Budgie, the three-piece heavy metal band from Cardiff in Wales, were far more influential than anybody dared think at the time of their self-titled debut album in 1971. Both Iron Maiden and Metallica showered them with praise and recorded their songs, giving the band much-needed royalty revenue.
One of the greatest party albums of all time by one of the greatest party bands of all time, these young tearaway Americans knew how to rock and enjoy themselves to the limit and beyond.
The best thing of all was the Big Country dual guitar sound; it blew away all the synthesizer bands dominating the music scene in the early Eighties and allowed real rock & roll to make a much-needed comeback. Proper music with proper songs about actual events or feelings.
After bouts of Spinal Tap-type behaviour, this trio did manage to leave behind a true masterpiece in “Around The Next Dream.”
What you have here is thirteen fabulous cuts, all featuring what you would expect from The Damned, speed, melody, aggression, attitude by the bucket load, and a belly full of laughs.
As soon as Derek Sherinian roars into action on the title track, ably assisted in a raiding pack of Zak Wylde on guitar, Billy Sheehan on bass, Armen Ra on Theremin and Simon Phillips on drums, you know things are red hot as ever.
Just the name alone conjures up thoughts of demonic early seventies heavy metal, progressive rock. Atomic Rooster came out with a couple of very powerful early seventies albums. They sounded great.
It’s always a happy thing when one of your favorite artists returns from a lengthy absence. What’s even happier is when he comes storming back with the sort of record that makes you realize why you held him in such high esteem in the first place. Rant is such an album.
Probably Savoy Brown’s best and most successful album. It was recorded on a personnel precipice as within weeks of its release, three-quarters of the band deserted the ship leaving leader Kim Simmonds on his own
Better known as “The White Album,” this is undoubtedly The Beatles most mature and diverse album. Clocking in at ninety minutes, every track is a gem.
