While this album is a good deal mellower than the raucous and metallised material that was to come down the line, there are certain moments when you can hear that fabled Judas Priest sound in its infancy. For the most part, however, this album is rooted in the folksy blues music that feels as though it would be much more suited to the late 1960's rather than the advancing of the mid-1970's. A lot of it could almost be influenced by the first couple of Deep Purple album's, which is somewhat surprising given what Deep Purple had evolved into by the time this album was released. However, having said this, it has been reported that many of the band's better known and stylistic songs, such as "Tyrant", "Genocide" and "Victim of Changes" were ruled out of being placed on this album by their producer. These songs of course eventually found themselves onto the next album, which itself is much more recognised as a Judas Priest sounding album.
There is no duelling of those two Downing and Tipton guitars here, and there is no hint of any of the speed and heaviness that was to come from this band as they established themselves. The songs tend to just plod along, the drum and bass beat sometimes barely getting above a crawl as Halford croons lightly over the top.
"One for the Road" is especially like this, struggling to ever reach its conclusion as the bulk of the song just repeats itself over and over again. The first single, "Rocka Rolla" is a better song with a slightly rockier feel, and the dual guitars making themselves more prominent, as well as the shirking squeal of Halford's harmonica. Still, it sounds more like The Eagles than Judas Priest. The suite of "" is an interesting delving into more hippy rock along with the very 1970's guitar improv. For much of the time it feels as though perhaps the album has stopped, frozen in time if you will. It's a very... unique... almost Pink Floyd expedition, and one that seems so very unlike the band that was to emerge from this album.
"Cheater" comes across in a similar vein as "Rocka Rolla", closer to a rock song that the other efforts, with a snazzier pace and the return of the harmonica, but more importantly those single guitar solos that showcase what makes this band great. "Never Satisfied" rambles along, again falling in to the trap of predictability and sameness. "Run of the Mill", while being a slightly long and overdrawn song, showcases Rob Halford's amazing vocal range for the first time, as he really ups the intensity towards the end of the song. It wants to be "Victim of Changes" but it doesn't have the power or the catchiness of that great track. "Dying to Meet You" slumps along at the same tempo as much of the album, a sluggish song that barely keeps the listener interested. The micro half-song that follows, "Hero Hero", comes much closer to being in the same street as you would expect of a Judas Priest song, but again it is much too little in comparison to the whole album. Rocka Rolla closes with a two minute instrumental titled "Caviar and Meth", a song that apparently in the days before Al Atkins was replaced as lead singer by Rob Halford was in fact a fourteen minute monster. What was recorded here was just the introduction to that original piece.
As a piece of history, especially of this band, this is an interesting listen. It is not completely hopeless or a write-off, but it is of a different era, and most certainly was written and performed that way. While it is worth a listen for all of the fans who have not experienced it, in the long run I would be surprised if many fans revisited it on a regular basis. There are only at least a dozen albums by the band that make more enjoyable listening that this.
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