IMPECKABLE

Budgie's seventh official release is a complete dud. By this time, the good jazz and blues mixture was long gone, and Budgie decidedly tried a more funk and soul influenced sound, with extremely mixed results. The final conclusion is an inconsistent album, flawed, and heavily awkward transition that should never have taken place.

1.Melt the Ice Away - An actually good opener, considering the rest of the album. The riff is fine and well played from Tony Bourge, but his obvious boredom in the studio may have led to him leaving after the release of the album. Heavy bass lines from Burkey Shelley are oddly augmented by an odd delay on the vocals and wierd lyrics that really don't make any sense, like alot of Budgie's material. Steve Williams adds an interesting take on drums and his flares are well needed to make this track the odd one out. (8.5/10)

2.Love For You and Me - After the decidedly rocking opener, the band reverts into a completely pop track of nothing. This song has an interesting guitar part, but the song really goes nowhere with the slow mix of blues and jazz that seems totally uninspired. Shelley's vocals are an intense annoyance for the song, and the beats from Williams don't connect. (6/10)

3.All at Sea - The band could only get worse, as the funk influence is heavy on this song. The slow beat really dosen't keep anything from going out of control; in a bad way. Shelley's vocals are extremely boring and are his most flat and unispired performances on this track. In fact, the whole band is really lazy and boring on this song. Bourge's guitar is totally lifeless and dosen't connect with the listener at all. I know that Budgie can produce better things than this. (4/10)

4.Dish It Up - The funk influence is prominante again, and, this time, it really works. The guitar riff is totally quirky and odd, which results in a top cut from the album. Shelley's vocal performance is a little bit awkward, but you can tell that the shrieker is definatly trying. At least his basslines are of interest; chunky, thick percision bass with pick makes for an amazing bottom end. Williams off-beat drum patterns work of the better and make the song different. A top cut that should not be missed. (9/10)

5.Pyramids - Another fine track from the album, this time slightly more complex and less funky. The guitar riffing from Bourge is much more energetic than the rest of the album, and the steady beats from Williams are drenched with interest. The song is slightly dark in it's chord changes, which sets the stage perfectly for the intense vocals from Shelley, which are decidedly more passionate than the rest of the album. An interesting track, to say the least. (8.5/10)

6.Smile Boy Smile - After some really interesting track, this comes up and ruins it for me. The old wannabe blues act cannot match with true power, as showing here. The song lyrics barely relate to the title and are almost a Zeppelin rip-off (speaking of Led Zeppelin, the band was about to have hardships of their own in the next few years). The slacking guitar riffs are disjointed by oneself and are a real bore. Nothing of interest on this song, to be honest. (3.5/10)

7.In a Faker Too - The title says it. The band were faking their performance on this song, as they seems about as lifeless as anything here. The odd almost krautrock-ish intro does nothing to save the song from being a disjointed mess of wannabe funk rhythms and riffs that really don't connect to save their lives. Almost like the band were pushing to success with this song, but the faking of a performance does not gain success in anyway. (2/10)

8.Don't Go Away - The band have their mandatory ballad, and this one is much better than the previous two tracks. The soft vocal harmonies over the soft jazzy guitars is soothing, but boredom crawls over due to the lack of energy or inspiration in the band. A hit and miss, for me at least. (6.5/10)

9.Don't Dilute the Water - The longest track of the album, and is oddly stuck in the forefront of all this jumbled mess of songs. The rhythm is catchy and the guitar riff is fine, but the lack of enthusiasm in the studio has taken their toll and really shows on this song. The music itself could have been excellent, only if the band had put theirselfs in a position of happiness first. Shelley shows his power on the bass and vocals, while Williams sticks to excellent beats and Bourge flashes on guitar riffs from electric to acoustic in a second. The constrasts are ever present, as with previous Budgie classics, and this is easily the top cut from the album. (9.5/10)

Song excellent songs are trashed by complete garbage. The songs are barely even thought about in some cases, and the funksoul influence is somewhat uneeded in the Budgie discovery. A 2 stars because of the few excellent songs. If you were to ask me, stick to the first five albums if you really want to get into Budgie.