Search - Judas Priest :: Point of Entry (Exp)

LONG FORGOTTEN MASTERPIECE!

Michael G. King | LOUISVILLE, KY United States | 07/07/2001

(5 out of 5 stars)

"POINT OF ENTRY is to JUDAS PRIEST what CARESS OF STEEL is to RUSH.Overlooked, neglected, and absolutely MAGNIFICENT.GUITAR ROCK AT IT'S FINEST!I first purchased this recording on cassette tape in 1981, I was in my senior year of high school. At the time, I already owned the BRITISH STEEL (1980) and HELL BENT FOR LEATHER (1978) cassettes (purchased in that order). By then, "Living After Midnight", from BRITISH STEEL, had received SO MUCH airplay that I never wanted to hear it again. Much was the same for the entire BRITISH STEEL cassette. My friends just absolutely played it into the ground. POINT OF ENTRY WAS A BREATH OF FRESH AIR! In fact, I think my friends were asleep when this was released, because I was the only person I knew listening to it. I'll say again, POINT OF ENTRY WAS A BREATH OF FRESH AIR, JUDAS PRIEST STYLE! Positioned between BRITISH STEEL (1980) & SCREAMING FOR VENGEANCE (1982), it lacked the commercial airplay appeal of those other releases, and therefore explains much of the neglect that has occurred. By the time SCREAMING... arrived on the scene, everyone was playing it into the ground too! My friends awoke! POINT OF ENTRY just sort of disappeared in the sunset. Such a SHAME! By now, HELL BENT... & POINT OF... were the PRIEST tapes I was listening to regularly. Quite in contrast to my friends.The lack of commercial airplay appeal is the one thing that makes this a better recording than either ...STEEL or SCREAMING...The only track on POINT OF ENTRY that received any airplay at all was "Heading Out To The Highway", and it holds up much better than "Living After Midnight" when it comes to sounding dated.HEADING OUT TO THE HIGHWAY is to JUDAS PRIEST what RUNNING ON EMPTY (the song) is to JACKSON BROWNE. And yes I know the looks I must be getting, mentioning Jackson Browne in a Judas Priest review. RUSH OK, but Jackson Browne? Just goes to show I like all kinds of music.THE REST OF THE SONGS ARE A GUITAR DRIVEN TOUR DE FORCE. The songs "Don't Go", "Turning Circles", & "Desert Plains" are PHENOMENAL.The bonus track of "Desert Plains" (live) showcases the band's ability to get WILD in concert. A tight addition in my book. I saw Judas Priest on the DEFENDERS OF THE FAITH tour in 1984. On stage and in studio are definately two very different things for this band. Play the studio and bonus live tracks back-to-back just for the fun of it. If you are a Judas Priest fan and don't own this CD, you are missing the best part of Judas Priest. It had been a long time since the old cassettes wore out, and I have just today, 7/6/01, purchased the remastered POINT OF ENTRY & SCREAMING FOR VENGEANCE CD's. I'm still trying to find the courage to buy BRITISH STEEL again. I can still hear it reverberating in my brain from LIVING AFTER MIDNIGHT abuse. POINT OF ENTRY, I'll say it again, IS A BREATH OF FRESH AIR, AS I ALWAYS THOUGHT IT WAS! Additionally, I did not hear the glitch or skip that the other reviewers spoke of. It seems that my copy is an excellant remaster."

Different, but One of the Most Consistent Priest Efforts

A.J. Taylor | Sparta, NJ United States | 10/29/2002

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Coming off the success of 1980's British Steel, Judas Priest released Point of Entry, which marked yet another stylistic change for the band. The songs were shorter, the tempoes simpler, and with a more mainstream feel overall. Indeed, this albums has more of a '70s rock feel than any of their '70s albums. It sounds almost as if it's an evolutionary dead end, a brief foray into mainstream rock before the metallic assault of Screaming for Vengeance. However, even as a dead end, it makes a killer album. The songs are consistently good, with the expected screams from Rob and the dualing Glenn/K.K. solos, and for once in the Dave Holland era, some excellent rythem playing. Rob's lyrics, often silly to near the point of self-parody on later albums, are effective and well-written here. Songs like Desert Plains, already instrumentally great, are pushed over the limit with some great lyrics to accompany them. All in all, if you're a Priest fan who already has most of their releases and is looking to round pout the collection, this is a must-have."

Judas Priest's hard rock record

S. Baker | Phoenix, Arizona United States | 06/22/2001

(3 out of 5 stars)

"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."