Audio CD review:
Judas Priest - Hero, Hero

Judas Priest - Hero, Hero

Band: Judas Priest Title: Hero, Hero Rating: Release Date: 2000-05-09 Media: Audio CD Tracks: 1: Prelude - Judas Priest, Tipton, Glenn 2: Tyrant - Judas Priest, Tipton, Glenn 3: Rocka Rolla - Judas Priest, Tipton, Glenn 4: One for the Road 5: Victim of Changes 6: Dying to Meet You 7: Never Satisfied 8: Dreamer Deceiver - Judas Priest, Atkins, Al 9: Deceiver 10: Winter 11: Deep Freeze 12: Winter Retreat 13: Cheater 14: Diamonds and Rust - Judas Priest, Baez, Joan 15: Run of the Mill 16: Genocide - Judas Priest, Tipton, Glenn 17: Caviar and Meths - Judas Priest, Atkins, Al

Don't buy it! you are getting ripped off!!! Check out the Priest website. This is another attempt by Gull records/Transluxe to cash in on the Judas Priest name. This is a substandard, unauthorized reissue of the first two JP records Rocka Rolla ans Sad Wings Of Destiny which are still available through Cdnow/Amazon. The sound quality sucks and there in no new material on this that isn't on the actual albums. Be careful what you buy and don't get ripped off. Support Judas Priest, the best heavy metal band of all time, and don't waste your money on this crap. Buy the real thing, Rocka Rolla and Sad Wings Of Destiny. Outstanding Collection I was introduced to Judas Priest when British Steel came out, which is one of the greatest albums of all time. This album is an excellent introduction to the early works of Judas Priest. After buying a few others, I came accross this gem. It is an outstanding collection of their earliest stuff, and boy have I become a fan of it. The earliest stuff shows a depth and richness and some truly profound thoughts. The music is willing to explore in places where their later popularity prohibited them to go. The songs are done in a much grander style, even has an epic quality. Please ignore some of the other reviewers comments about record labels and such. Besides being a bunch of hogwash, I can say definitively that no Priest fan would ever rate an incredible album like this 1 star. If you didn't like the song selection for God knows what reason, you might give it 4 stars at worst. Don't listen to a "Fan" who trashes an album and then recommends the same songs on another album. Who the flip cares about what record label released the album, I just thank God they did. The implication that it was released against their wishes and therefore shouldn't be bought is ludicrous. I guess they are trying to imply that the band somehow was cut out of their take or they suddenly disowned all their music and didn't want to release it again or something. As far as the song selection and their arrangement, it helps to keep in mind that this was released as a 2 disc LP, and some of the sides are simply incredible and the 4 sides tell 4 different and complete stories. My hats off to the arranger. Definitely buy this CD, it is well worth the low price. This is not the original I think Judas Priest is awesome, but if you want the first two albums, do yourself and the band a favor and search a little more for the originals. This album is not the original it is a knock-off version by Koch records aka Gull records. If you don't believe me just look up the relationship between Koch records and Gull records. You'll find that Koch is a division of Gull. And as far as this album being a knock-off just check out Judas Priest's own web site, and click on discography. The band tells you themselves if you scrolll down to the bottomm of the page. The Truth About "Hero, Hero" However, it is also the test to measure your dedication to this band. It's true, by all measurements, "Hero, Hero" is an exploitive compilation of Judas Priest material. Many, many compilations exist of this exact same material, and the Sony material as well. Most of those, even the diehards can ignore. This one, however, they cannot. "Hero, Hero" was originally released in 1981 (or thereabouts) to take advantage of Priest's rising star. The original two releases on Gull records, "Rocka Rolla" and "Sad Wings Of Destiny", had been exploited previously in a compilation called "The Best Of Judas Priest", which was a single record. "Hero, Hero" was a double record which included all of "Rocka Rolla" and most of "Sad Wings", as well as the crucial Joan Baez cover, Diamonds and Rust, in an alternate take (previously heard on "Best Of"). So, if you already have all that material, why is this album such a test of your dedication? The reason is revealed in the liner notes. All of "Rocka Rolla" had been remixed for this release. Why is unknown, as that record sounded just fine for what it is. The remixes are, in general, not even all that different. The major changes are made during Cheater, the "Winter suite", and Rocka Rolla itself, during which major portions of the songs are noticably shifted around. There's a burst of harmonica in Cheater, for example, where there never was before. Rocka Rolla has its verses rearranged. Whether different takes were used for these changes is hard to discern. The remix done to "Rocka Rolla" doesn't really add or subtract anything from the album, which makes it that much harder to understand why it was done. Really, the ideal way to remix a classic album is to reveal new nuances to the music, or even include alternate takes to various parts, like Deep Purple did with the Machine Head remix. Gull records apparently didn't feel the need to do that, but spent the money on a remix anyway. Bottom line, though, is that this is a different version of the music, and therefore if you are truly a fan, it's something you need to add to your collection. I should also add that I've always loved this cover art too, and wouldn't want to do without this in my music collection. It's just plain cool. There you have it. Are you a Priest fan? Truly? Then you must purchase this album. Add it to your collection, and know that you have something that other fans do not. Just buy "Rocka Rolla" and "Sad Wings of Destiny" If you are looking to buy some of priest's early material you would be better off just buying their albums Rocka Rolla and Sad Wings of Destiny in order to get all the songs. This release (against Judas Priest's wishes) is a compilation of material off of Judas Priests first two albums Rocka Rolla and Sad Wings of Destiny. This release just seems to be aimed to gain more money out the Judas Priest name. The "company" also released another compilation off of material off of Priest's first two albums entitled "The Best of Judas Priest". Do not fall for this gimmick either. Go to Judas Priests website under the disography section and the band themselves complain about these two releases. They stated they wanted to take legal action but it is impossible to do so. As fans just don't buy this gimmick garbage. Peace out. You can see a complete list of all Judas Priest discography, or go back to the Judas Priest tabs