The best album by a great Hard Rock band! And what about that COVER?!
I've loved BUDGIE since first discovering them in the new release/import section of my old vinyl record store back in those halcyon music days of the 70's. They never caught on big time in the States, but not for lack of talent and hard rocking songs and my own efforts of turning all my cohorts on to them. Ah well, there are many such stories: PARIS, PALADIN, FREEDOM, T-2,ARMAGEDDON, CAPTAIN BEYOND and on and on... Anyhow, these great records are being reissued, so there is no excuse not to catch them the second time around on these beautiful, remastered series, and "Bandolier", for the neophyte, is a glorious Budgie to start with. It's their most diverse and probably best overall (though some might argue for the excellent "Never Turn Your Back On A Friend"--Why quibble? "Bandolier" starts out with the prototypical Budgie Riffo-rama :"Breaking All The House Rules", and then changes dynamics and slips quietly(for a moment) into the Spanishy/ Acoustic "Slipaway". This was a common Budgie device, and all the better for it to show how diverse a three piece (dare I say it) "Power trio" they truly were. Mind you, most of the album-and BUDGIE in general- is hard rocking riffery by the truly underated axeman Tony Bourge; as if chanelling Tony Iommi through andre Segovia: Potent! From there, it's all a hard rock fest with occasional quiet and quite beautiful passages. Of course, it wouldn't be a BUDGIE album without the truly inspired writing and singing of the great Burke Shelley (not to mention bass playing at the same time ala Geddy Lee(who I swore I wouldn't mention in this review/fan jotting!) Seriously, there is not a miss step or bad song in the entire set. As with many of the great rock bands of the early/mid seventies:DEEP PURPLE,ZEPPELIN, TRAPEZE, STRETCH, et al, a little Funkification was creeping into the heretofor straight rock formula, but to my palate that was a good,tasty addition. I can't leave out the drummer: Steve Williams: not a basher(Bonzo), swinger(Ginger) or a wildman(Moonie), but simply a great, tasty time keeper like a harder edged Keef Hartley maybe (And as noted;a fantastic trapsman-perhaps he brought the funk? By all means, Start with "Bandolier", and you'll probably want them all. I do.
And I also want a "Bandolier" T-shirt for my Birthday!Read full review
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