"Diamonds and Rust" video clip
JUDAS PRIEST
(TampaCalling.com)
When Joan Baez came through town to play Tampa Theatre on April 9, it got me thinking about Judas Priests' unlikely cover of her 1975 hit "Diamonds and Rust." This YouTube clip shows a recent concert footage of a sweaty, leather-clad Rob Halford giving a gloriously over-the-top reading of the pensive number Baez penned about her rocky relationship with Bob Dylan. Purists have balked at the British metal gods reworking the singer/songwriter's highly personal account of a failed romance that made headlines, but I like both renditions. Judas Priest takes the bitter lyric and creates a weirdly wonderful (and campy) power ballad. Posted April 7.
This article appears in Apr 16-22, 2008.