| The Best of Judas Priest | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Greatest hits album by | ||||
| Released | February 1978 [1] | |||
| Recorded | 1974–1975 | |||
| Genre | Heavy metal | |||
| Length | 34:57 | |||
| Label | Gull | |||
| Producer | Jeffery Calvert, Geraint Hughes & Judas Priest | |||
| Judas Priest chronology | ||||
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| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| Allmusic |    [2] |
The Best of Judas Priest is a compilation album featuring select songs from English heavy metal band Judas Priest's first two albums, Rocka Rolla (1974) and Sad Wings of Destiny (1976).
After forming in 1969, Judas Priest signed with Gull Records in 1974. When the band jumped to CBS Records in early 1977, they had to break their contract with Gull to do so. In the legal fallout that ensued, the band forfeited their rights to all material recorded with Gull.
The album is not a typical "greatest hits" type of collection as the title would imply. It was the first of a handful of releases featuring material Judas Priest had recorded during their time with Gull, and was produced by the label in an effort to capitalize on the band's growing popularity. As the band had forfeited their legal claim to the music, the album was released without their consent. [3] [4]
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Dying to Meet You" | Rob Halford, K.K. Downing | 6:11 |
| 2. | "Never Satisfied" | Al Atkins, Downing | 4:46 |
| 3. | "Rocka Rolla" | Halford, Downing, Glenn Tipton | 3:02 |
| 4. | "Diamonds and Rust" (original version of a Joan Baez cover) | Joan Baez | 3:15 |
All songs originally from Rocka Rolla (1974), except Diamonds & Rust, which was an outtake from the Sad Wings of Destiny sessions and was included to generate more interest on the compilation.
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Victim of Changes §" | Atkins, Halford, Downing, Tipton | 7:43 |
| 2. | "Island of Domination" | Halford, Downing, Tipton | 4:15 |
| 3. | "The Ripper §" | Tipton | 2:46 |
| 4. | "Deceiver" | Halford, Downing, Tipton | 2:44 |
All songs originally released on Sad Wings of Destiny (1976). § - at least on certain releases both on vinyl and CD the track is featured in a different mix from its original 1976 version. An example can be found on the 1989 CD release on Possum Records from Australia. [5]
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Original album | Length |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Dying to Meet You" | Halford, Downing | Rocka Rolla (1974) | 6:11 |
| 2. | "Never Satisfied" | Atkins, Downing | Rocka Rolla (1974) | 4:46 |
| 3. | "Rocka Rolla" | Halford, Downing, Tipton | Rocka Rolla (1974) | 3:02 |
| 4. | "Diamonds and Rust" (original version of a Joan Baez cover) | Baez | Demo track recorded for Sad Wings of Destiny (1976), later found on many Rocka Rolla reissues | 3:13 |
| 5. | "Victim of Changes" | Atkins, Halford, Downing, Tipton | Sad Wings of Destiny (1976) | 7:43 |
| 6. | "Island of Domination" | Halford, Downing, Tipton | Sad Wings of Destiny (1976) | 4:15 |
| 7. | "The Ripper" | Tipton | Sad Wings of Destiny (1976) | 2:46 |
| 8. | "Deceiver" | Halford, Downing, Tipton | Sad Wings of Destiny (1976) | 2:44 |
| 9. | "Epitaph" | Tipton | Sad Wings of Destiny (1976) | 3:08 |
| 10. | "One for the Road" | Halford, Downing | Rocka Rolla (1974) | 4:34 |
This release contains, according to Judas Priest's website, a "mindless interview" from former drummer John Hinch, who was let go from the band because he was "musically inadequate". They have described it as "not only misleading but full of rubbish and false information". [6] In a 1998 interview with Goldmine Magazine, Tipton commented on the reason the company bothered to release the album:
"We believe that they're abusing the kids with...The Best Of Judas Priest and the re-packaging. It's not fair for us to condone them, because it's ripping the kids off. On the "Insight Series" CD, they include bullshit interviews with our first drummer John Hinch, who couldn't even play the drums, believe you me. But it's tracked to look like new songs. We don't get royalties off it, but the kids think we do." [7] [ better source needed ]
