Pale Wizard’s enlightening and entertaining 50 Years Later series -- which recreates classic albums like Alice Cooper’s Killer and David Bowie’s Ziggy Stardust with a lineup of underground doom/psych/groove artists -- has released a tribute to Never Turn Your Back on a Friend, the third album from the often-overlooked Welsh heavy metal trio Budgie. Based on the engaging liner notes from the label’s Dan Flitcroft, this one was a long time coming.
Released in 1973 (the Pale Wizard tribute dropped in 2023), Never Turn Your Back on a Friend emerged as Budgie’s biggest-selling record, Flitcroft notes, and the lineup Pale Wizard put together for this tribute shows why. The running order follows the original track listing, which means the record opens with “Breadfan” -- a song Metallica covered during the … And Justice For All era and then officially released on 1998’s Garage Inc..
The bands featured here aren’t nearly as renowned as Metallica, but that doesn’t matter. You can hear the passion and commitment to the material in every song, most notably Alunah’s female-fronted version of “Breadfan" -- as well as Syncolima’s crisp and snappy take on “In the Grip of a Tyrefitter’s Hand” and Great Electric Quest’s breezy rendition of “Riding My Nightmare.” As Thomas Osborne, guitarist for Regulus noted about his band’s seven-and-a-half-minute cover of “You’re the Biggest Things Since Powdered Milk”: “The main challenge was knowing when to stop!”
That dedication is reinforced by artist commentary in the liner notes about the song they recorded (and their unanimous opinion that Budgie has been criminally dismissed by fans and critics alike when it comes to NWOBHM history).
In addition to the original seven-track album, three bonus tracks pay homage to other songs from the Budgie catalog: “Guts” (the first track off the 1971 debut and performed by La Chinga), “Forearem Smash” (the leadoff track from 1980’s Power Supply by Low Voltage) and “Melt the Ice Away” (the first song on 1978’s Impeckable by Solar Suns).
It doesn’t matter if you’re familiar with Budgie or not; after hearing this well-packaged and solidly delivered compilation, you’ll want to dig deeper. And, really, isn’t that what albums like this are all about?
Track Listing
1. Breadfan by Alunah
2. Baby, Please Don’t Go by Firegarden
3. You Know I’ll Always Love You by Admiral Sir Cloudeslye Shovell
4. You’re the Biggest Things Since Powdered Milk by Regulus
5. In the Grip of a Tyrefitter’s hand by Syncolima
6. Riding my Nightmare by Great Electric Quest
7. Parents by Sergeant Thunderhoof
8. Guts by La Chinga (Bonus Track)
9. Forearm Smash by Low Voltage (Bonus Track)
10. Melt the Ice Away by Solar Sons (Bonus Track)
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