You're the Biggest Thing Since Powdered Milk - Budgie, Bourge, Tony
In the Grip of a Tyrefitter's Hand - Budgie, Bourge, Tony
Riding My Nightmare - Budgie, Bourge
Parents - Budgie, Bourge
1996 reissue on Repertoire of their 1973 album for MCA in a digipak. Features the original Roger Dean artwork and seven hard rocking classics, including 'Breadfan' (popularized years later by Metallica's cover of it) and '... more »InThe Grip Of A Tyrefitter's Hand'.« less
1996 reissue on Repertoire of their 1973 album for MCA in a digipak. Features the original Roger Dean artwork and seven hard rocking classics, including 'Breadfan' (popularized years later by Metallica's cover of it) and 'InThe Grip Of A Tyrefitter's Hand'.
Raef N. (Budgie) from GAITHERSBURG, MD Reviewed on 2/20/2008...
With such titles as "You're The Biggest Thing Since Powdered Milk" and "In The Grip Of A Tyrefitter's Hand", Budgie showed their ability to write humorous lyrics.
This is a classic Budgie album. The song "Breadfan", covered by Metallica decades later, has the meanest guitar riff.
A must.
1 of 1 member(s) found this review helpful.
CD Reviews
Exceptional, a must have for any hard rock fanatic
Kim Fletcher | 07/03/1998
(5 out of 5 stars)
"Never Turn Your Back on a Friend is one of the very finest albums ever made by the under rated and neglected 70's metal band Budgie. Tony Bourge is one incredible guitarist, Burke Shelley's bass is similar to Geddy Lee's playing as is his voice (old Rush, not post 1980). This album contains the song Breadfan (made famous by Metallica). Truly the earliest recorded example of thrash metal ever (1973). It also has a killer version of Baby Please Don't Go, an old blues standard, You Are the Biggest Thing Since Powdered Milk (Stupid title, but killer song), In The Grip Of A Tyrefitter's Hand ( a Budgie classic), and Parents (one amazing song!). The other two songs are acoustic guitar ballads and they bring a nice balance to the heavier cuts on the album. If you have never heard Budgie before but like the Metallica versions of Breadfan or Crash Course in Brain Surgery, get this album, you won't be dissapointed."
NEVER TURN YOUR BACK ON MOTT
Kim Fletcher | Pattaya, Chonburi Thailand | 11/09/2001
(5 out of 5 stars)
"The release in 1973, of "Never Turn Your Back On A Friend" was the band's third studio L.P. It proved to be a major mile stone in the long, hard gigging career of Welsh rockers Budgie. It also established their hard rocking style with the drums and bass thumping along together and Tony Bourge's lead guitar work ruffling even the largest feathers.
The first song off the perch was to become Budgie's standard bearer, "Breadfan". It opened with Tony Bourge's rocking guitar, then the bass and drums come thundering in with the fuzzy crunch of twelve thousand banging heads. Add to this Burke Shelley's very high pitched, quintessential 70's metal singing (reminiscent of Geddy Lee of Rush but much sharper) and this heavy metal bird takes flight.
Metallica tried to cover this song on their "Garage Inc". This revealed them to be the rather sad `covers' band that they are.
However, Budgie deliver it all in true hard rock style, pacing the album nicely with two acoustic songs to break up the heavy metal bluster. I'll even forgive the one minute thirty eight second drum solo at the beginning of the fourth song as it's so short, sharp and heavy.
It's the final song "Parents", which is a supersonic power rock ballad that elevates you through the stratosphere. A song very similar in structure to "Led Zeppelins" "Stairway To Heaven", Burke Shelley sings of the torment of turning from child to parent, hitting the heart fair and square with Mott who has a few puppies of his own. This song alone makes this album worth hunting down.
The parents tell their children, "Wash your hands & up to bed, mind your manners or you're dead, watch the cars `cos you got school on Monday". Haven't all parents at sometimes spoken in these jumbled spurts of love and warning?
Though they never reached the dizzy heights of success like Deep Purple, Black Sabbath or Cream, Budgie did leave behind 10 hard rocking studio albums. Really, this is a million heavy metal dreams from their wild concerts attended by their substantial live following.
