BUDGIE

Ever sought a nude disintegrating parachutist woman? Look no further!

While Welsh heavy rock band Budgie were formed in 1967 (under the name Hills Contemporary Grass), it took until 1971 for the band to release their first album. The line up indicates that the trio add mellotron to their basic guitar/bass/drums set up, but do not be fooled by this; this is an album of guitar driven rock. Produced by Rodger Bain there is a distinct relationship with the sound with Black Sabbath, who he also produced. Other bands who have clearly influenced or been influenced by Budgie are the likes of Led Zeppelin and Rush. In the case of the latter, the vocals of Burke Shelley bear a passing resemblance with those of Geddy Lee.

"Budgie" was recorded on 8 track tape in only four days, and while some overdubbing was subsequently added, this is essentially a live in the studio affair. The sleeve notes advise us that the band are "not particularly subtle", and that "They're not progressive (whatever you understand that to mean)", but the track arrangements can belie such statements.

The album is essentially a succession of blues rock numbers with the occasional softer counterpoint. The opening "Guts" is a heavy riff infested song which sets the scene well for both this and future albums. We are though caught off guard by the delicate acoustic "Everything in my heart" which follows, even if it does run for just a minute. The mood appears to continue on "The author", but the initial reflective nature of the track is soon replaced by a more orthodox heavy rock number.

It is though "Nude disintegrating parachutist woman" (what a wonderful title, it does actually feature in the lyrics!) which offers the first taste of the real Budgie. This superb 8½ minute romp takes us through an altogether more adventurous arrangement. The lead guitar here is the highlight of the track, but the driving nature of the song combined with a genuine raw excitement, make for a compelling piece of early metal.

"Rape of the locks" is the first of three 6 minute pieces which make up side 2, the song featuring another interesting arrangement of what is essentially a basic blues rock number. "All night petrol" slows things down slightly, sounding a bit like Led Zeppelin's "Lemon song" at times. The track features another fine lead guitar break, this time with some upfront complementary bass.

"You and I" is another brief acoustic number which sounds distinctly like a John Lennon demo. The album closes with "Homicidal suicidal", another Sabbs like riff infested blues rock piece.

Budgie's relationship with prog comes not from their raw guitar based sound, but from the relative complexity of the arrangements of songs such as "Nude disintegrating parachutist woman". This, combined with their willingness to occasionally reveal their softer side, offers an appealing diversity to what would otherwise be a straightforward guitar rock album. No one for the prog purists by any means, but those interested in discovering the roots of prog metal and those looking for some good old fashioned lead guitar magic should find much to enjoy here. Great sleeve too!

1971....twas a good year..and it was too for the Welsh trio called Budgie, fronted by Burke Shelley on vocals and bass, Tony Bourge ala guitar and in this beginning period Ray Phillips doing the drums and percussion. The albums kicks off with the rockin plodder ' Guts'. It sets the tone for the trademark Budgie sound that followed for many years. ' Everything in My heart' is a short ballady interlude which they practiced in similar ways on follow up work. ' The Author ' is next and starts off as a slow bluesy song nicely tempered by Shelley's great voice and builds with some great straight forward rock like guitar riffs. If you have never heard Budgie but like early Rush then do yourself a favour and try this band out. They won't disappoint and consistently provided some great music over the next decade or so not least on this solid debut.

' Nude Disintegrating Parachutist Woman' is an eight minute guitar rock fest not disimilar to some Wishbone Ash material. Bourge highlighting his talents on the guitar. My personal favourite is ' Rape the Locks' which swerves all over the show with some great riffs and drumming from Phillips. ' You And I' is another short track setting a nice moody balance between the more energetic themes with tranquility. ' Homicidal Suicidal' closes the set with some great Shelley wails amidst blues and rock backdrops. Important note: Rodger Bain of Black Sabbath fame produces this album. A good start on the rock scene for Budgie, not necessarily high in progressive 'points' but a solid album to enjoy or even explore if you need an introduction to this interesting band from Wales,UK.

The debut album of Welsh heavy trio smashed the ears of the early 1970's listeners pretty hard, I understood they had the most strongest sound of that time along with Black Sabbath. I have understood that these groups were considered as pioneers of the stoner rock sound: heavy repetitive metal riffs with pulsing groovy rhythm and long tracks with simple structure. Budgie's personal sound is built from Tony Bourge's acoustic electric guitar, which has very unclear and fuzzy sound. He plays very hard riffs and also great blues rock solos. Burke Shelley's bass guitar and wild and heavy drumming of Ray Phillips dominate the sound with volume, and though I like the sound texture I would wish the guitar being slightly more in front. When I learned myself to play bass guitar, I listened and learned over to these early Budige vinyls, as their melodic lines are pleasant but simple, and very audible on the instruments I tried to meditate. The vocals of the bass player are really funny, sounding like a woman or a young child. I think there is a similar contrast like in the band's name, Budgie representing a group which was very heavy rock in its time.

