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Ram It Down

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"I'm A Rocker" redirects here. For the 1980 Bruce Springsteen song, seeThe River (Bruce Springsteen album).For the 1973 song, seeSide 3 (Raspberries album).

Ram It Down
Cover art byMark Wilkinson
Studio albumby
Judas Priest
Released13 May 1988(1988-05-13)[1]
RecordedDecember 1987 – March 1988
Studio
  • Ibiza Sound Studio,Ibiza
  • Puk Recording Studios, Gjerlev
GenreHeavy metal[2]
Length49:33
LabelColumbia
Producer
Judas Priestchronology
Priest...Live!
(1987) 		Ram It Down
(1988) 		Painkiller
(1990)
SinglesfromRam It Down
  1. "Johnny B. Goode"
    Released: April 1988[3]
  2. "Ram It Down"
    Released: 1988 (NL)[4]
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[5]
PopMatters(poor)[6]
Martin Popoff[7]
Sputnikmusic

Ram It Downis the eleventh studio album by Englishheavy metalbandJudas Priest,released on 13 May 1988 byColumbia Records.It was the band's last album to feature longtime drummerDave Holland,and was promoted in Europe and North America with theMercenaries of Metal Tour.

On 18 July 1988, the album earnedgold certificationfor shipments of over 500,000 copies.[1]In 2001, it wasremasteredand reissued with two bonus tracks.

Background

[edit]

In 1986, Judas Priest intended to release a double album entitledTwin Turbos,of which half would consist of melodic, more commercialhard rock,and the other half would be heavier and less synth-driven.Columbia Recordsobjected to the double album concept, and the project was ultimately split into two separate releases, 1986'sTurbo,and 1988'sRam It Down.At least four songs, "Ram it Down", "Hard as Iron", "Love You to Death" and "Monsters of Rock", were written for theTwin Turbosproject.

Ram It Downwould be the final Judas Priest album for 30 years recorded with producerTom Allom.Allom would later return as co-producer to the 2009 live releaseA Touch of Evil: Live.He would not produce another Judas Priest studio album until 2018'sFirepower.

The band recorded a rendition ofChuck Berry's "Johnny B. Goode",intended for inclusion on thesoundtrackfor the 1988Anthony Michael Hallcomedy filmJohnny Be Good;the song found its way ontoRam It Downand was the album's first single. Although the song is credited as written by Berry and arranged by the band, only the lyrics remain from Berry's version, the music being entirely new. It was played during the first few concerts of the band's 1988 tour, along with the title track and three other songs from the album, namely "Heavy Metal", "Come And Get It" and "I'm a Rocker".[8]The onlyRam It Downsongs to have ever been played on later tours are "I'm a Rocker", during the 2005 Retribution Tour; and "Blood Red Skies" during the 2011-2012Epitaph World Tour[9]and the 2021-2022 50 Heavy Metal Years Tour.

Originally, the song "Thunder Road" was to be put on the album; however, after the album producers were asked to do the cover of "Johnny B. Goode", "Thunder Road" was replaced. Some of the parts from the song made it into the cover of "Johnny B. Goode". "Thunder Road" was released as a bonus track on the 2001 remaster ofPoint of Entry.

Reception

[edit]

Although Judas Priest's fanbase was big enough to push the album to gold status in North America,[10]critical reaction was fairly negative. Several retrospective reviews have considered the album's songs and performances stale and routine.Allmusic's Steve Huey argued that, despite the band's conscious attempt at "delivering a straight-ahead, much more typical Priest album" compared toTurbo,the album "generally sounds like it's on autopilot" and lacking in personality, with "pretty lackluster" songwriting and "too-polished, mechanical-sounding production", ultimately deeming it the lowest point of Halford's tenure in the band.[11]Adrien Begrand ofPopMattersremarked that the Judas Priest ofRam It Downwas a "sorry self-parody" that had lost touch with the heavy metal scene, and described the album's material as composed of "Spinal Tapclichés ".[12]

Halford's take on the rest of the album is that it was "a very heavy record", withGlenn TiptonandK. K. Downing"really rip[ping] it up on a lot of those riffs". Halford said the band recorded a cover ofthe Rolling Stones' "Play with Fire";he said it was" a shame "that the song did not make the album.[13]

