 [Larger view] | Judas Priest - Point of Entry
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 Judas Priest's hard rock record | |
| First off, it should be noted, as the liner notes indicate, that this was Judas Priest's first attempt and broadening its audience by essentially loading the record with short, rock and roll songs. With the exception of "Solar Angels", this song is more appropriately described as a hard rock record (contrasted with their preceding and succeeding records, 'British Steel' and 'Screaming for Vengeance'. That said, "Heading Out to the Highway" and "Desert Plains" are indispensible Judas Priest classics. Furthermore, the record is definitely harder-edged than their later foray into popular music, 1986's 'Turbo'. A note about the remastering (which has been made elsewhere) - there is an audible click about 2 minutes into "On the Run". As for the bonus tracks, the studio cut, "Thunder Road", is one of the better ones on these recent reissues and sounds much like the tracks on 'Ram It Down' (this was outtake from the 1987 'Ram It Down' sessions). The live version of "Desert Plains" is taken from the 1981 tour in support of 'Point of Entry' and has a much faster tempo than the original. | |
 A signpost | |
| This is another great Judas Priest album. It sounds heavy and catchy just like all Priest albums. It also has a unique atmospheric quality. It sounds like somebody riding a motorbike through the Arizona desert and thats exactly what the lyrics of "Desert Plains" is about. The American sleeve for the album seems to confirm this. It sounds a bit like a mixture of "British steel" and "Screaming for vengeance". Like a signpost between their British period(Evrything up to British Steel) and their American period(From Screaming... onwards). Don't forget that they where moving from England to America in this period (tax exile) and it sounds like it(With American I don't mean commercial I'm more reffering to the feel of it). By the way there has been some critisism against this album for some reason. Just ignore it this album is just as heavy and typical Judas Priest as the rest. P.S.: If you where wondering what the frontcover of the European version is. It's the backend of a jetfighter. It took 8 years of hard looking to see that | |
| "Oh everbody breaks down sooner or later" | |
| Judas Priest's 1981 Point of Entry was the follow-up to the classic British Steel. Speaking in vinyl terms, if Point of Entry consisted of the entire first side and "Solar Angels" from side two, it would be 5-star and Priest's most solid album. Unfortunately, it continues with some of Priest's worst tracks. First, the best stuff: The first three songs also sport music videos available on the video Fuel for Life. "Heading Out to the Highway" is the best of the bunch, but "Don't Go" and "Hot Rockin'" are also excellent, catchy tracks. I really like "Turning in Circles." It is a fun, kick back rocker. "Desert Plains" is excellent. It is a slower track dominated by some thundering drums by Dave Holland (now serving 8 years for a sexual assault conviction). The song transports its listener across desert plains. It is very well done. "Solar Angels" doesn't blow one away but is a solid, catchy track. It is almost of the style of a British Steel song as it is a driving, repetitive song with no chorus (like "Rapid Fire" and "Steeler"). If it had the grinding guitar sound, it would fit very well on British Steel. Now for the bad stuff: The rest of the album is terrible. "You Say Yes" is just annoying, especially the chorus. The quiet bridge is the best part. Parts of "All the Way" sound a little like "Don't Have to Be Old to Be Wise," but it is not in the same league as that excellent British Steel track. "Troubleshooter" is also annoying and "On the Run" is a little better, but not by much. The bonus track "Thunder Road" is, well, "thundering" but is not Point of Entry-era, so that's a little disappointing. From what I've read, the bonus live track was also recorded years later. Although this album breaks down at the end, the best tracks are so good that this album is still worthy of 4 stars. |
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