JUDAS PRIEST “TURBO” – 1986 ALBUM IN MY METAL RETROSPECT
JUDAS PRIEST – Turbo was released on Columbia Records, back on April 14, 1986. This Turbo album, is my least favorite Judas Priest album. There. I said it. Now, does that mean I would never listen to Turbo ever again? Of course not. By process of Metal elimination, there has to be my least favorite Judas Priest album… Turbo unfortunately gets the Metal nod for being the one. I revere Judas Priest… they are and always shall be a core band of mine. Therefore, I am not about to pick apart an album where they chose to experiment with synthesizers and melody. I have and always shall accept Turbo for what it is… a detour during the unreal and great legacy of Judas Priest.
Let’s face it, Turbo has eventually become not the drastic detour that Judas Priest would ever undertake. Nostradamus released in 2008, is a far superior musical detour than Turbo. I really feel that this Nostradamus album has motivated me to embrace the maturation process of Metal bands that I uphold. I find the Nostradamus album to be an exquisite listen in not just Metal… it’s an exquisite listen in music period. Well, not to get off the Metal track here… back to Turbo.
I remember buying the Turbo album, (on vinyl), along with Ozzy Osbourne’s album from 1986 – The Ultimate Sin. It was an early Spring day back in 1986 when I bought these two albums together… I was Metal psyched. I eventually upgraded both Turbo and The Ultimate Sin to CD… and I still have The Ultimate Sin on CD, Turbo I sold for a few bucks years ago. Now, regardless of looking upon Turbo as my least favorite Judas Priest album… I uncannily miss having it around. I do have easy access to the song Turbo Lover, it’s on a Judas Priest “Greatest Hits” CD I have:
The Best Of Judas Priest: Living After Midnight
This “Best Of” CD really is power packed with some vintage Judas Priest songs and worth owning, especially if you have “holes” in your Judas Priest album/CD collection.
I will admit, the song Parental Guidance used to get me psyched out. It was the whole anti-establishment and anti-authority thing happening in my brain back then. I still stand strongly behind this song’s anti-censorship theme. I’ve read that this song was Judas Priest taking a direct aim at the constipated PMRC… if true, a Metal kudos to The Priest!
The Turbo album does rekindle some cool memories for me though… man, this CD was always cranked up to the max at every keg party I hosted, back around 1986 – 1988. There always was someone who wanted to hear Turbo back then at my parties… it was popular for the first few years or so it seemed. When I do hear the song Turbo Lover now, it reminds me of those hot Summer nights back in the late 80’s. No, not that kind of “hot Summer night”… this song really reminds me of hanging out on a hot and humid Summer night and drinking beer. Go F’n figure.
So there you have it… I consider Turbo as my least favorite Judas Priest album ever, the album as a whole reminds me of keg parties I hosted as a much younger dude and Turbo Lover reminds me of hot and humid Summer nights of hanging out and drinking beer. Throw in the fact that I kinda miss owning Turbo too. I guess I couldn’t be more Metal honest than that.
“I’M YOUR TUBO LOVER… TELL ME THERE’S NO OTHER”… NOW, SOMEONE PASS ME A COLD ONE. PLEASE.
LONG LIVE JUDAS PRIEST!
Stone.
Metal Odyssey > Heavy Metal Music Blog 
April 30, 2010 at 6:34 am
I’m with you that Turbo is poor and I disliked it the day I bought it on cassette in 1986. However Nostradamus is my least favorite from the Priest. It’s a dull, rhythmless mess that drags on forever. Back to Turbo. I was also always frustrated that when they finally did a live video (JP LIVE) they took it from the Turbo tour. It’s actually and alright show and some of the Turbo tracks sound better live, but I always remember wishing they had done a video from Defenders or Screaming instead. However then in recent years I saw the DVD taken from the Screaming for vengeance toure which was a much better show.
April 30, 2010 at 7:16 am
I agree with you saying the Turbo tracks on Judas Priest Live sound better… LIVE. Turbo just turned out as the “Pop” album for The Priest. If there is a light at the end of the Metal tunnel though, Turbo most certainly brought on board fans that otherwise may not have caught on to Judas Priest back then… IMO.
I watched the music video for Turbo Lover last night… Rob Halford even does a bit of groovy semi-dance as he is singing, during one part. Whoa. Geez. From the “appearance” of Judas Priest in that now, shall I say, “classic” video… it just seems “someone” was trying to steer these legends into “looking” like a Hair Metal band. It didn’t work thank God!!
April 30, 2010 at 8:52 am
I think Turbo is one of the BEST albums by Judas Priest. Perhaps because it is the first Priest album that I ever owned. Songs like Turbo Lover, Parental Guidance, Locked In, and Wild Nights… how can you not love those???
Maybe it’s my nostalgic side, but I love Turbo!
