So many people slate this album because of it's commerciality and the over use of guitar synths. And to a degree they may have a point. This was a real shock to the system when it first came out, particularly as it followed Defenders Of The Faith which up to that point was probably their heaviest album ever.
The problem was that so many British bands, including Saxon, Magnum, Whitesnake etc, were suffering from the Glam Metal effect and the wave after wave of poncy, similar sounding, hairspray wearing, nancy boy bands from across the pond (and Europe - the band, not the continent). In order to maintain album sales and touring schedules these bands had to diversify and so we ended up with albums like Turbo.
But you can't blame a band for wanting to stay in the game and the thing about Turbo is that it helped Priest to do that. Today they are still massive and doing arena tours and thankfully metal fans seem to have remembered their roots and are turning out in their thousands to see these living legends.
So why 3 stars for Turbo? Well, there's actually some pretty good stuff on there. Sure, some of the songs are crap and cheesy (Parental Guidance being the main offender) but there is still enough rocking here to enjoy in the shape of Out In The Cold, Rock You All Around The World, Locked In and Reckless. And Rob Halford proves yet again that he is the best metal singer the world has ever known.
If you're just curious about Judas Priest then this is not the best place to start but for die hard fans it's still a must.
Actually, the worst thing about this album is the truly awful photos of the band. Not one of their better images.