The Essential Judas Priest

The Essential Judas Priest
Greatest hits album by Judas Priest
Released	11 April 2006 26 August 2008 (3.0 Limited Edition)
Recorded	1976–2005
Genre	Heavy metal
Length	154:22
Label	Columbia / Sony Music
Judas Priest chronology
Angel of Retribution (2005) The Essential Judas Priest (2006) Nostradamus (2008)

Professional ratings

Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	[1]

The Essential Judas Priest is a 2006 two-disc compilation album by English heavy metal band Judas Priest. It contains 34 songs from throughout their career right up to their then-most recent album Angel of Retribution, but excludes the Tim "Ripper" Owens era and material from their debut album Rocka Rolla. It was re-released in 2008 as a limited-edition 3-disc package.[2] It was re-released again in 2010 as a Blu-spec CD. This version has a slightly different track list on the first disc; "Nostradamus" from the 2008 album of that name replaces "Victim of Changes" as the fifth track.[3]

In 2015 The Essential Judas Priest was re-released with the same album art but with very different track listings.[4] Additionally, "Nostradamus," "Dragonaut," and "Redeemer of Souls" replaced "United," "Hot Rockin'," and "Out in the Cold."

Track listing (2006/2008 original/re-release)

Disc one

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Original album	Length
1.	"Judas Rising"	Rob Halford, K.K. Downing, Glenn Tipton	Angel of Retribution (2005)	3:52
2.	"Breaking the Law"	Halford, Downing, Tipton	British Steel (1980)	2:35
3.	"Hell Bent for Leather"	Tipton	Killing Machine (1978)	2:40
4.	"Diamonds & Rust" (Joan Baez cover)	Joan Baez	Sin After Sin (1977)	3:26
5.	"Victim of Changes"	Al Atkins, Halford, Downing, Tipton	Sad Wings of Destiny (1976)	7:47
6.	"Love Bites"	Halford, Downing, Tipton	Defenders of the Faith (1984)	4:47
7.	"Heading Out to the Highway"	Halford, Downing, Tipton	Point of Entry (1981)	3:45
8.	"Ram It Down"	Halford, Downing, Tipton	Ram It Down (1988)	4:48
9.	"Beyond the Realms of Death"	Halford, Les Binks	Stained Class (1978)	6:51
10.	"You've Got Another Thing Comin'"	Halford, Downing, Tipton	Screaming for Vengeance (1982)	5:09
11.	"Jawbreaker"	Halford, Downing, Tipton	Defenders of the Faith	3:25
12.	"A Touch of Evil"	Halford, Downing, Tipton, Chris Tsangarides	Painkiller (1990)	5:54
13.	"Delivering the Goods"	Halford, Downing, Tipton	Killing Machine	4:16
14.	"United"	Halford, Downing, Tipton	British Steel	3:35
15.	"Turbo Lover"	Halford, Downing, Tipton	Turbo (1986)	5:33
16.	"Painkiller"	Halford, Downing, Tipton	Painkiller	6:06
17.	"Metal Gods"	Halford, Downing, Tipton	British Steel	4:04

Disc two

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Original album	Length
1.	"The Hellion"	Halford, Downing, Tipton	Screaming for Vengeance	0:41
2.	"Electric Eye"	Halford, Downing, Tipton	Screaming for Vengeance	3:39
3.	"Living After Midnight"	Halford, Downing, Tipton	British Steel	3:30
4.	"Freewheel Burning"	Halford, Downing, Tipton	Defenders of the Faith	4:42
5.	"Exciter"	Halford, Tipton	Stained Class	5:33
6.	"The Green Manalishi (With the Two Pronged Crown)" (Fleetwood Mac cover)	Peter Green	Killing Machine	4:42
7.	"Blood Red Skies"	Halford, Downing, Tipton	Ram It Down	7:05
8.	"Night Crawler"	Halford, Downing, Tipton	Painkiller	5:44
9.	"Sinner"	Halford, Tipton	Sin After Sin	6:43
10.	"Hot Rockin'"	Halford, Downing, Tipton	Point of Entry	3:17
11.	"The Sentinel"	Halford, Downing, Tipton	Defenders of the Faith	5:04
12.	"Before the Dawn"	Halford, Downing, Tipton	Killing Machine	3:23
13.	"Hell Patrol"	Halford, Downing, Tipton	Painkiller	3:37
14.	"The Ripper"	Tipton	Sad Wings of Destiny	2:50
15.	"Screaming for Vengeance"	Halford, Downing, Tipton	Screaming for Vengeance	4:43
16.	"Out in the Cold"	Halford, Downing, Tipton	Turbo	6:27
17.	"Revolution"	Halford, Downing, Tipton	Angel of Retribution	4:42

Disc three (Limited Edition 3.0 only)

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Original album	Length
1.	"Dissident Aggressor"	Halford, Downing, Tipton	Sin After Sin	3:07
2.	"Better by You, Better than Me" (Spooky Tooth cover)	Gary Wright	Stained Class	3:24
3.	"Grinder"	Halford, Downing, Tipton	British Steel	3:58
4.	"Desert Plains"	Halford, Downing, Tipton	Point of Entry	4:36
5.	"Riding on the Wind"	Halford, Downing, Tipton	Screaming for Vengeance	3:07
6.	"Rock Hard Ride Free"	Halford, Downing, Tipton	Defenders of the Faith	5:34
7.	"All Guns Blazing"	Halford, Downing, Tipton	Painkiller	3:56

Personnel

• Rob Halford: Vocals.
• Glenn Tipton: Guitars.
• K.K. Downing: Guitars.
• Ian Hill: Bass guitars.
• Scott Travis: Drums (1, 12, 16 Disc 1; 8, 13, 17 Disc 2).

Other personnel

• Dave Holland: Drums (2, 6, 7, 8, 10, 11, 14, 15, 17 Disc 1; 1, 2, 3, 4, 7, 10, 11, 15, 16 Disc 2).
• Les Binks: Drums (3, 9, 13 Disc 1; 5, 6, 12 Disc 2).
• Simon Phillips: Drums (4 Disc 1; 9 Disc 2).
• Alan Moore: Drums (5 Disc 1; 14 Disc 2).
• Don Airey (session musician): Keyboards (12 Disc 1).

Charts

Chart (2006)	Peak position
Finnish Albums (Suomen virallinen lista)[5]	21
Japanese Albums (Oricon)[6]	138
Swedish Albums (Sverigetopplistan)[7]	23

References

1. Allmusic review
2. "Amazon.com – The Essential Judas Priest 3.0". Amazon. Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 15 September 2017.
3. "Amazon.com – Essential Judas Priest". Amazon. Archived from the original on 14 March 2016. Retrieved 15 September 2017.
4. "Judas Priest – The Essential Judas Priest (2015, CD)". Discogs. LCCN 2017618351. Retrieved 10 August 2024.
5. "Judas Priest: The Essential" (in Finnish). Musiikkituottajat – IFPI Finland. Retrieved 26 April 2021.
6. "エッセンシャル・ジューダス・プリースト". Oricon.co.jp. Retrieved 26 April 2021.
7. "Swedishcharts.com – Judas Priest – The Essential". Hung Medien. Retrieved 26 April 2021.