Judas Priest - Point of Entry (Exp)

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Music reviews of Point of Entry (Exp)

Music Review: Different, but Still Good--and Still Undeniably JP!!
Rating: 4 Stars

To be sure, POINT OF ENTRY was an attempt to make Priest more commercial-sounding and less forboding than on previous albums. Gone are the speed-metal riffs of "Rapid Fire" from BRITISH STEEL (1980). Gone are the long and complex song structures of "Beyond The Realms Of Death" from STAINED CLASS (1978). Gone are the faux-Satanic references of "Sinner" from SIN AFTER SIN (1977). However, Tom Allom (incidentally the same producer as on BRITISH STEEL and on many other hell-raising Priest albums afterwards) still maintains his tight, slick production values on this record. The main reason why this album did not sell well upon release was that it alienated a lot of new-found Priest fans who had fallen in love with the band's jackhammer style that was displayed so prominently on BRITISH STEEL. However, as a lot of the same fans eventually came to realize after repeated listenings, the songs on POINT are short, sweet, and listenable--and some of them are very good.

The first song, "Heading Out To The Highway" is classic Priest, with its racing theme as a metaphor for life. It's thought-provoking, and great to listen to while driving! "Don't Go" brings to mind pain and heartbreak. Slow for a Priest song, it has a very unusual and slightly off-kilter rhythm pattern. It definitely doesn't sound like JP at first. Rob Halford has a kind of poppy singing style here, but the tandem lead-guitar solo trade-offs between Glenn Tipton and K.K. Downing are just absolutely killer. The song ends up being surprisingly catchy, and you'll soon find yourself humming, "Don't go...don't go in the morning." "Hot Rockin'", the third and final single from this album, is a straight-ahead rocker that reminds me of that great feeling I get when I want to go out to a rock concert.

Most of the other songs are good, too. "Turning Circles" has a memorably quiet bridge. "Desert Plains" is impressive with its great rhythm guitar that makes it sound as if Priest had gotten an extra drummer. Also memorable is the chorus, "From desert plains, I bring you love!" "Solar Angels" also has a cool rhythm guitar backing up the main riff, along with some really cool sound effects. It sports a killer solo that lifts my spirits way up above the clouds. "You Say Yes" starts out with a quirky, jumpy rhythm pattern, but the chorus is rather droning and simpleminded. Like about half the songs on this CD, it has a cool, quiet midsection which on this song feels somewhat oddly out of place. However, the song ends up fading out on that lame chorus. This is the only "bad" track on the record, though. "All The Way" begins with a bit of a Rob Halford cheer that would seem more appropriate at the beginning of Olivia Newton-John's "Physical" (also recorded in 1981, coincidentally enough!). At least the chorus here is better than in the previous track. "Troubleshooter" begins with a cool mid-tempo drum beat, then is joined in perfect timing with a mid-tempo guitar riff. Rob Halford does some good growling vocals that are reminiscient of, say, "Devil's Child" from the all-around excellent SCREAMING FOR VENGEANCE. "On The Run" features Rob doing a lot of high-pitched singing/screaming, especially on the chorus, "Cause I'm O-O-O-N the run!" It has an uncharacteristically bouncy drum & bass pattern and was a good choice to end this album when originally released 21 years ago.

But wait; there's more! We get two extra tracks here on the Remastered edition: "Thunder Road", which had been written "during the early years of our career" and recorded in 1987 (presumably during the sessions for the following year's RAM IT DOWN). It contains elecronically-altered Halford screaming, but the most surprising thing is the fuzzbox guitar solo which seems to have walked right out of 1970 and into this song. The second most surprising thing is the quiet keyboard coda immediately following the fuzzbox guitar solo. Lastly, we get a live version of "Desert Plains", which is just another example of how incredible Halford & Co. sound live. Unlike most of their contemporaries, Judas Priest prove that they don't need studio tricks to make themselves sound they way they do. The way Rob Halford can hold his high-pitched screech in a live setting the way no one else can just sends shivers up & down my spine. POINT OF ENTRY may not send shivers up or down your spine, but it's a pretty damn good record nonetheless. It may not be the high point of Judas Priest's career, but it's far from the lowest. RECOMMENDED

Description of Point of Entry (Exp)

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