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Original album | Length |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Dying to Meet You" | Halford, Downing | Rocka Rolla (1974) | 6:11 |
| 2. | "Never Satisfied" | Atkins, Downing | Rocka Rolla (1974) | 4:46 |
| 3. | "Rocka Rolla" | Halford, Downing, Tipton | Rocka Rolla (1974) | 3:02 |
| 4. | "Diamonds and Rust" (original version of a Joan Baez cover) | Baez | Demo track recorded for Sad Wings of Destiny (1976), later found on many Rocka Rolla reissues | 3:14 |
| 5. | "Victim of Changes" | Atkins, Halford, Downing, Tipton | Sad Wings of Destiny (1976) | 7:43 |
| 6. | "Island of Domination" | Halford, Downing, Tipton | Sad Wings of Destiny (1976) | 4:15 |
| 7. | "The Ripper" | Tipton | Sad Wings of Destiny (1976) | 2:46 |
| 8. | "Deceiver" | Halford, Downing, Tipton | Sad Wings of Destiny (1976) | 2:44 |
| 9. | "Epitaph" | Tipton | Sad Wings of Destiny (1976) | 3:08 |
| 10. | "One for the Road" | Halford, Downing | Rocka Rolla (1974) | 4:34 |
| 11. | "Halford Finds Priest" | Interview with John Hinch (1995) | 5:31 | |
| 12. | "Priest Finds Audience" | Interview with John Hinch (1995) | 3:31 | |
| 13. | "Dual Guitars" | Interview with John Hinch (1995) | 1:07 | |
| 14. | "Songwriting" | Interview with John Hinch (1995) | 3:00 | |
| 15. | "What's in a Name" | Interview with John Hinch (1995) | 0:40 | |
| 16. | "Gull Records" | Interview with John Hinch (1995) | 2:01 | |
| 17. | "Whiskey Woman/Victim of Changes" | Interview with John Hinch (1995) | 1:09 | |
| 18. | "Rob Halford" | Interview with John Hinch (1995) | 1:02 |
Judas Priest are an English heavy metal band formed in Birmingham in 1969. They have sold over 50 million albums and are frequently ranked as one of the greatest metal bands of all time. Despite an innovative and pioneering body of work in the latter half of the 1970s, the band struggled with indifferent record production and a lack of major commercial success until 1980, when the album British Steel brought them notable mainstream attention.
Glenn Raymond Tipton is an English guitarist. Often noted for his complex playing style and classically influenced solos, he is best known as one of the lead guitarists for the heavy metal band Judas Priest. He is the second longest-serving member of the band, after bassist and co-founder Ian Hill. Tipton and Hill are the only two members of the band who have appeared on every studio album.
Ian Hill is an English musician, best known as the bassist and the sole continuous member for the heavy metal band Judas Priest. Along with lead guitarist Glenn Tipton, he is the only member who has appeared on all of the band's studio albums.
Painkiller is the twelfth studio album by English heavy metal band Judas Priest, released on 14 September 1990. It was the last Judas Priest album to feature long-time lead singer Rob Halford until his return for the 2005 album Angel of Retribution and the first to feature drummer Scott Travis.
Sad Wings of Destiny is the second studio album by English heavy metal band Judas Priest, released on 26 March 1976 by Gull Records. It is considered the album on which Judas Priest consolidated their sound and image, and songs from it such as "Victim of Changes" and "The Ripper" have since become live standards. It was the band's only album to feature drummer Alan Moore.
Rocka Rolla is the debut studio album by English heavy metal band Judas Priest, released on 6 September 1974 by Gull Records. It was produced by Rodger Bain, who had made a name for himself as the producer of Black Sabbath's first three albums. It is the only album to feature drummer John Hinch.
Sin After Sin is the third studio album by English heavy metal band Judas Priest, released on 8 April 1977 by Columbia Records. Produced by Deep Purple bassist Roger Glover, it was the band's major label debut, their first album for the label, and their only album to feature drummer Simon Phillips, a studio musician who replaced original drummer Alan Moore for the recording sessions.
