NEVER TURN YOUR BACK ON A FRIEND

Yes well this is Budgie at their best, vintage sound, vintage compositions, most progressive and greatest looking album cover too! Cover jokes aside, great work again from artist Roger Dean, the album though is near perfect from beginning to end. The opener is ' Breadfan', yes the original version of that successful Metallica hit, Shelley's screeching vocals setting the tone. A 'Them' cover follows next with an even better bluesy rock version of ' Baby Please Don't Go'. Man is the bass addictive here and works wonderfully well with Bourge's guitar licks. This trio show plenty of style on this album. Another typical slow number called You Know I'll Always Love You' is next, a kind of cool down before the solid and cunningly titled Your'e The Best Thing Since Powdered Milk'- Yeah right!! A finally balanced track very similar to some early Black Sabbath riffs, not plagiaristic in any form either, just plain authentic pure individual rock from this 70's era. A great track and one of the highlights on NTYBOAF. Five minutes in Shelley's bass sounds very similar to Rutherford's playing of Nursery Cryme. A great nod to a another great band just two years later of course. Hows this for another craftily titled song' In The Grip Of A Tyrefitter's Hand'. This is IMO the climax to the album, the most progressive sounding contribution from Budgie if not on this album but possibly even in their entire library of music over the years. ' Riding My Nightmare' is Budgie at their ballady best, some great harmonies from the vocal departments too.' Parents' plays out Never Turn Your Back On a Friend hinting at nostalic days, growing up too fast and not taking risks. Budgie certainly tooks risks on this their third album in 1973. Their most progressive to date and most polished too. A near classic, four and half stars and a must have in any Prog collector's music collection.