Marvellous and influential Welsh rockers Budgie have their major three albums form the MCA period released as a box set at a nice price. Budgie were as heavy (or heavier) that anyone especially over the period of these three classics – Never Turn Your Back on a Friend, In for the Kill and Bandolier. All three still atop my personal playlists after four decades and more.
A proper “power trio”, Budgie had monster, monster riffs thanks to Tony Bourge. You can have your Tony Iommi and the like – Bourge out-riffs them all in my opinion. The diminutive Burke Shelley was the Welsh equivalent of Geddy Lee. A similar look, a similar voice and a pumping, throbbing bass. Solid drumming added to the power.
Budgie didn’t achieve the same heights as Sabbath, Heep, Purple et al – and that’s a shame – but they certainly deserved to.
Yes, they rocked and hard. Though not all about those monster riffs. Bourge could solo away with the best of them. Shelley wrote songs with feelings and had a sensitive side which came out in the slower stuff. And those bizarre song titles such as In the Grip of a Tyre Fitter’s Hand and Crash Course In Brain Surgery amongst others adding to the intruige.
An influence on many who followed – not least the NWOBHM movement (check out Power Supply for New Wave of British Heavy Metal done Budgie style) and others such as Metallica.
Perhaps Breadfan (nothing to do with sliced loaves) is their best known song. Marvel at the power involved. Super!
Now Never Turn Your Back on a Friend, In for the Kill and Bandolier are reissued as The MCA Albums 1973 – 1975 Box Set. All have been re-mastered from original tapes (for the first time). More than an overnight success, these Budgie albums are now part of the folklore of rock and metal.
The booklet contains a new essay by Classic Rocks Malcolm Dome and contains photos and information from the era.
Whether you are discovering or rediscovering Budgie, this is the place to start. They don’t make them like this anymore. A band who had all the moves but none of the breaks.
Treat yourself. Give the pub a miss tonight. Bag the box set instead. It’ll give you far more pleasure than a couple of beers.
>> Budgie The MCA Albums 1973 – 1975 Box Set on Amazon Here <<
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