AtomicCrimsonRush Budgie first came to my ears with their big Box set, the definitive anthology, 'An Ecstasy Of Fumbling', featuring a massive 29 tracks taken from albums during 1971-1982. This lead me to chack out some other Budgie albums and the first on my list was one that was recommended to me by Budgie fans, 'Bandolier'. This is perhaps their most popular album, certainly featuring some of their best songs and coolest guitar riffs, though it is inconsistent in terms of quality songs. The band revel in riffs that lock in with outstanding rhythmic 70s classic rock. 1975 was one of the great years for Prog and 'Bandolier' features the classic incarnation of the band; bassist/singer Burke Shelley and guitarist Tony Bourge, along with drummer Steve "Syco Steve" Williams, arguably their proggiest lineup before they turned to hard rock and AOR.

The album opens with the dynamic 'Breaking all the House Rules', a terrific sledge hammer attack of crashing riffs and very well executed vocals. The structure of the song detours into many directions and even changes feel in the middle sounding like a different song until it returns to the main riff.

'Slipaway' is next with gentle acoustics, followed by Bad Company sounds on 'Who Do You Want For Your Love' with a bluesy shuffle. There is more blues with 'I Can't See My Feelings' that has nice guitar licks but is nothing special really. After these rather lacklustre numbers it hots up with the wonderful cover by Andy Fairweather-Lowe from Amen Corner, 'I Ain't No Mountain'.

They save the best for last with the outstanding 'Napoleon Bona, Pts 1 & 2' that begins very slowly with gentle guitar and ambient swirls. Shelley's vocals are quiet, sounding like a bluesy version of Geddy Lee. When the distorted guitars crunch in with the chugging riff the song really picks up, especially the way the riff descends strangely giving it a dark feel. The lead break is always amazing, and Bourge blasts away with speed trills up and down the scales and high end string breaking bends. At 6 mins in there is a weird effect that muffles the sound and then it releases for more lead work.

Not many would disagree that the best Budgie stems from the early 70s years with "Squawk," "In for the Kill", "If I Were Britannia" and of course 'Bandolier'. These are the proggy innovative Budgie years, and 'Bandolier' is certainly one to hunt down for sheer hard rock riffing excellence with prog elements sprinkled thereabout.

Warthur Opening with the barnstorming Breaking All the House Rules, Bandolier kicks off well, but unfortunately Budgie were never the most consistent of bands and this is only underlined by Slipaway (A Parrot Fashion Ball), a horrible experiment in mixing acoustic soft rock with a little bit of blue-eyed soul. This is followed up with a similarly limp track in the form of What Do You Want For Your Love, which captures Burke Shelley doing an unconvincing Robert Plant impersonation in a horrible funk-tinged soft rock piece, reminiscent of a bad cover of The Crunge from Led Zep's Houses of the Holy with only a rather generic guitar solo or two to remind us that we're still at the edge of metal territory.

The album perks up on the second side with I Can't See My Feelings (featuring some honest to goodness cowbell), but slumps again with the simplistic singalong I Ain't No Mountain. The closing Napoleon Bona Parts 1 and 2 is padded out with uninteresting acoustic filler (such as the overlong intro) and doesn't stand up to Budgie epics from previous albums.

The bottom line is that on this album Budgie watered down their distinctive proto-speed metal sound with all the other influences third-string hard rock groups from the mid-1970s were dabbling in, with the result that the album ends up sounding anonymous, cliched, and at points downright dull. By the end of the decade Budgie would be regularly blown out of the water by far heavier and far more distinctive groups like Judas Priest and Iron Maiden; they should be remembered for more influential and important albums than this one.

friso Budgie - Bandolier

My brother got into this music and so I was thrown into it. I don't know a lot about Budgie's other offerings, this is the only one I own. Maybe this makes the review good for other starters in budgie, for it is objective in a way.

The budgie sound has a lot of elements in it. The startersong 'Breaking the house rules' is an hard rock song, but still quite gentle. You can hear the roots of the bluesrock in it. Also you can see this as an root for the later metal-like recordings. Vocalist Shelly has a voice that is very unique, high in pitch and still a rocking sound. The vocals aren't the main point here though, they flow with the music and the recording gives the vocals a subdued role. The guitars are rocking but still have an sort of artistic feel to it. Great starting song for getting us warmed-up.

Slipaway is a dreamy song in low tempo. The main theme is very melodic and the song has a sort of magical feel, undiscribeble. I like it very much! It makes me calm down in a way only music can. Who do you wan't for your love is another great song with elements of the first two song: It has dreamy parts and is has hardrocking parts with great tempochanges and different moods.

On side two we have I can't see my feelings, wich is an hard rock track with nothing to add. Just good, just '70. I ain't no Mountain is the only weak point IMO on this album. It is too simple, but still it isn't an anoying track so we will see it through the fingers (as the Dutch say when they accept things).

One of the main metalesque points of interest is The Napoleon Bonapart one and two suite (I love this joke). Part one is again a good example of a '70 rock band showing some magical themes that make them so much more special then all the others in the genre at the time. Blue Oyster Cult was very good in this. Part one however is an great piece and it makes you want more. This is precisely what you will get with part two! Great guitar riffs, outstanding vocals and great melodic themes. One guitar part with delay is striking, folllowed up by the main riff this gives a great feeling of tension and relaxation following each other up.

Great hard rock, nice melodies, great overall atmosphere and some magical moments, this sound like a four and a halve stars recording! Just try you heavy rockers and '70 specialists!