James Justice's Album Reviews
Probably the most underrated and unfairly overlooked rock band in the history, Budgie were one of the pioneers of both hard rock and heavy metal. By their fifth album that came out in September of 1975 they already were a well-known act in the UK and had developed their own style of music - a fun mix between hard rock, progressive rock, heavy metal, funk and good old rock 'n' roll and delivered one of the most cohesive albums of their career. Allmusic.com rated it a 4.0/5 and, considering how unpopular the band still is among music critics and simple listeners I couldn't find any more ratings of this album.
So, what do I think about it?
Bandolier is a collection of 6 tracks and just under 34 minutes of runtime make it their shortest effort but truly an amazing one. It showcases all there is to love about good music. Budgie is a band with perfect musicianship between Burke Shelley with his soaring vocals, at times also with high-pitched screams and his pulsating, funky bass lines, Tony Bourge with his guitar wizardry and Steve Williams' simplistic but well-crafted drum rhythms and patterns. Having obscure lyrics and many tempo and rhythm changes within a song may seem repulsive for some listeners but not for me - from a hard-rocking opener "Breaking all the house rules" to a tender acoustic ballad "Slip away", to a funky stomp "Who do you want for your love" that might as well be a precursor of New Wave genre of music, to another great rocker "I can't see my feelings", to A.F. Low's cover of "I ain't no mountain" that Budgie turned into their own sound quite successfully, to an album's closing track, which was the first I ever heard from them and it actually hooked me up on the band, the closest to heavy metal "Napoleon Bona" with roaring guitar solos (and even the Beatles-esque bonus track "Honey") Budgie leaves you with no other desire than to flip the record once again and dive in head first into Bandolier's tracks and keep rocking on.
I give Budgie's 5th album a 4.5/5
So, what do I think about it?
Bandolier is a collection of 6 tracks and just under 34 minutes of runtime make it their shortest effort but truly an amazing one. It showcases all there is to love about good music. Budgie is a band with perfect musicianship between Burke Shelley with his soaring vocals, at times also with high-pitched screams and his pulsating, funky bass lines, Tony Bourge with his guitar wizardry and Steve Williams' simplistic but well-crafted drum rhythms and patterns. Having obscure lyrics and many tempo and rhythm changes within a song may seem repulsive for some listeners but not for me - from a hard-rocking opener "Breaking all the house rules" to a tender acoustic ballad "Slip away", to a funky stomp "Who do you want for your love" that might as well be a precursor of New Wave genre of music, to another great rocker "I can't see my feelings", to A.F. Low's cover of "I ain't no mountain" that Budgie turned into their own sound quite successfully, to an album's closing track, which was the first I ever heard from them and it actually hooked me up on the band, the closest to heavy metal "Napoleon Bona" with roaring guitar solos (and even the Beatles-esque bonus track "Honey") Budgie leaves you with no other desire than to flip the record once again and dive in head first into Bandolier's tracks and keep rocking on.
I give Budgie's 5th album a 4.5/5
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