Judas Priest Album: “Best of Judas Priest”

...on heavy vinyl. I should know; I've owned my copy since about 1979. This isn't a cheap or recent one-off to make a quick buck. Heck, it probably WAS the "best of" in about 1976!

This record was of unusual sound quality for 1970's vinyl. It was louder and clearer than any other vinyl album I ever had. No hisses, no pops, outstanding.

Songs #5 through #8 are subtley unique versions that cannot be found elsewhere. This version of "The Ripper" truly rips.

Keep in mind I have not heard the CD edition of "Best of JP," but if the sound quality is as good as the vinyl, then this is a "must have" for all hardcore Priest fans. I recommend buying it for "the Ripper" alone.

The title of this compilation is extremely misleading. The Best Of Judas Priest, and it's half interviews, and the other material is from the first two albums? THOSE ALBUMS WEREN'T THAT GOOD, PEOPLE! And where is One For The Road? Don't let the title fool you. The domestic Best Of Judas Priest albums are considerably better than this piece of junk. The Ripper and Deceiver are great songs, but they can't save this. Get the band's first two albums and you get all the music contained here. Who really cares about interviews, anyway?

First of all, there's a reason this so-called "best of" compilation doesn't contain most of Judas Priest's signature tunes: it was actually first released back in 1978, by a small independent label called Gull Records which put out JP's first two proper albums "Rocka Rolla" and "Sad Wings of Destiny." And indeed, it is just a sampler of songs from those two albums. Gull released it shortly after Judas Priest moved on to sign with CBS Records and released their first major-label album "Sin After Sin."

If you like the songs on this album (and they are pretty good, and an interesting document on Judas Priest's early formative years), you might as well just dish out the extra money and buy "Rocka Rolla" and "Sad Wings of Destiny" in their entirety. The only thing that "Best of" has that those first two albums don't have is the interviews with old Judas Priest drummer John Hinch. According to the band's official web site, those interviews are misleading and full of lies, and Hinch was let go because they found him musically inadequate. What's more, the band does not encourage their fans to buy this so-called "best of" album.

Although I'm a huge Judas Priest fan, I didn't really like this album. It's a wonderful 'Best Of' album, but the should have disposed of the interviews and added some songs like Sinner, Out In The Cold, Breaking The Law, Metal Gods, Genocide, Riding OIn The Wind, or Rapid Fire. I am aware some people may disagree with me, but it's just my opinion. Stick with Unleashed In The East, Metal Works '72-92, or Priest...LIVE for the better songs...or if you want to hear the Priest's BEST songs live with their best singer, Rob Halford, check out Halford's newest live release, 'Insurrection Live'.