John Frederick Hinch was a British drummer from Lichfield, Staffordshire. From 1973 to 1975, he was the drummer in an early line-up of heavy metal band Judas Priest. Hinch was a jazz-rock styled drummer with a very compact style.
The Best of Judas Priest: Living After Midnight is a compilation album of Judas Priest's hits, dating from their 1978 album Killing Machine through Painkiller (1990). This album was released in 1997. In 2009 the album was reported to have sold 564,000 copies in the United States.
Alan "Skip" Moore is a British musician who is best known as the fourth official drummer of heavy metal band Judas Priest. He played on their second album, Sad Wings of Destiny (1976).
The Essential Judas Priest is a 2006 two-disc compilation album by English heavy metal band Judas Priest. It contains 34 songs from throughout their career right up to their then-most recent album Angel of Retribution, but excludes the Tim "Ripper" Owens era and material from their debut album Rocka Rolla. It was re-released in 2008 as a limited-edition 3-disc package. It was re-released again in 2010 as a Blu-spec CD. This version has a slightly different track list on the first disc; "Nostradamus" from the 2008 album of that name replaces "Victim of Changes" as the fifth track.
Hero, Hero is a compilation album of early Judas Priest recordings, released in between British Steel (1980) and Point of Entry (1981) by Gull Records. It consists of all ten tracks from the Rocka Rolla album, six tracks from the Sad Wings of Destiny album, and an alternate version of "Diamonds And Rust". The tracks from Rocka Rolla and "Diamonds And Rust" were remixed by Rodger Bain in 1981. The tracks from Sad Wings of Destiny were not remixed.
Genocide is a 2000 Judas Priest compilation consisting of their first two albums, Rocka Rolla and Sad Wings of Destiny, plus a bonus track from the Sad Wings of Destiny sessions as well. Like several others in the past, Genocide was released under the label Gull, in an effort to "capitalize on Judas Priest's popularity." Judas Priest's management firmly states that people should not buy these compilations, because even though it would seem like a new album on the surface, it's just a re-issue of material already recorded.
Victim of Changes is ex-Judas Priest singer Al Atkins's fourth release, named after a Judas Priest song of the same name originally featured on the Sad Wings of Destiny album. The album's sleeve contains three pages of historic photos and a biography outlining his days in Judas Priest. Former Judas Priest drummer Dave Holland plays on this release.
Rodger Bain is a British record producer, known for producing albums by heavy metal bands such as Black Sabbath, Budgie and Judas Priest in the 1970s. He is mainly associated as the staff producer at Vertigo Records in the early to mid 1970s.
"Victim of Changes" is a song by English heavy metal band Judas Priest, featured on their 1976 studio album Sad Wings of Destiny. Adrien Begrand, writing for PopMatters, claimed the song changed the course of metal history. Vocalist Rob Halford's performance is considered one of his finest ever. The guitar work is noted as well; Bob Gendron praised the song's "landslide riffs" in the Chicago Tribune. The song has come to be regarded as one of the band's classics, and Martin Popoff listed it at No. 17 in his "Top 500 Heavy Metal Songs of All Time".
"Judas Rising" is a song by heavy metal band Judas Priest. It is the opening track on the band's 2005 album Angel of Retribution. The song is about the Judas Priest Messiah on the cover of the albums Sad Wings of Destiny, Painkiller and Angel of Retribution.. It was also included on the album's The Essential Judas Priest and A Touch of Evil: Live. According to former guitarist K.K. Downing the origins of the song existed already in the 80's but were first finished for the Angel of Retribution album.
The Complete Albums Collection is a compilation box set album collection by English heavy metal band Judas Priest, released on 12 June 2012 by Legacy Recordings. The Complete Albums Collection contains 17 Judas Priest albums,.
"Run of the Mill" is a ballad by English heavy metal band Judas Priest from their debut album Rocka Rolla. The song was the first written by guitarist K. K. Downing, soon after vocalist Rob Halford joined the band. Downing wrote it, in part, to display Halford's unique vocal range.
If for instance anyone out there has bought their "JUDAS PRIEST - THE BEST OF" - Insight Series, then they would find that 50% of the album consists of a mindless interview with John Hinch an ex-drummer with Priest who we had to let go because he was musically inadequate.
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