. Retrieved 4 November 2014.
  4. ↑ Hartmann, Graham "Gruhamed". JUDAS PRIEST'S ROB HALFORD AND IAN HILL TALK 'CHOSEN FEW,' UPCOMING ALBUM + MORE Archived 24 December 2011 at the Wayback Machine . 24 October 2011. Retrieved 14 December 2011.
  5. ↑ "Judas Priest logo history". Kkdowning.net. Archived from the original on 15 July 2013. Retrieved 18 May 2014.
  6. ↑ "Judas Priest Info Pages - Forging The Metal". Thexquorum.com. Archived from the original on 18 March 2013. Retrieved 18 May 2014.
  7. ↑ "Hotell Sentralt i Tønsberg - Quality Hotel Klubben". Nordicchoicehotels.no. Archived from the original on 15 July 2014. Retrieved 18 May 2014.
  8. ↑ "Newspaper cutting : Lydsjokk pa Klubben". Kkdowning.net. Archived from the original on 12 November 2013. Retrieved 19 May 2014.
  9. 1 2 Huey, Steve. Rocka Rolla at AllMusic. Retrieved 1 July 2011.
  10. ↑ Larkin, Colin (2011). The Encyclopedia of Popular Music. Omnibus Press. ISBN   9780857125958 . Retrieved 21 May 2019.
  11. ↑ "Judas Priest Behind The Music Remastered: Judas Priest". MTV. Archived from the original on 27 April 2014. Retrieved 18 May 2014.
  12. ↑ "Judas Priest 50 Heavy Metal Years Of Music Limited Edition Box Set". Legacy Recordings . Sony Music Entertainment. 15 July 2021. Retrieved 2 December 2024.
  13. ↑ Benitez-Eves, Tina (27 April 2023). "Judas Priest Sells First Two Albums to Music Publisher". American Songwriter. Retrieved 16 March 2024.
  14. ↑ "IAN HILL Says Remixed Version Of JUDAS PRIEST's 'Rocka Rolla' Is On The Way: 'It's Finally Got The Production It's Always Needed'". Blabbermouth.net . 30 August 2024. Retrieved 2 September 2024.
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