Customer Reviews

Rocka Rolla

5 star:		(5)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Rocka Rolla was Judas Priest's debut LP released in 1974. It features the mainstays of the band Glenn Tipton, K.K. Downing, Ian Hill, and, of course, the legendary Rob Halford on vocals (he is credited as "Bob" Halford on the packaging for this release). It was John Hinch's turn on the musical drummer stools for this one. For fans of 1980s Priest, Rock Rolla is a mixed bag of classic rockers, soft ballads, catchy radio tracks, experimental riffs, long epic anthems, and short songs that run together. The overall sound demonstrates a definite Black Sabbath influence with darkness and depth. Rocka Rolla rocks, but it rocks in the classic 1970s hard rock sense, not in the adrenaline-pumping aggression of 1980s Priest masterpieces like Defenders of the Faith.

The debut begins with "One for the Road," a quintessential Black Sabbath style opener. It has a plodding beat but does pick up the tempo. "Rocka Rolla" is the most recognizable track on this album. A television performance for this song can be found on the DVD Electric Eye. "Rocka Rolla" is "hella killa" from the cool opening guitar riff to the addictive chorus. The next three tracks run together to give the impression of a long, epic piece. "Winter" (1:41) offers a quiet background intro that builds up into a dark, very Black Sabbath sounding track. At the drum solo it switches to "Deep Freeze" (1:20) so that, unless you are watching the CD track counter, you may not even realize the song has changed. It then moves into "Winter Retreat" (3:27) that begins with distorted, experimental guitar sounds with strange, dark sound effects (very Black Sabbath-like) then becomes a very pleasant song for the last minute. It is a laid-back relaxing number that is all too brief.

"Cheater" is a driving, classic rocker with harmonica provided by Halford. The guitar riff sounds like "My Sharona" by the Knack. The lyrics are about a man finding his girl in bed with another man. "Never Satisfied" is a classic, raw, stripped-down rocker. It is one of my favorites. Offering a change of pace is "Run of the Mill," a soft epic number running 8:30. The powerful ending with the beautiful keyboards really enhances this piece. "Dying to Meet You" (6:15) is another slow track but picks up around the 4:00 mark and offers Halford's signature wails and breakneck speed vocals. The album ends with a 2:00 instrumental "Caviar and Meths." This track was the concert finale used in the early years of Priest when Al Atkins was the vocalist. It was cut on this album. The entire piece is available on Atkins' solo project Victim of Changes and it is difficult to tell they are the same track because Atkins' version is a 7:00 rocker with vocals.

As a whole, Rocka Rolla is an excellent debut and this version has the bottlecap cover which is much cooler than the cover they have for the remastered version. It has a lot to offer; something for everyone. Fans of 1980s Judas Priest should give it a try and fans of 1970s classic rock should definitely pick it up.

i chose to do this review for several reasons. in your editorial views it
is stated this originaly was put out by guil records. though it seems to
be a bit picky i mention it because gull records would not sign priest do
to the fact they didnt think they would ever make it. a 2nd try by priest
was also denied and the band already thought of throwing in the towel.they practiced under a pub in birmingham england after it closed &
charged very little to play there. rob,ian,kk and glenn survived on beans
and crackers and slept there overnite until the pub would open. finally a
break thru of sorts. after 2 tries, gull gave them a shot. they recorded
rocka rolla and played on the " top of the pops " on bbc. ( pickup the
making of british steel where u can see them play rocka rolla, deciever,
and take on the world. U HAVE TO SEE THIS !!! although rocka rolla only
sold just over 1000 copies ( i have one ) gull gave them the okay to go
with their 2nd release "sad wings of destiny". when i first listened to it
i was blown away. its a masterpiece to me. albums that you can play all
the way thru without skipping songs is very very rare. although they still
struggled w/ gull they finally got picked up by columbia and the rest is history as all u priest fans know. the rocka rolla album had 2 interesting
things. one was that the cover of the album featured the top of a glass
bottle of pop with rocka rolla on top of the cap design. in the early
1980's, the company of coke or coke a cola told priest they had to remove
that design off the album because it compared to close to the top of a
bottle of coke. there is now a new design on that cover with an evilish
type of flying machine on it. another little trivia is that on rocka rolla
rob halford used bob halford on the back cover and in the credits. on sad
wings of destiney he used robert halford and then he went on to rob halford since then.rocka rolla is a great album and the song dying to meet
u about a soldier in war and the terror only one could imagine if they
were in that position really grabs on to you and holds on and then the
soldier returns to find almost equal terror as he tries to shed those
horrible memories. again , its a great album and i suggest u pick it up
and add it to your collection. watch for priests next release that is a
concept album about the mystery and predictions on nostradomus. to all
priest fans , i know its been 10 yrs but angel of retribution is as if
rob never left. its meavy metal a its best. cd id do out in 2007.
don barajas, author

