Budgie Discography

Well, I'll add more overall thoughts of their 80s output with each installment which is relevant to all three so I won't comment quite yet, stay tuned!

I may have to torrent these last two if you'd like to see my opinions on them. That's how I got their first five or six; I've yet to find a reasonable priced copy of any of their 70's output.

I'm a sucker for good NWOBHM, and I've heard that their 80's material sounds a bit more like standard metal than their original lineup's stuff. I'll probably enjoy it, knowing my impeckable taste.

Metal-On-Metal wrote:

impeckable taste

And yes, that was on purpose.

Budgie's 80s catalogue gets harped on by some and "Power Supply" does have a NWOBHM sound but isn't up to par w/albums like Heaven And Hell, Iron Maiden, etc. I tjhink they improve after this one though even though they get more keyboard-y which I'm not much of a fan of.

I really need the remasters myself.

I do like Nightflight from their 80's material.

Nightflight is next.

After Bandolier, I don't have much to say on Budgie up until "You're All Living In Cuckooland"

Impeckable didn't do anything for me
If I Were Brittania is worthy of note solely because of it's wonderful title

Special Guest wrote:

Impeckable didn't do anything for me

Same here. I jammed it once or twice and nothing stuck with me at all, it went in one ear and out the other.

I've never heard Brittania... before, but I might try to locate a download tonight.

I'll give a few more listens to the other albums I haven't posted thoughts on (Bandolier and In for the Kill), so as to please AK.

Heh heh. Thx, Met!

My thoughts I've already posted.

Metal-On-Metal wrote:

The debut is a punishing platter of Sabbath-style proto metal with some over the top vocals (that I didn't like at first), and is probably 2nd best out of their first three albums.

Squawk is another great album, and it's slightly better than the debut IMO. The songwriting is better, and the production sounds a tad bit cleaner. Hot as a Doctor's Armpit, Rocking Man, and Whiskey River are all great songs, and my favorites.

I think Never Turn Your Back on a Friend is overrated, but it's still really great. Especially the tracks Breadfan, Parents and You're the Biggest Thing Since Powdered Milk.

In For the Kill is probably my favorite of the 70's albums. The riffing is tasty as always, Tony Bourge was a monster guitarist and a master of simple, heavy riffs. Hell, the "Crash Course in Brain Surgery" is basically a thrash song, 10 years before thrash came into existence.
The melodic acoustic tracks are still here; my favorite being "Wondering What Everyone Knows". The melodies in that song are beautiful.
The diversity of styles Budgie encompassed over the course of their first 7 albums is pretty awesome, if you ask me. In For the Kill is Budgie at their peak, and rivals anything Sabbath or Zeppelin put out in the 70's, in my opinion.

The standout tracks for me on this one are: "Zoom Club" (which is one of my favorite Budgie songs, period), "Crash Course in Brain Surgery", and "Living On Your Own".

I'll get to the others as I listen to 'em, AK.

I'll tell ya, if I had to choose a fave Budgie IFTK would be it, Pete Boot added some aggression to the band. Too bad he only came out on one album.

Bandolier is probably my favorite overall.

I agree that Never Turn Your Back On A Friend is overrated.

S.D. wrote:

Bandolier is probably my favorite overall.

I agree that Never Turn Your Back On A Friend is overrated.

Bandolier is probably my favorite overall too, although I fucking LOVE Never Turn Your Back On A Friend. I know "Breadfan" is their only actual "hit" but I love every song on that record.

I've always said "Never" was overrated and to go back to "Bandolier" for a second, I've always dug Shelley's vocal delivery on "Who Do You Want For Your Lover".

I stumbled upon this forum while looking for the early Budgie albums that aren't on iTunes, Spotify, or the like.

Looks like I found some like-minded individuals.

I look forward to discussing music with y'all!

Welcome, ricepaddy. We need all the people we can get. Make yourself permanent.

It's unfortunate that there still isn't a US distributor for Budgie. The only CDs you can find are pricey imports. I'm hoping somebody does a box set, Budgie seems like the kind of group that could benefit from that treatment. Plus you could get all the classic recordings together in one shot.

Welcome to the board.

Thanks for the warm welcome. I listened to Budgie's first 2 records on Grooveshark today. Good stuff.

If anybody knows of a site I can download their albums, please drop me a note.

Google "Budgie discography blogspot". I really need the remasters.

Nightflight (1981)

1. "I Turned to Stone" 6:11
2. "Keeping a Rendezvous" 3:45
3. "Reaper of the Glory" 3:50
4. "She Used Me Up" 3:17
5. "Don't Lay Down and Die" 3:35
6. "Apparatus" 2:52
7. "Superstar" 3:28
8. "Change Your Ways" 4:22
9. "Untitled Lullaby" 1:16

Burke Shelley - bass guitar & vocals
John Thomas - guitar, slide & vocals
Steve Williams - drums


Released in October 1981 'Nightflight' starts off rather unexpectedly mellow with "I Turned To Stone" which features a nice little arpeggio laden intro but later kicks it into another gear but never reaching the wonderful bombast of their '70 material. I still find it to be one of their best songs of the '80s. Released about a year after "Power Supply", "Nightflight" has more flavor than its simpler yet redundant and bland predecessor but yet still confines itself to the NWOBHM template. Shelley still employs a more structured vocal approach but he pulls it off rather nicely. John Thomas shows he's got more in his arsenal than just power chords but there's never anything jaw dropping good. Drummer Steve Williams seems to have heavy hands but shows too much restraint most of the time and shows just a little more creativity than a metronome. Where "Power Supply" went for a more straightforward power chord filled, simple yet up tempo approach, "Nightflight" is more of a mid to slower tempo album. It's a little unfair to judge this album or any other post "Impeckable" album to the greatness of their '70s output because it all falls short but I find 'Nightflight' to be an enjoyable listen once in a while when I need a change of pace but it doesn't stand shoulder to shoulder with the other NWOBHM bands of the time whereas their '70s output did just that. Key tracks "I Turned To Stone" and "Keeping A Rendezvous".

It sounds like most of their 80's material isn't particularly rewarding (then again that applies to pretty much every band that was great in the 70's). I will say though, the album cover for Nightflight is delightfully stupid.

Yeah, there's a huge difference and you are right about a lot of the '70s bands '80s material being particularly shoddy. Thanks for your input, SG.