The song titles "Nude Disintegrating Parachutist Woman" represent the lyrical line: Jokes and quite poor though possibly sincere everyman's poetry. From the songs, the most best of them is in my opinion "The Author", combining a moody quiet acoustic beginning, which evolves in a pretty way to very aggressive stoner jamming. The starter "Guts" is also ok, building up from a simple chromatic riff. "Rape of The Locks" and "All Night Petrol" have some slightly irritating parts in them, but there are some interesting musical parts in them. The parachutists song is bit too long so it starts to sound boring after several plays, and the few ca. minute lasting folk tunes sound more like unfinished song ideas. The final song "Homicidal Suicidal" is then one of the best songs here, having very aggressive parts, double bass drums and fuzzy sound.

If you like other 1970's vintage heavy rock bands like Black Sabbath and Led Zeppelin, but have not heard yet Budgie, I would recommend their four or five first albums warmly. A taste for personal sounds and tolerance for extreme vocals are required.

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.

Budgie's debut album, with its high-pitched singing, fast playing, and one obligatory acoustic love song (You and I) might be confused for a standard early 70s hard rock release... except for the guitars. The sludgy, fuzz-drenched guitar line on opening song Guts makes it clear that here is a band that has been paying attention to Black Sabbath.

Whilst they're not as heavy as Sabbath was, it ought to be remembered that in 1971 *nobody* was as heavy as Sabbath was - and these boys come very, very close indeed. Generally playing at a fast tempo which would influence both the early New Wave of British Heavy Metal bands and Metallica, the group is also capable of slowing it down a bit to an almost doomy pace at points, as well as producing long, complex pieces such as Nude Disintegrating Parachute Woman and Homicidal Suicidal. Fans of early metal, stoner metal, and progressive metal will all find plenty to enjoy in this one.

If you're serious about diving into the origins of heavy metal you will no doubt tackle the usual suspects such as Black Sabbath, Led Zeppelin and Deep Purple, but in the early gestation years of the late 60s and the fully formed heavy rock bands that provided the antecedents of the greater metal universe, there were quite a few contenders that didn't quite attract the same level of success as the big three. The Cardiff, Wales based BUDGIE was one of the earliest such bands that was a seminal influence on the NWOBM scene that would emerge at the tail end if the 70s. While formed in 1967 under the less-than-metal moniker Hills Contemporary Grass, they changed their name to Six Ton Budgie before finally truncating it to the more known BUDGIE which is an informal term for 'budgerigar,' an Australian parakeet which would become their mascot. This power trio of Tony Bourge (guitar), Tony Shelley (bass, vocals, mellotron) and Ray Phillips (drums, percussion) chose this name as a diametrically opposing term in relation to their bombastic bluesy rock bravado.

While Black Sabbath was in 1971 the heaviest band in existence, BUDGIE wasn't too far behind. Their eponymous debut released the same year as 'Master Of Reality,' followed the trends of the more successful bands and could be generalized as heavy rock straddling in between the heavy Sabbath riffing with Led Zeppelin inspired compositional constructs as well as Shelley's Robert Plant inspired vocal style. The Sabbath inspired parts come to the forefront with the opener 'Guts' which is a little too close to Sabbath's own 'Hand Of Doom' which sounds like a good case for plagiarism to my ears but the album quickly drifts off into their own unique middle ground between the great Sabbath and Led Zep. Many have cited as BUDGIE being the first version of the Canadian band Rush since they are a power trio and deliver a tight and compelling band sound out of only three musicians. On this debut they do indeed have that heavy rock gusto that Rush would unleash on their first two pre-progressive albums. Likewise BUDGIE, while rooted in ballsy blues rock with a more bombastic approach, did engage in progressively tinged compositional constructs.

While BUDGIE may have borrowed a lot from Sabbath and Led Zep, they have also been the influencers as well with tracks like the whimsically titled 'Nude Disintegrating Parachutist Woman' a clear antecedent into Golden Earring's hit 'Radar Love' which also displays Shelley's unique bass slapping style with a little funk technique and heavy rock groove with Phillips pounding out the supporting percussive drive accompanied by Bourge's guitar antics. Very heavy stuff for 1971 indeed and progressive as it clocked in at 8:41 and meandered through a series of clever musical moves not common in the bluesy rock world of the day. 'Rape Of The Locks' allows Bourge to show off some of his guitar tricks with a series of flashy solos before erupting into a boogie rock style that would become the staple of bands such as ZZ Top in the coming years. Tracks like 'All Night Petrol' find Shelley doing his best Robert Plant vocal exercises but alongside a Sabbath inspired doom laden riff in a mid-tempo groove. 'You And I' shows a mellower side with a short acoustic ballad.

BUDGIE created a very interesting sound for sure and although they didn't quite have the over-the-top performance charisma that Black Sabbath and Led Zeppelin delivered to the world, they provided a unique glimpse in between the musical sounds where those two bands existed. While parts of BUDGIE's debut are clearly inspired by certain tracks from their influences, somehow they polish it out with their own unique stamp. The blues oriented hard rock riffing is more akin to 60s bands like Cream with Sabbath overtones (due partly to Sabbath's producer Rodger Bain in the picture), but they crafted their compositions completely differently with more complex constructs that meandered into more unexpected territory. In other words less calculated and more free. While destined to be more of a footnote of history for providing the blueprints of heavy metal riffing that would be fully realized by bands like Metallica in the next decade, BUDGIE are well worth checking out in their own right. The synthesis of heavy rock with progressive touches makes this more than a historical artifact.