.

Judas Priest - Turbo 30


by Kevin Wierzbicki

.
For some Judas Priest fans it probably seems like just yesterday that they were roaring down the street with the car radio cranked up, singing along with Priest front man Rob Halford on the big hit "Turbo Lover."

It wasn't just yesterday, and in fact it's been a little more than 30-years since the Turbo album came out, long enough ago that those same fans may very well now have metal-loving grandchildren following in their shoes.

The music has held up pretty well over the decades and the original album sounds even better here, remastered for the Turbo 30 package. But here's the best reason to gather the clan to rock out to this 3-CD set: A 20-song, previously-unreleased live show recorded in Kansas City in the spring of '86.

The English rockers were on their Fuel for Life tour behind Turbo, and the show begins with two Turbo cuts, "Out in the Cold" and "Locked In." About half of Turbo is performed in all but the show never goes more than a couple of songs without a hit or catalog favorite and the first half of the set includes "Heading Out to the Highway" and "Some Heads Are Gonna Roll" along with crowd-pleasers like "Metal Gods" and "Breaking the Law" from British Steel.

The second half of the show features familiar cuts like "Electric Eye," "Freewheel Burning," "Victim of Changes," "Turbo Lover" and perhaps the most famous cover song the band has ever done, "The Green Manalishi (With the Two-Pronged Crown)" which was originally performed by the Peter Green-era Fleetwood Mac. Halford gives an energetic introduction to most of the songs but otherwise the stage patter is kept to a minimum as guitarists KK Downing and Glenn Tipton, bass man Ian Hill and drummer Dave Holland demonstrate why Judas Priest were one of the biggest bands in the world at the time.

The show rocks to a close with the triple threat of "Living After Midnight," "You've Got Another Thing Coming" and the Harley-enhanced "Hell Bent for Leather." While Turbo 30 is a grand flashback, nothing here sounds dated.

And while Halford and company will be in their rocking chairs by the time Turbo turns 40, this music will likely still be blasting from speakers around the world and blowing the minds of a new generation of metalheads.

Get your copy here.

Judas Priest - Turbo 30
Rating:

Share this article

Share on Facebook Share on Twitter Pin it Share on Reddit email this article



advertisement