BUDGIE

I adore this band, there is just something about the music that grabs me and holds tight although I can't really decipher what it is - I just go with the flow without trying to analyse the music and what it is that makes me a full on band fan. The vocals, to me, are what a Budgie would sound like if it could sing rock music. Back in 1971 Budgie made up one of the five bands that were the core of what really made my music world start to swing - Budgie, Black Sabbath, Uriah Heep, Grand Funk Railroad and Deep Purple.

"Guts" - A hard rock riff throughout drives a solid track of early head-banging pleasure. Burke Shelley reminds me of a budgie on steroids with his voice.

"Everything in my Heart" - short, nice, soft acoustic interlude from the band.

"The Author" - Starts off softly almost in the vein of the previous track before rocking out a third of the way in. Very "Led Zeppelinish" in places.

"Nude Disintegrating Parachutist Woman" - Slow heavy rock to start before soaring into speedier hard rock pyrotechnic territory just before the halfway mark. I love the Shelley vocal harmonising with the lead guitar section. Very reminiscent of some later Deep Purple live jams. Tony Bourge on lead throughout this track blows my mind.

"Rape of the Locks" - A way of describing an unwanted haircut I suppose. Lead guitar noodling to start before morphing into hard blues rock. At this point in the album I can pick up just how influential Budgie was relating to the rock music scene - maybe almost invisibly influential but massively influential all the same.

"All Night Petrol" - Interesting hard rock number. Shelley on bass is very prominent throughout.

"You and I" - Ballad from the band, beautifully done. The acoustic guitar and the vocals shine on this one.

" Homicidal Suicidal" - The hardest rock edged track on the album.

I'm really torn as to how to rate this album - if it were for pure love purposes I would give it a solid 5 however there are stronger Budgie albums after this one and this is the first studio release from the band. As this is a prog music site I am disposed towards a 3 rating but that would also not really be fair as although these guys aren't progressive here as I understand progressive to be they were obviously extremely influential. Settling on a 4 rating is the answer I guess being a 3.5 rated up to 4 however prog purists be warned this is not necessarily an album for you - it is an album for anyone who loved the early 70's Black Sabbath, Led Zeppelin, Grand Funk, Uriah Heep, Deep Purple musical whirlwind.