John Thomas

REVIEW: Budgie – The Definitive Anthology: An Ecstasy of Fumbling (1996)

BUDGIE – The Definitive Anthology: An Ecstasy of Fumbling (1996 Repertoire)

Dear young and old, far and wide:

This 2 CD compilation is an excellent starting point for digging into the monumental sound of Budgie, formerly Six Ton Budgie. (That’s a really heavy bird!) Helmed by the Geddy Lee lookalike Burke Shelley and his shifting cast of players, Budgie is a power trio and the prototype for the sound of bands as diverse as Rush, Black Sabbath, AC/DC, Metallica, and Iron Maiden. Formed in ’67, Budgie predate them all.

Want some proto-Sabbath sludge? It’s here. AC/DC-type fast riff rockers with simple beats? Also here. Songs driven by catchy, eloquent basslines? Look no further. Metallic gallops? These guys were doing it while Steve Harris was still struggling away in Gypsy’s Kiss! Everything good that happened with heavy metal had already been done by Budgie before those sounds hit the mainstream. All with a singer who could have been Geddy Lee’s long lost brother (and look at those glasses too)!

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This album includes some of the best tracks from their albums 1971-1982. It also includes B-sides, single versions, and EP tracks. Burke Shelley stopped gigging with Budgie in the late 80’s but returned with some serious thunder and a 2006 comeback album. This stuff, however, is some of the creme de la creme of the initial phase of Budgie.

Highlights for me included:

  • “Homicidal Suicidal” – a 6 minute exercise in bass-driven groove.
  • “Whiskey River” – a shorty; killer bassline, catchy as hell.
  • “In The Grip Of A Tyrefitter’s Hand” – another one with a catchy as hell bassline.
  • “Breadfan” – you already know Metallica’s version of this proto-thrash number.
  • “Beautiful Lies” – rare, synth-driven ballad.  Previously unreleased.
  • “Forearm Smash” – fast heavy AC/DC style rocker.
  • “Wildfire” – very much like Maiden’s “2 Minutes To Midnight” riff.
  • “Time To Remember” – Spacey, echoey, epic.
  • “I Turn To Stone” – the gallop at the end is pure Iron Maiden with some Blackmore type soloing.
  • “Superstar” – great fast rocker.
  • “She Used Me Up” – another one that AC/DC fans will love.
  • “Panzer Division Destroyed” – pure proto-thrash brilliance.

 

That list is very incomplete, because I think every one of these 29 songs are really good.  Some go beyond that into “great” territory, and others one step further to “fucking awesome.”

Photo0317Truly, Budgie were way ahead of their time. Chances are the kids on your street have never heard any of these songs, except when covered by Metallica and Iron Maiden. Now it’s time to prove to them who knows their rock music. Pick this, or any Budgie album, up today.  If you go with this one, you’ll also get a gigantic booklet with ample liner notes about the band and every single track.  I consider it a great stroke of luck, the day that one of my customers sold this one to me.  (His name was Dan and he’s the same guy who sold me tons of great stuff before.)  I was aware of Budgie because of Maiden and Metallica, but mostly because Martin Popoff raved about them in his first book, Riff Kills Man!  I had to have it.  I’m glad I bought it.

If I Were Britannia I’d Waive The Rules, but I would also make sure that everybody knew who Budgie was!

5/5 stars

REVIEW: Budgie – Nightflight (1981)

BUDGIE – Nightflight (1981 Active Records)

I love this album. Nightflight sounds like the kind of music I was exposed to, when I was growing in Kitchener, Ontario in the early 80’s. I was surrounded by new and exciting music, thanks to stations like MuchMusic, and friends who would let me tape their records. If I had been aware of Budgie in the 80’s, I absolutely would have been a fan.

In their early days, similarly to Thin Lizzy, Budgie started out with a prototypical sound and eventually evolved into a more metallic beast. Nightflight is Budgie’s Thunder and Lightning, perhaps. It has that vibe, and it’s awesome. Of the records I own, this is my favourite Budgie album. Burke’s voice is as nasal as ever, in the best possible way.  The band has metamorphosed into something more mainstream metal, which still sounding like classic Budgie.  That anchoring bass, the unstoppable grooves, and the simple and smoking solos: it’s still there.

The opening track “I Turned To Stone” is a major highlight. It takes balls to open an album with a song this soft, but eventually the ballad-like tune transforms into an Iron Maiden-gallup with this killer off-kilter guitar solo.  “Keeping a Rendezvous” is more accessible; Budgie plundering hard rock with equal success.  The organ-infested “Reaper of the Glory” is a brief step back in quality.  It lacks the memorable melodies of the first two songs.

“She Used Me Up” kicks ass with a steady AC/DC beat and a choppy Priest-ly riff (circa Point of Entry).  “Don’t Lay Down and Die” continues this overall direction.  You can hear the organ once again, and the guitar solo is catchy as hell.  It is very much in an 80’s metal mold.

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My favourite track is “Apparatus”.  The lyrics are pretty strange, but this ballad is irresistible.  Burke’s earnest lead vocal is high pitched nasal perfection.  But if you didn’t like “Apparatus”, that’s OK because “Superstar” is likely to blow you away.  Budgie again stray into AC/DC territory.  This song anticipates Blow Up Your Video by several years.  Steve Williams keeps it simple on the drums and that’s what makes it cool.

The mid-tempo and melodic “Change Your Ways” is just as likable.  You’ll dig the gang-of-Burke lead vocal technique on the verses.  You have to admire a singer who has his own voice, and doesn’t resemble anyone else.  It’s easy to compare Burke to Geddy Lee, but that’s really not doing it justice.  Both singers have their own techniques.  Burke is more soulful.

“Untitled Lullaby” is pretty much what it sounds like it would be.  It’s one of Burke’s acoustic ditties, only 1:16 so really it’s just a coda.  It’s lovely and it ends the album on an upbeat note.  Nightflight is a short but enjoyable ride.

Upon review, I found seven of Nightflight‘s nine tracks to be indispensable to me.  Based on that math and rounding up:

4/5 stars