BUDGIE

Budgie's debut is a fun album from a fun band which makes for a generally fun listen. I think they have the honour of being the first hard-rock group ever that was influenced by Black Sabbath. 3000 others would follow.

The album is somewhat inconsistent and drags on a bit, but it has a number of competent heavy blues tracks that fans of Zeppelin and Black Sabbath shouldn't miss. Due to the high-pitched Plant squeal of Burke Shelley, the band also sounds like the later debut from Rush. The album starts strongly with Guts, a mix of Page guitars and Plant vocals with Butler bass and Ward drums. Originality wasn't the idea I guess. The delicate 50 seconds of Everything In My Heart has more personality then the tracks around it. More adequate Zep and Sab jamming follows on The Author, Nude Disintegrating etc... and Homicidal Suicidal.

This band hasn't all that much on offer and next to nothing proggy, but they might appeal to prog fans to whom the idea of a Black Zeppelin sounds alluring. In fact, I would nominate Budgie for being the first grunge band ever.