Track listing

[edit]

All tracks are written byGlenn Tipton,Rob HalfordandK. K. Downing,except where noted

Side one
No.TitleLength
1."Ram It Down"4:48
2."Heavy Metal"5:58
3."Love Zone"3:58
4."Come and Get It"4:07
5."Hard as Iron"4:09
Side two
No.TitleLength
6."Blood Red Skies"7:50
7."I'm a Rocker"3:58
8."Johnny B. Goode"(Chuck Berry)4:39
9."Love You to Death"4:36
10."Monsters of Rock"5:30
Total length:49:33
2001 CD edition bonus tracks
No.TitleLength
11."Night Comes Down" (Live atLong Beach Arena,Long Beach, California,5 May 1984)4:33
12."Bloodstone" (Live atMid-South Coliseum,Memphis, Tennessee,12 December 1982)4:05
Total length:58:11
Outtakes
No.TitleLength
1."Thunder Road" (Bonus track onPoint of Entry)5:12
2."Fire Burns Below" (Bonus track onStained Class)6:58
3."My Design" (Remains unreleased)
Total length:70:21

Personnel

[edit]
Judas Priest
Production
  • Produced byTom Allom
  • "Johnny B. Goode" co-produced by Glenn Tipton, Rob Halford, and K. K. Downing
  • Engineeredby Henrik Nilsson
  • Additional recording by Bill Dooley
  • Equipment supervision by Tom Calcaterra
  • Artwork byMark Wilkinson

Charts

[edit]
Chart (1988) Peak
position
Australian Albums (ARIA)[15] 43
Austrian Albums (Ö3 Austria)[16] 14
Canada Top Albums/CDs (RPM)[17] 30
Dutch Albums (Album Top 100)[18] 25
Finnish Albums (The Official Finnish Charts)[19] 3
German Albums (Offizielle Top 100)[20] 9
Japanese Albums (Oricon)[21] 34
Norwegian Albums (VG-lista)[22] 5
Swedish Albums (Sverigetopplistan)[23] 5
Swiss Albums (Schweizer Hitparade)[24] 8
UK Albums(OCC)[25] 24
USBillboard200[26] 31

Certifications

[edit]
Region Certification Certified units/sales
Canada (Music Canada)[27] Gold 50,000^
United States (RIAA)[28] Gold 500,000^

^Shipments figures based on certification alone.

Other information

[edit]
  • An unknown song was recorded for inclusion on the album but the tape was lost during a chaotic period which resulted fromHalford's decision to leave the band following the group's next album,Painkiller,andTim "Ripper" Owens' hiring as his replacement.[citation needed]For this reasonRam It Downis the only remastered Judas Priest disc with no added bonus studio tracks, just two added live tracks.
  • The song "Blood Red Skies" was released as a promo only single with a 4:51 radio edit, the album version and a 10:33 extended remix.[29]
  • Although drummerDave Hollandis credited on the album, the band used a drum machine on a majority of the songs.[14]
  • The band recorded three tracks with pop producersStock-Aitken-Waterman– two originals "Runaround"[30]and "I Will Return"[31]and a cover ofThe Stylistics' hit "You Are Everything.[32]However, they were ultimately not included on this album due to a management decision. Pete Waterman calls them "probably the best tracks we ever did" and admits that "I occasionally dig the record out and play it to people, and they're amazed that we made heavy metal."[33]Around this time,Glenn Tiptonalso recorded guitar solos for songs by another Stock-Aitken-Waterman produced artist,Samantha Fox,and was officially credited on the track "Spirit of America".

