GUESS I'LL HAVE TO CHANGE
MY WAY OF LIVING
DON'T WANNA REALLY KNOW
THE WAY I FEEL
Stained Class
is the fourth
studio album
by English
Heavy Metal band
released on
February, 10th 1978
by Columbia Records.
It is the first of three
Judas Priest albums
recorded with drummer
Les Binks,
as well as the first
to feature the band's
now well-known logo
in the artwork.
Musically,
Stained Class
is considered the album
on which the band
honed many of the elements
of their hard-edged
signature sound,
dispensing with most
of the progressive
and
blues rock overtones
and
softer ballads
of previous efforts.
The album features a
cover version of
"Better by You Better than Me"
by Spooky Tooth,
which became the subject
of an infamous
which alleged
the song subliminally
influenced
two teenage boys
to make a suicide pact.
Other notable tracks include
"Exciter",
considered an
early precursor
to speed metal
Stained Class
was a modest
commercial success,
reaching number 27
on the
UK Albums Chart
and becoming
the band's
first LP to enter
the US Billboard 200;
it was eventually certified gold
in the latter country.
Retrospectively,
it is regarded by some
as one of the most
important and
influential albums
in the development of
heavy metal
and one of
Judas Priest's
best records,
as well as one
of the greatest
heavy metal albums
of all time.
Overview
Stained Class
is the only
Judas Priest album
to feature songwriting
by all five members
of the band
. Newly added drummer
Les Binks
earned a songwriting credit for
"Beyond the Realms of Death",
and bassist
Ian Hill
received his first
songwriting credit
since their debut album,
co-writing
"Invader"
with vocalist
Rob Halford
and lead guitarist
Glenn Tipton.
Artist
Rosław Szaybo's
cover artwork
introduced the
now-classic
Judas Priest logo,
replacing the
Gothic Script logo
which appeared on
all of the band's
previous albums.
Stained Class
was the first
Judas Priest album
to crack the
Billboard 200 chart
and was eventually
certified gold in the US.
Dennis MacKay
was brought in by
CBS Records
to produce the album.
His resume at the time
consisted mainly of
jazz fusion artists
and more progressive
rock artists such as
David Bowie
and Supertramp.
The recording sessions for
Stained Class
took place in
October and November 1977
at Chipping Norton
Recording Studios in
Oxfordshire.
"Better by You Better than Me"
was a last-minute addition
to the album
when CBS Records
insisted on
including something
with commercial potential
to liven up an album
they felt had a very dark
and sinister tone.
The song was recorded
with producer
James Guthrie
separately from
the rest of the album,
as MacKay
had moved on to
other projects
and was
no longer available.
The band was reportedly
so impressed with
Guthrie's production on
"Better by You Better than Me"
that they asked him
to produce their
next album,
Killing Machine.
HMMM...Anything There ??
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