When I was younger, I got into Judas Priest with Point Of Entry, and their videos on MTV. From there I heard British Steel, both of which I had on 8 track. I got Unleashed In The East in a Columbia House hall.
I remember liking it. Screaming came out around this time as well. I was probably 13 at the time..
The first old Priest tape I got was Hell Bent For Leather. I remember being fairly disappointed with it. At some point in my teenage years, I got Stained Class. I thought it was better, but 70's Priest just never appealed to me the way 70's UFO or Thin Lizzy did. Heck, even Scorpions. They just never "hooked me in".
I have their 70's CDs that I've gotten over the years. I have no good reason why I don't listen to them more, other than I just..don't. I give them a cursory run through every couple of years, but this time around, I really wanted to take my time with them..
I mentioned Rocka Rolla the other night..
Sad Wings Of Destiny
This album starts out with the double shot of Victim Of Changes and The Ripper. These both make my 70's JP Top 10.
Dreamer Deceiver is nice enough. Seems to get a lot of love around here. The second half is pretty epic. But why name the next song Deceiver?? Sounds a bit Black Sabbathy.
Tyrant has a great solo starting around 2:49, feels a little Blackmore-ish to start.
Genocide is ok, and Epitaph...that's interesting and quite a change of pace. In a vacuum, it's actually really nice, but man, it's on an island here.
And speaking of islands, Island Of Domination is really cool.
If I'm comparing it to Rocka Rolla, I just think it's a step up in what they do. That said, for 1974, Rocka Rolla is pretty damned strong.