References

[edit]
  1. ^ab"RIAA certifications".Recording Industry Association of America.
  2. ^Daniels, Neil (2007).The story of Judas Priest: Defenders of the Faith.Omnibus Press. pp. 193–4.ISBN9780857122391.
  3. ^"Judas Priest singles".
  4. ^"Judas Priest singles".
  5. ^Huey, Steve."Judas Priest - Ram It Down review".AllMusic.All Media Network.Archivedfrom the original on 11 May 2015.Retrieved22 June2015.
  6. ^Begrand, Adrien (11 July 2002)."Judas Priest: Ram It Down / Painkiller".PopMatters.Archivedfrom the original on 24 September 2015.Retrieved24 June2015.
  7. ^Popoff, Martin(1 November 2005).The Collector's Guide to Heavy Metal: Volume 2: The Eighties.Burlington, Ontario,Canada:Collector's Guide Publishing.ISBN978-1-894959-31-5.
  8. ^"Judas Priest Albums total".setlist.fm.
  9. ^""Blood Red Skies" performed by Judas Priest ".setlist.fm.
  10. ^"RIAA Searchable Database: search for Judas Priest".Recording Industry Association of America.Archivedfrom the original on 31 March 2013.Retrieved22 June2015.
  11. ^Huey, Steve."Judas Priest - Ram It Down review".AllMusic.All Media Network.Archivedfrom the original on 11 May 2015.Retrieved22 June2015.
  12. ^Begrand, Adrien (11 July 2002)."Judas Priest: Ram It Down / Painkiller".PopMatters.Archivedfrom the original on 24 September 2015.Retrieved24 June2015.
  13. ^Sharpe-Young, Garry (2007).Metal: The Definitive Guide: Heavy, NWOBHM, Progressive, Thrash, Death, Black, Gothic, Doom, Nu.Jawbone Press. p. 36.ISBN9781906002015.
  14. ^abDowning, K.K. (20 September 2018).HEAVY DUTY: days and nights in judas priest.CONSTABLE.ISBN978-1-47212-867-6.
  15. ^"Australiancharts – Judas Priest – Ram It Down".Hung Medien. Retrieved October 5, 2023.
  16. ^"Austriancharts.at – Judas Priest – Ram It Down"(in German). Hung Medien. Retrieved October 5, 2023.
  17. ^"Top RPM Albums: Issue 8565".RPM.Library and Archives Canada.Retrieved October 5, 2023.
  18. ^"Dutchcharts.nl – Judas Priest – Ram It Down"(in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved October 5, 2023.
  19. ^Pennanen, Timo (2006).Sisältää hitin – levyt ja esittäjät Suomen musiikkilistoilla vuodesta 1972(in Finnish) (1st ed.). Helsinki: Kustannusosakeyhtiö Otava.ISBN978-951-1-21053-5.
  20. ^"Offiziellecharts.de – Judas Priest – Ram It Down"(in German).GfK Entertainment Charts.Retrieved October 5, 2023.
  21. ^Oricon Album Chart Book: Complete Edition 1970–2005(in Japanese). Roppongi, Tokyo:Oricon Entertainment.2006.ISBN4-87131-077-9.
  22. ^"Norwegiancharts – Judas Priest – Ram It Down".Hung Medien. Retrieved October 5, 2023.
  23. ^"Swedishcharts – Judas Priest – Ram It Down".Hung Medien. Retrieved October 5, 2023.
  24. ^"Swisscharts – Judas Priest – Ram It Down".Hung Medien. Retrieved October 5, 2023.
  25. ^"Official Albums Chart Top 100".Official Charts Company.Retrieved October 5, 2023.
  26. ^"Judas Priest Chart History (Billboard200) ".Billboard.Retrieved October 5, 2023.
  27. ^"Canadian album certifications – Judas Priest – Ram It Down".Music Canada.Retrieved27 December2020.
  28. ^"American album certifications – Judas Priest – Ram It Down".Recording Industry Association of America.Retrieved27 December2020.
  29. ^"Rare! Judas Priest MCD BLOOD RED SKIES 3 Versions!!!".Worthpoint.Archivedfrom the original on 19 May 2014.Retrieved18 May2014.
  30. ^"{title}".Archived fromthe originalon 26 November 2015.Retrieved13 May2015.
  31. ^"{title}".Archived fromthe originalon 26 November 2015.Retrieved13 May2015.
  32. ^"http:// blabbermouth.net/news/judas-priest-audio-snippet-of-never-released-collaboration-with-pop-production-team-stock-aitken-and-waterman/#Br5sq7mwuIDbfgZh.99Archived1 May 2016 at theWayback Machine
  33. ^[1]Archived18 August 2012 at theWayback Machine
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