Ryo
April 30, 2010 at 9:29 am
I just cannot compare Turbo to Stained Class, British Steel, Point of Entry and Scraming For Vengeance. Turbo came out and it worried the living heck out of Priest fans who embraced these earlier albums.
Turbo is just like “The Black Album” from Metallica… it introduced a formidable Metal band to a whole new generation of fans… and both “The Black Album” and Turbo are outrageously overrated, compared to other albums in these respective bands catalog.
Even though I embrace the “message” of Parental Guidance… the lyrics are truly meant for teens living at home with uncool parents. These same uncool parents wear bright yellow turtlenecks, listen to ABBA and are anti-Rock ‘N’ Roll.
Stone
April 30, 2010 at 9:11 am
Turbo > Painkiller > Nostradamus
April 30, 2010 at 9:34 am
I would insert Ram It Down in place of Painkiller… IMO. (:
April 30, 2010 at 11:43 am
Defenders Of The Faith was the first Priest album I bought…and is still my favorite.
But I love almost all of their albums…even the “Ripper” releases.
I think Turbo is OK (I don’t like the song “Parental Guidance” much though).
But both Painkiller and Ram It Down are much better than Turbo, in my opinion.
My least favorite Judas Priest albums are both Nostradamus and their reunion album Angel Of Retribution.
(Although I enjoyed the Angel Of Retribution / Union Tour when I saw it in Yokohama)
April 30, 2010 at 2:02 pm
Defenders Of The Faith is fabulous… “Some Heads Are Gonna Roll” is as unreal great as it gets with Judas Priest… for me. “Freewheel Burning” and “Heavy Duty” are enormous songs too.
Just a legendary Judas Priest album is Defenders Of The Faith.
April 30, 2010 at 5:42 pm
Turbo is okay. “Turbo Love” and “Locked In” are easily the best songs, nothing comes close to those two. The album is pure ’80s metal cheese and I’m okay with that. The real crime is Defenders of the Faith and Ram It Down getting overlooked so often.
*MY* least favorite Priest album is Point of Entry. Boring effort.
April 30, 2010 at 9:42 pm
“Heading Out To The Highway” and “Hot Rockin'” are two hot tracks off of “Point Of Entry”. These two songs never received FM airtime where I grew up in expensive Connecticut… it’s a shame. “Breaking The Law” and “Living After Midnight” got all the attention during those years before “Screaming For Vengeance”.
I always felt that “Point Of Entry” was a pretty good “warm-up” to “Screaming For Vengeance”. Yet, just like me, you are going to have your “least favorite” Judas Priest album too!
April 30, 2010 at 6:26 pm
I think Point of entry is actually pretty good album. It was an attempt to be slightly different and it worked.
April 30, 2010 at 9:46 pm
I believe the show was called… “Night Flight” on the USA Network. It came on very late on Friday and Saturday nights… this was where I first saw the music video for “Heading Out To The Highway”. Man, I was hooked after seeing/hearing that video. I will admit, that music video was not high tech for sure. Old School instead!
April 30, 2010 at 10:33 pm
It seemed like Heading out to the Highway was on like every other week on the Headbanger’s Ball too in the mid-late 80’s.
May 3, 2010 at 12:45 pm
Yup, if my Metal memory serves me correct… you absolutely right!
May 5, 2010 at 12:01 pm
I have to disagree with a couple of statements. 1) RocknRolla is not a very good album as compared to the rest of the Priest catalog. It is all opinion, but there. 2) I disagree with Metal Misfit, “Out in The Cold” is just fantatstic. It is, without a doubt, the best track on the album. The amazing thing is that “TURBO” was supposed to be a double album entitled “TWIN TURBO”. The remainder of the songs ended up as the album “RAM IT DOWN”. Now, anyone who has heard “RAM IT DOWN” knows that is a ferocious album. I believe that if Priest had opted to NOT use the Guiatr Synths on that album, it would be held in higher regard. The songs are well crafted, and brilliantly executed. The only problem with the release is that the Guitar Synth production dilutes the heaviness of the album. That is just my opinion.
May 5, 2010 at 2:12 pm
The synths on “Turbo” was all one big “shock” to me when I first heard the album. I find “Turbo” to be probably the most hotly debated of the Judas Priest albums… due to the synths. Your right about the double album intention… it probably would have sold well back then as a double album too. Then, our discussion would be – which half of the album is better.
I don’t fault anyone’s opinion on favorite/non favorite album from any bands catalog… heck, by process of elimination, there has to be “that personal pecking order”. (:
Stone
May 7, 2010 at 5:28 pm
As cheesy as most of ‘Turbo’ is, I still love the album, nowhere near their best album but an album I enjoy listening to, even if I donot reach to it too often.
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July 18, 2011 at 4:54 pm
It’s a guilty pleasure album, and I personally dig Locked In….remember that awful video?