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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My second review just had to be about my second favorite band of all time - AC/DC.
When I was about 14 years old my dad brought me a copy of "Back in Black" and since that day my life changed drastically: I chose rock 'n' roll as my new religion and AC/DC guided me throughout the years with each album being near perfection of their musicianship.
Their 15th studio effort entitled "Black Ice" came out on October 20th 2008 and I remember how anticipated I was, waiting for their glorious comeback after 8 years of silence since the last album. It peaked at number one in 29 countries, spawned 4 singles and sold over 8 million copies worldwide (2 in the US alone); despite that the album was met with criticism anyhow, mostly because of its length (55 minutes 20 seconds), Allmusic.com rated it only 3.0/5, Rolling Stone - 3.5/5 and what am I thinking about it after all these years?
It's still brilliant.
Sure it does have some weak spots and filler tracks such "Smash 'n' grab", "Wheels" and "Rocking all the way" but the rest of the album sounds exactly what you've grown to love about AC/DC: "Rock 'n' Roll train" kicks off the album perfectly and closes on one of the best songs in many years, album's title track, which contains the most badass riff and solo work by Angus Young. In my opinion, the highlight of the album is Brian Johnson's vocals which improved greatly since two preceding albums - here he sounds fresh and revitalized. Album's rhythm section, in the faces of Phil Rudd's drum machine like but powerful playing, Cliff Williams' minimalistic but creative and at times funky bass lines, and Malcolm Young's fantastic riffs (which sadly turned out to be his last work with the group) is outstanding through and through. When it comes to Angus though, AC/DC's music doesn't revolve around his playing anymore in contrast to their early efforts - now it's all about grooves and rhythms and all of the songs are built around them; guitar solos are still present but they don't stick out as much as they used to and Angus' lead work is merely another crafty tool in the mighty rock 'n' roll machine called AC/DC.
So, my rating for "Black Ice" would be 4.0/5
When I was about 14 years old my dad brought me a copy of "Back in Black" and since that day my life changed drastically: I chose rock 'n' roll as my new religion and AC/DC guided me throughout the years with each album being near perfection of their musicianship.
Their 15th studio effort entitled "Black Ice" came out on October 20th 2008 and I remember how anticipated I was, waiting for their glorious comeback after 8 years of silence since the last album. It peaked at number one in 29 countries, spawned 4 singles and sold over 8 million copies worldwide (2 in the US alone); despite that the album was met with criticism anyhow, mostly because of its length (55 minutes 20 seconds), Allmusic.com rated it only 3.0/5, Rolling Stone - 3.5/5 and what am I thinking about it after all these years?
It's still brilliant.
Sure it does have some weak spots and filler tracks such "Smash 'n' grab", "Wheels" and "Rocking all the way" but the rest of the album sounds exactly what you've grown to love about AC/DC: "Rock 'n' Roll train" kicks off the album perfectly and closes on one of the best songs in many years, album's title track, which contains the most badass riff and solo work by Angus Young. In my opinion, the highlight of the album is Brian Johnson's vocals which improved greatly since two preceding albums - here he sounds fresh and revitalized. Album's rhythm section, in the faces of Phil Rudd's drum machine like but powerful playing, Cliff Williams' minimalistic but creative and at times funky bass lines, and Malcolm Young's fantastic riffs (which sadly turned out to be his last work with the group) is outstanding through and through. When it comes to Angus though, AC/DC's music doesn't revolve around his playing anymore in contrast to their early efforts - now it's all about grooves and rhythms and all of the songs are built around them; guitar solos are still present but they don't stick out as much as they used to and Angus' lead work is merely another crafty tool in the mighty rock 'n' roll machine called AC/DC.
So, my rating for "Black Ice" would be 4.0/5
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This Boston based legendary band had its debut album come out on March 14, 1989. It spawned 4 singles and sold around 300,000 copies thanks to the international success of its single "Play with me" which was featured in super popular "Bill & Ted's excellent adventure" as well as their much greater success with the follow-up album "Pornograffiti". The album itself was met with criticism: both Allmusic.com and Rolling Stone rated it 3.0/5. So, does the record still holds up after 30+ years?
My answer is yes and here's why...
From the country-flavored opener "Little girls" to the Mozart-influenced hard-rocking feast "Play with me" the record contains raw but bridled energy with the strongest emphasis on Nuno Bettencourt's guitar genius that is without a doubt the main highlight of the album and is a trademark of Extreme's own style of music, along with Gary Cherone's soulful vocals whom the whole band backs up perfectly, Pat Badger's funky bass (although almost inconspicuous throughout this record but is so much more than just a rhythm section instrument) and Paul Geary's powerful drumming. The weakest part of the record is its lyrical content and its unrelated topic variety, from standard glam metal kid anthems about sex and parties to more serious songs dealing with religion and death. Reviewing the record as a whole I can say with assurance that it's a solid debut and a fun album with tons of headbanging moments and singalongs that just gets better with every other listen.
I give Extreme's debut album 4.0/5
My answer is yes and here's why...
From the country-flavored opener "Little girls" to the Mozart-influenced hard-rocking feast "Play with me" the record contains raw but bridled energy with the strongest emphasis on Nuno Bettencourt's guitar genius that is without a doubt the main highlight of the album and is a trademark of Extreme's own style of music, along with Gary Cherone's soulful vocals whom the whole band backs up perfectly, Pat Badger's funky bass (although almost inconspicuous throughout this record but is so much more than just a rhythm section instrument) and Paul Geary's powerful drumming. The weakest part of the record is its lyrical content and its unrelated topic variety, from standard glam metal kid anthems about sex and parties to more serious songs dealing with religion and death. Reviewing the record as a whole I can say with assurance that it's a solid debut and a fun album with tons of headbanging moments and singalongs that just gets better with every other listen.
I give Extreme's debut album 4.0/5
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