An incredible record, even more so being a debut. This release shows more breadth of style than any other from JP. Very heavy at times, and very melodic (more so than any later release) at others. Rocka Rolla is steeped in the psychadelic 60s, while at the same time foreshadowing the modern heavy metal era. If I could have one JP record, this would be it.

And so begins an epic journey that would last three more albums, before the relatively more commercial pastures of Hell Bent For Leather.

Priest's Debut is neither the farce that many people say, nor is it on the par with Sad Wings Of Destiny. What it is though, IS epic, and classic.

One for the Road is decent, but its the definition of filler track in this era of Priest in my opinion.

The title track gives indication of some of the more commercial tracks and albums that would come on future albums, complete with a dancable groove, but also wicked guitar dual leads and evil riffs (At times a Sabbath type figure appears, such as the beginning of the song).

The "Winter" opus is Sabbath meets Zeppelin by way of 70's Scorpions in a way, but is over before it can start becoming an epic on par with later works. The next three songs though, are some of the best Priest have recorded, and ARE on par with the next album!

Never Satisfied comes out with a very heavy riff that fuses the heavy bands of the Seventies in one fell swoop, Dying to Meet You is an epic "power ballad" that foreshadows the intensity of THE GREATEST JUDAS PRIEST SONG OF ALL TIME, Dreamer Deceiver!

Dying to Meet You works mainly because of Rob Halford. He starts with a very low baritone, almost gothic voice backed by clean guitars, and ascends into a heavy galloping riff in the end complete with Halford shrieking. This is the beginning of EPIC metal, and cannot be looked over and ignored. Just ask bands like Opeth, who's Mikael Akerfeldt has called the first four Priest albums some of his favorites.

It has dynamics that NOONE, and I'm even including the most underrated Euro-Metal of the time (even Scorpions) had, only Queen had these type of Opera-like dynamics, but they weren't (really) metal.

So in my opinion, Rocka Rolla, isn't "one of the worst" Priest albums at all.

Sure, the production is dry and the dynamics stunted because of the production, but by any means, it remains a Priest classic.

I would compare it best to Ram it Down, because like Ram it Down foreshadows Painkiller which was better, Rocka Rolla foreshadows Sad Wings of Destiny.

Frankly, I don't bloody care if the production was bad. Does not mean that the record was "poor". Neverless, it was a great debut by our homeland's Gods, Judas Priest! From the brilliant "One For The Road" to the sepctactular instrumental "Caviar And Meths", it is a "wild ride", as I've heard Americans say!

Formed by Guitarist KK Downing and MY metal hero, Ian Hill, the Gods gave them the magic of metal! Also known for using various drummers, famous lead guitarist Glen Tipton and the bloody brilliant screecher, Rob Halford.

I admit that the production was bad, but that is the producer's fault. They'd be rockin' and rollin' anyway.

My favorites are "One For The Road", "Rocka Rolla" and "Never Satisfied".

To all the great fans who abandoned Priest because of Angel Of Retribution, Farewell and a glaring old Aye to ye!

this album help set the standard for future priest album's and most metal today! If your a true Priest or metal fan it is a must own.

I have found that initial recording efforts from well known metal bands can reveal their true direction. "Rocka Rolla" exposes Judas Priest's depth and conviction to their musical genre. The song "Run Of The Mill" emphatically drives this point home. My Priest collection would not be complete without this disc.

Before Judas Priest became a metal institution, before the leather and spikes, there was Rocka Rolla, the 1974 debut from a band still carving their own sound. Rocka Rolla will no doubt shock a lot of Judas Priest fans who expect an earlier version of their metal classic Sad Wings of Destiny. In fact, Rocka Rolla barely qualifies as heavy metal at all. It is, however, a great, heavy, hard rock album with a lot in common with bands like Atomic Rooster, Budgie and of course Black Sabbath, whose producer Rodger Bain was used here.