Budgie also specialized in wonderful album and song titles. As well as the ones on this album, there was also "If I was Brittania I'd waive the rules", "Impeckable", "Nude disintegrating parachutist woman" and "Hot as a dockers armpit". This, at least, proves that the boys from the valleys had a sense of humour. Well, you try fitting those words in a chorus!
Add to this Roger Dream's stunning artwork and you always got the complete package with this bird.
This is one Budgie this Dog will never mess with.
Mott the Dog."
Classic Heavy with a capital H-bomb
Martyn Richard Jones | Cordoba, Spain | 02/06/2001
(5 out of 5 stars)
"Not many people might know this but Budgie is a term used in Wales to describe a girlfriend, as in something a friend might ask "what's up love, got a Budgie have you"? Anyway, curious info aside there is only one thing to say about this album.If you really like Heavy metal then you will have this CD. If you haven't got it then a) you really don't like heavy metal b) you've curiously never heard of it, but will immediately buy it c) you've already got it on vinyl d) you're strapped for cashRegards,martyn_jones@iniciativas.com"
BUDGIE - NEVER TURN YOUR BACK ON A FRIEND
ANDREW GRANT | Wolverhampton, England | 04/11/2000
(5 out of 5 stars)
"New Budgie fans start here! So you have heard of this lot because Metallica cover their songs and now you want to hear the originals. Without doubt this is the best of their back catalogue, every single track is a classic. The two standout tracks are at the opposite ends of this bands style. Breadfan rubbles along like you never thought possible from an early 1970's band, while Parents is a gentle ballard with depth that grows every time you here it."
The batty bird takes flight.
ANDREW GRANT | 04/10/2001
(5 out of 5 stars)
"FINALLY!,THIS IS WHERE THE BAND REALLY TAKES OFF.SURE THE FIRST TWO WEREN'T TERRIBLE LISTENING(BUDGIE BEATS SQUAWK IN MY OPINION)BUT THAT WAS CLEARLY THE BAND IN THEIR FORMATIVE YEARS.LISTEN TO THE OPENING OF METALLICA COVERED CLASSIC"BREADFAN"AND YOU'LL SEE WHAT I MEAN.THIS BAND IS READY TO PAVE THE WAY FOR FUTURE HARD ROCK AND METAL.STARTING WITH A FEROCIOUS RIFF,THIS SPEED ROCKER JUST KNOCKS ME DOWN EVERY TIME I LISTEN TO IT,THE BEST INTRO RIFF EVER LAID TO WAX.I CAN SEE WHERE THE MET WAS HEAVYLY INFLUENCED BY THIS BAND.ONTO BABY PLEASE DON'T GO(A COVERSONG I GUESS BUT IT SURE SOUNDS LIKE THEIR OWN.)GREAT RIFFS AND SOLOS BY THE MAN HIMSELF,TONY BOURGE.A SHORT DIRGE FOLLOWS SETTING THE LISTENER UP FOR THE CRANIUM CRUSHING DITTY"YOU'RE THE BIGGEST THING SINCE POWDERED MILK",A KILLER OPENING RIFF AND THOUGHTFUL GUITAR SOLOS BY THE MAN."IN THE GRIP OF A TYREFITTERS HAND"IS ALSO A AN AWESOME SONG-BASED ROCKER AND HIGHLY REMINISENT OF SABBATH,COULDA BEEN ON VOL.4 EASILY.RIDING MY NIGHTMARE IS THIS BANDS BEST BALLAD,HANDS DOWN.STARTING LIKE THE CHORDS OF FREEBIRD,BURKE SHELLEY'S VOICE REALLY SOUNDS BEAUTIFUL HERE AND THE CHORUS IS JUST HEAVEN SENT.LAST BUT NOT LEAST IS PARENTS.A 11 MINUTE(BALLAD?)TALE ABOUT ONES GROWING UP AND INDIFFERENCE TO OLDER AGE,A VERY MATURE EFFORT HERE AND VERY GOOD BOURGE FILLS HERE NOT TO MENTION.IF I COULD GO HIGHER I'D GIVE IT TEN STARS DEFINITELY.BUY THE THING IF YOU LIKE A VERY WELL-BALANCED HARD ROCK RECORD."
Track Listings (7) - Disc #1
Raef N. (Budgie) from GAITHERSBURG, MD