Judas Priest Album: “The Best of Judas Priest: Living After Midnight”

"The Best of Judas Priest: Living After Midnight", is a decent greatest hits album and entry points for new fans to one of the greatest and most influential bands of all time. Most of Priest's well known songs like "Living After Midnight", "You've Got Another Thing Comin'", "Breaking the Law" (a live version which I find more adrenaline charged than the original studio track), and "The Hellion/Electric Eye" are here, along with some other great songs like "Green Manalishi", "Turbo Lover", and a live version of "Heading Out to the Highway". However, there are a number of songs like "The Ripper", "Metal Gods", "Better By Better Than Me", and "Exciter" that should rightfully have their place here in place of songs like "Freewheel Burning" and "Metal Meltdown". All that aside, this is a good greatest hits album, but I find the "Metal Works" collection a much better package, however if your looking to get into the band and don't want to spend too much than this is as good a buy as any.

This is yet another subjective "best of" album created by a record company. To start with, the discography is missing their first two albums ("Rocka Rolla" and "Sad Wings of Destiny"). It's essentially their bigger hits. It's also missing some of their best songs. Songs like "Cheater", "Never Satisfied", "The Ripper", "Deceiver", "Sinner", "Dissident Agressor", "Invader", "Beyond The Realms of Death", "Killing Machine", "Before The Dawn" and many others are completely ignored. And that's just from the first five albums. I could go on, but I think you get the point. One would be better off getting "The Essential Judas Priest" or, better yet, the boxed set. I will say there are a lot of good songs on this, but it's far from all of "the best" of this great band.

Forget this skimpy set and buy "Sad Wings Of Destiny", "Screaming For Vengeance", and "Painkiller", their three best albums!! 9-24-07 The two-disc "Essential Judas Priest" has come out since I wrote this, and is the best bet for JP compilations.

NO NO NO NO BAND CAN TOUCH PRIEST ! THE SONGS ARE CATCHY...SPED UP AC DC BUT WITH WAY BETTER GUITARS...THE DRUMS AIN'T THE GREATEST BUT OVER ALL PACKAGEWISE...THERE IS NO BAND THAT CAN PACK THE MELODY AND HEAVY WALLOP TOGETHER LIKE PRIEST...THINK OF CREDENCE CLEAR WATER ON 45 MEETS SLAYER NOW SLOW IT DOWN A BIT AND PUT THE MOST INSANE HIGH PITCHED SINGER EVER SCREAMING OVER IT....FOR VENGEANCE ! AWESOME ; BUY THIS !!

The cd is ag ood collection of essential Judas Priest/Heavy Metal classics. Of course this disc is especially intersting for those who just start to encounter the Metal Gods from Birmingham.