You can still hear previews of the later Priest sound here, especially on the longer "Winter/Deep Freeze/Winter Retreat/Cheater" suite and "Dying to Meet You," but for the most part Rocka Rolla is a straightforward hard rocking affair. Tipton and Downing focus more on bluesy riffing and almost prog rock solos, and Halford rarely unleashes his higher-octave screams. It's still an excellent album, even if by Judas Priest standards it's like a wayward stepchild. I'm a big fan of the `70s rock sound, particularly what the Brits were doing, and by those standards Rocka Rolla is one of the very best.

If you're coming at this from strictly a metal perspective, or are expecting more of the "Hell Bent for Leather" Judas Priest style, you probably will be disappointed by Rocka Rolla. If you're a fan of `70s era hard rock though, Rocka Rolla is an absolute treasure, not to mention an illuminating look at the earliest days of one of the most influential bands in metal.

Edition Notes: There are a couple of different CD issues of Rocka Rolla out there. The main difference seems to be that one has the original "bottle cap" cover and one has the later, sci-fi looking artwork. Both appear to include the bonus cover of Joan Baez's "Diamonds and Rust," which is a different version than the one included on Sin After Sin.

Not There Best But A hella of a classic A must for fans the tittle track and one more for the road i wish they would play these live.

Rocka Rolla coulda been the great heavy metal debut alongside Black Sabbath (1970), Led Zeppelin (1969), Are You Experienced (1967) and Budgie (1971). However producer Roger Bain (nothing against him) didnt really seem to know what to do with Priest on their 1974 debut. Obviouisly far from the biker filled imagary and party minded lyrics the band would become known for in the 80's, they were more serious musicians in the early days, even some who consider their more well known groundbreaking mid 70's metal efforts like Sad Wings, Sin After Sin, and Stained Class likewise will be surprised. Apparently Bain didn't like some of the bands top flight material that was part of their show, like Genocide, The Ripper, and Tyrant (which of course became the showcases for their sophomore effort that went on to become the foundation for metal). While this might be a wild assumption it just comes off that alot of these songs sound thrown together at the last minute or lacking inspiration. (slow, atmospheric, more progressive kind of songs). No they werent Pink Floyd but merely more serious and "yes we're making deep music" ethos. However some of the songs do sound like they were part of the bands original touring sertlist, like the rocklicking title track, the semi interesting opener One For The Road, and the four song medly Winter/Deep Freeze/Winter Retreat/Cheater. Deep Freeze has some of KK's Hendrix inspired guitar madness and it is a neat little piece although its not for everyone. Cheater also being a ferocious little rocker of note. Never Satisfied is another mediocre yet aptly satisfying dirge of early 70's hard rock. Run Of The Mill which is exactly what its title says, an 8 min piece which illustrates the bands more serious side. It's interesting stuff but it doesnt really hold up over the years and its dated and generic. Of course the title track is as well but its a fun song. the long and slow tunes like Run Of The Mill and half of the next song Dying To Meet You, another piece of slow and dreary art rock, it also doesnt really go anywhere but around the 3:54 mark it turns into a nifty rocker that does entertain. The album is finished off with Cavier And Meths which is from what I've heard another Bain influenced guitar instrumental. Like before mentioned this is serious and deep kinda rock and yes is what was expected considering the times where prog rock ruled. There's alot of Sabbath on this album. More or less Sabs debut. Where there were more basic jam type blues derived hard rock material that was long and weighty. It wasnt until Paranoid that the band became heavy metal forefathers, and Priest the same way did their second album to be the real mark hitter. But as before mentioned its been noted that Bain was against the band using some of their early classics for this debut so they ended up on the second album which many consider the first real JP record. The reissue on Koch doenst have great sound quality, if you want the original cover with the soda bottle top, it is avaliable but most commonly you'll find the reissue with a different cover. As JP's first 2 albums were on a small indie label Gull in England, these first 2 records werent part of the bands remastered CBS/Columbia series which started with their 3rd album. Most metal fans expecting the British Steel Priest should look elsewhere as Halford and the boys on this debut seem to be slapping together songs to please a producer or others while integrating more "thoughtful" structures into their own somewhat developed heavy style, but for historical purposes, give it a listen. There's certainly worse you can spend your money on