Featuring portions of the earlier
Heavier Than Air
collection (plus a pair of
Reading Festival
appearances with great performances but dodgy sound quality),
The BBC Recordings
catches Welsh metallurgists
Budgie
at three very distinct phases of their development -- at the outset of their career, in 1972, when their self-titled debut album was still alerting discerning listeners to the sheer ambition and power of their presence; in 1976, by which time their original hyperactivity had settled down into a stock, but still exciting, formula; and in the early '80s, with the band reborn on the wings of
the New Wave of British Heavy Metal
. There they were regarded with an awe and respect that had rarely come their way in earlier years, and
responded with some of their heaviest (if not necessarily inventive) material yet, and three songs from a
Friday Rock Show
performance can still shatter speakers. ~ Dave Thompson