Turn the lights down, crank the volume up and from the opening bars of One For The Road, you will be astounded by the quality of the Tom Allom remix for Rocka Rolla on the 50th Anniversary Edition of the Judas Priest debut album.
Judas Priest – Rocka Rolla 50th Anniversary Edition
Release Date: Out Now
Words: Steve Ritchie
Recorded during late-night sessions on a shoestring budget, Rocka Rolla was released on 6 September 1974 by Gull Records to little public notice.
Glenn Tipton had joined the band just before recording began, so the tracklist weighed heavy on the songwriting influence of K. K. Downing and Rob Halford. Ian Hill and former vocalist Al Atkins would receive two writing credits each, and the album marked the only appearance for drummer John Hinch.
History shows that Judas Priest were unhappy with the final sound of the album and cited technical problems, but what is without dispute is that Rocka Rolla was the beginning of an exciting journey to the top.
Though Tipton was new to the lineup, he brought Tyrant to the band. Producer Roger Bain rejected the song, but what is evident listening to this new remix is that the impressive Tipton / Downing partnership had already been carved in stone.
Right from the opening bars of One For The Road, the ear balance has been sorted. The opening guitar salvo sits in the middle of your head, Hinch’s drums enter with power missed before, while Hill is there steady as always.
It’s when Rob Halford asks, “Where would you be without music?” that the magic is complete. Halford was in his early 20s at the time of recording, but Allom has shown what a master the lad from Warwickshire already was. The extended outro of the opener is just majestic. The balance between the guitar ‘solo’ and Rob’s free-form vocal bursts with life. Gone is the fade. This baby has an end.
Let’s face it. There are no live staples on this album. Title track, Rocka Rolla, was resurrected for Bloodstock 2021 after a 45-year break. Here, the song just oozes class, and the opening bite is memorable. The song was released one month after the resignation of Richard Nixon, but listening now, it seems incredible that the spring in the step of the song is something from so long ago.
In the three minutes of Winter, the song builds to a riff-laden beast of doom beauty. The pitch-rising vocal of Halford when he sings “In the morning when I wake up,” is the first burst of his style that would become famous worldwide.
Deep Freeze is the marmite of this collection. Tom Allom must have been buzzing when he first heard all the available multitrack recordings. K.K. Downing engages in some whammy bar theatrics, and there are a host of other parts from the band. It is not a song, as such, but a cool recognition of a new band’s experimentation in the studio.
Winter Retreat oozes the progressive rock stylings of Pink Floyd and leads into Side A closer, Cheater, with Halford’s harmonica at the fore and the cowbell consigned, rightfully, to its place lower in the mix. This new version really elevates the song.
The Atkins/Downing Never Satisfied opens the flip side. The riff is epic, and here, it sounds as heavy as hell. The middle section defines Judas Priest and their entry into Heavy Metal, and you can picture Downing and Tipton standing together, legs apart, and posturing.
Run Of The Mill has that Doctor Doctor style opening as it builds into eight minutes of epic genius. This version is full of goosebumps. It is scandalous that this has not been played live for over 50 years. The guitar is this has so many layers now that deserves your attention. And above it all, Rob Halford is totally majestic.
We run to the end with Dying To Meet You. Rocka Rolla was presented as an album, and tracks like these get buried in the modern playlist way of listening to music. It really gives that feeling of sitting in a room and just listening without those modern distractions. It has that ’70s/’80s album-ending mood, and when it rolls into Caviar And Meths, you can still get that satisfied post-workout feeling of blissful satisfaction.
I’m sure Tom Allom felt the same. He respects the last breath of Caviar And Meths, such that he lets the song finish, and in the last eight seconds, the guitar naturally fades. Then, you face the decision to start again on Side B or flip the vinyl to revisit the beginning. Just like old times.
The Rocka Rolla 50th Anniversary Edition is such a perfect document of what was the beginning of a seismic rise to Heavy Metal glory of one of the biggest bands England has produced.
It was not a million-seller, and the songs on Rocka Rolla have been consigned to the live graveyard over the years as Judas Priest would lament the issues around the original release.
But what Tom Allom has given us is just phenomenal. Rob Halford, Glenn Tipton, K. K. Downing, Ian Hill and John Hinch were on to something special in 1974. I’m sure they realised this then. It is only now that we can recognise how special those late-night sessions were. Finally, Rocka Rolla has been brought to life.
