Budgie
Never Turn Your Back On A Friend

THE REVIEW

Born in 1973 in Wales, the Budgie led by Bourge are an almost unknown band in the collective imagination, yet they were, even though they never broke through, indispensable for the evolution of Hard Rock and Heavy Metal. "Never Turn Back On A Friends" is a forgotten technical essay in which the amazing skills of drummer Ray Philips and the unique vocals of the two vocalists Bourge and Shelley come to light. The only flaw of the album, perhaps, is the length of the tracks, in fact, five out of seven tracks exceed five and a half minutes.

"Breadfan", the first work of the album, is introduced by a snappy riff, made famous by Metallica, fast and rapid, one is stunned by the compositional skills of the trio, but above all, as I have already said, by the voice of Bourge supported and well blended by the continuous explosive scales of Shelley and Bourge himself. There is also time to slow down, in fact towards the middle of the track, the rhythm drops, almost reaches the bottom, and then slowly, slowly climbs back up, captivating bass notes in this segment, and starts again riding the previous devilish riffs to the end.
"Baby, Please, Don't Go" one of the best works of the piece is reflected in a Rock and Roll chorus from the '60s, in Bourge's screams, vaguely reminiscent of Gillan's in Speed King (far from me the comparison though), and in the massive use of technique in every instrument, the result is a captivating and amazing track for the mastery of the composers.
The following track "You Know I'll Always Love You", a heart-wrenching ballad, sad and moving that lasts only 2.17 minutes. A track that definitely leaves something inside you.
"You're The Biggest Thing Since Powered Milk" track number 4, well to introduce it, it would suffice to hear the initial drum solo, one minute and 40 seconds, followed by the usual raw and captivating riffs and a more angry Bourge, inspired if you will, who leads the music by hand and carries them with his own voice to the conclusion of the song. "In the Grip of a Tyrefitter's Hand" didn't leave much on me, in my opinion, it's the track that leaves the most to be desired of the album, too massive use of technique and instruments. "Ryding my Nightmare" slow track, whose characteristic, peculiarity, is the use of the choir during the chorus, it too like track 3, being rhythmically different from the rest of the album, lasts very shortly, 2 minutes and 45 seconds. Finally, "Parents" fantastic, its rhythms, its solos, its blues, captivate like the words of an old sage, surely the most mature track of the record and my favorite.

It is a pity that this work is little known and that Budgie are not famous, but looking at it from another side perhaps it is a good thing, so at least they have not been carried away by money into Showbiz. Noteworthy in this record, but also in others, is the use of extravagant and sometimes nonsense titles but also of dreamy Fantasy covers. Truly a great album.