Judas Priest

"Turbo," "Live," "Ram It Down," "Painkiller"
(Reissues - Legacy Records) 

The final four in the ongoing renovation of the classic Priest catalog comes at the perfect time. With the current insurgency surrounding the modern day band and their latest failed attempt at new generation crossover, the reissues offer a smell of fresh leather in recharging the band's later years prior to their long layoff and subsequent revamping. "Turbo" lays the rubber to the road first and all things considered, probably not the first title true Priest fans want to hear in light of the "Demolition" debacle. Nonetheless, "Turbo," in all its surgically exploratory splendor, was a surprising commercial success as the band sought to reinvent themselves by boosting their Pop charms through big hair and guitar synths. It worked, shortsightedly, as many do, and spawned a number of big time hits including "Turbo Lover," "Locked In," "Private Property," and the God-awful "Parental Guidance." They were anthemic and appealing kid songs that marked immediate territory on MTV and Rock radio. "Turbo's" lasting effectiveness however is not in question. No Priest fans worth their weight in chrome will ever admit to this one being amongst their favorites but funny enough, tolerable to "Demolition." It is a kick however to see Ian and Dave, born before the camera, propped up in the decidedly more colorful regalia-a good four pages worth here-Priest as a whole rushing the hair band wave before time ran out. Listeners who stuck around long enough would realize close out tracks like "Hot For Love" and "Reckless" were among the album's strongest and "Turbo Lover," and "Locked In" for all their Pop harmonies and shimmery overtones are a welcome blast from the past. Probably the best thing to come out of "Turbo" was the fact the band had an excuse to come back rougher than before. This would happen two years later but not before they'd strike with their first full-length live album, "Priest… Live!" Featuring 1200 cc's of on yer bike favorites that went far back as their "Metal Gods" days, the set opened with the "Turbo" sleeper hit "Out In The Cold," followed quickly by "Heading Out To The Highway," "Point of Entry's" only… entry. And try as I might, four and five times later, "Desert Plains" still didn't magically appear in the tracklist for this "Fuel For Life" set! It does however turn up in live form somewhere else in the overall reissue collection. "Priest… Live!" was everything Metal was allowed to be in the big '80s and allowed them to not only reach larger and larger audiences but to display their most extravagant production on stage, if not the world's greatest captured on tape. Fans that fed their need for the pre-glory years with "Unleashed In The East" wouldn't mind this one for it captured the moment, and for those that didn't, go back to the first four and live it up! Cheesy as it was, I still don't know the thought process that went into the cover design, but "Priest… Live!" served its purpose and redirected the band's focus back to being the potent Metal force they had always been. Enter "Ram It Down" and right from the first look of the album cover, there was little doubt of Priest's return. A pounding fist breaking the clouds and slamming into an unsuspecting earth below, they made immediate impact with the searing title track and "Heavy Metal" follow up, a lyrically inspired tight fisted property in spite of subtle traces of synthetic residue. This record was underrated in its time and is overshadowed by the mighty "Painkiller" follow up. All things being equal and in spite of an abominable "Johnny B. Goode" cover, this was a definite return to their "Screaming For Vengeance," "Defenders…" form. "Come And Get It," overlooked, remains a true Priest anthem, unsurpassed for pure volume and riffability. "Hard As Iron" drops the ball halfway through, a battering Tipton/Downing workout wrought of escalating harmonies effectively crushing all doubt of the band's ability to reaffirm their roots. Bonus additions include live versions of "Night Comes Down" and "Bloodstone" both worth a listen or two or three, but no more. "Ram It Down" was the first step toward a new beginning for the band while ironically signaling the end of the road for long time producer Tom Allom and drummer Dave Holland. With 1990's "Painkiller," Priest's rebirth was complete, their impact incomparable. They unleashed a pure Metal massacre that bordered on thrashing rage-welcome aboard Scott Travis and Chris Tsangarides, drummer and producer. This album ripped from first note to last. Taking their cue from "Ram It Down's" impressive return to sonic solidarity, "Painkiller" opened the nineties with an impact few, if any of their peers could've expected. With the tearful tragedy that was "Turbo" a long distant memory, gripping battle ready anthems as "Painkiller," "All Guns Blazing," and Speed Metal tactics "Leather Rebel" and "Metal Meltdown," "Painkiller" rose right to the top of the heap for Metal veterans and new generation warriors with a barrier breaking multi-lateral assault that would even send a classic like "Screaming…" hurtling into oblivion. Attributable in no small part to the band's intensity to deliver the goods at the dawn of a new decade, the addition of Racer-X's Travis pumped the octane immeasurably with his double-bass firepower, pushing the sound to groundbreaking extremes that couldn't have been conceived of or achieved earlier. And then there's the classic '70s style Priest reaching into the catacombs to inspire "Touch Of Evil," their follow up to the "Painkiller" single and equally as effective with fans. In similar fashion, the band includes "Living Bad Dreams," a dreadfully-inspired power ballad bore "Night Comes Down" demo-friendly framework, before concluding with a vicious live version of "Leather Rebel." The latest chapter's still yet to be written for Metal's most enduring and inspiration band. These last four reissues round out the twelve disc collection, all fully remastered and repackaged, with brilliant quips and liner briefings and scrap book photos-all the traditional accoutrements, present and accounted for. The real sell however, is the improved sound quality and 26 previously unreleased bonus tracks, two to three on each. Where do Priest fans go from here as they wait and wonder if it's the end or the dawn of another new beginning? Looking back or looking forward, Priest's reworked collection will ensure the return trip's an enjoyable one.

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