On some days Budgie can rock out with the best of them, then turn on a dime and deliver blues rock like traditionalists, then stun everyone by creating progressive rock as if born to it, you get this potpourri on this their sixth album – ‘If I were Brittania I’d Waive The Rules’, an obvious piss-take from the well-heeled phrase ‘Britannia Rule The Waves’.
Written by: gdmonline
ARTIST: Budgie
ALBUM: If I Were Brittania I’d Waive The Rules
LABEL: A&M
SERIAL: AMLH 68377
YEAR: 1976
CD REISSUE: Discogs Reissue List
COUNTRY OF ORIGIN: Wales
LINEUP: Burke Shelley – vocals, bass * Tony Bourge – guitars * Steve Williams – drums * Richard Dunn – guest keyboards
TRACK LISTING: 01 Anne Neggen * 02 If I Were Brittania I’d Waive The Rules * 03 You’re Opening Doors * 04 Quacktor And Bureaucats * 05 Sky High Percentage * 06 Heaven Knows Our Name * 07 Black Velvet Stallion
WEBLINKS: Site Link
Background
Welsh band Budgie have always struck a chord with many rockers. For whatever reason, this band’s popularity knows no limits. I haven’t quite put my finger on why that is. They aren’t pigeon-holed in one particular sub-genre, as their sound has changed to suit the musical climate of the day. On some days they can rock out with the best of them, then turn on a dime and deliver blues rock like traditionalists, then stun everyone by creating progressive rock as if born to it!
You get this potpourri on this their sixth album – ‘If I were Brittania I’d Waive The Rules’, an obvious piss-take from the well-heeled phrase ‘Britannia Rule The Waves’, the old naval tradition right? Budgie even deliberately spelt the album title incorrectly just to annoy the pundits, or to see who would notice.. lol! The 70’s saw Budgie experiment with many styles, and to their credit record label A&M gave them a long leash, with a heap of albums released during this period.
The Songs
Budgie start out with the rollicking ‘Anne Neggen’, a bluesy rocker that is steeped in that mid 70’s style. The title sounds like another deliberate attempt to confuse punters. I think this should’ve been named ‘And Again’. Musically, Budgie aren’t stepping outside any boundaries as such, the entire song kept within a stomping framework without any blazing guitar solos either, it must be said.
The title track ‘If I Were Brittania I’d Waive The Rules’ is next. It’s played in two parts. The first part is slower and has some symphonic passages while the second picks up the pace and aggression. ‘You’re Opening Doors’ is a difficult track to describe. It mixes all styles and comes from an old-school set of ideals, sort of like early Rush in parts, no doubt due to the synth intrusion from guest keyboardist Richard Dunn.
‘Quacktor And Bureaucats’ finally sees Budgie break the shackles and rock out a bit more. Bourge is even enticed to throw caution to the wind with a solo or two. And what’s with the whacky song-title? ‘Sky High Percentage’ is even rockier than the previous track. This one has all the raw power of a band like More, and is one of the better ones here.
Helped on by the flamenco styled intro, ‘Heaven Knows Our Name’ meanders on an acoustic weave. It’s quite gentle really with a neat little solo to colour things up. ‘Black Velvet Stallion’ is 8 minutes of atmospheric rock. Not quite space rock (there’s no real synth work here), the extended piece is slower than slow and you’ll be doing well to get to the end.
In Summary
It’s good to throw another Budgie review into the Glory Daze system, but I’ll say it’s not as immediate as some of their other albums. Check out some of the other reviews we have of this Welsh institution elsewhere on our site, click the tag below.
Video
Entire Album (Select Tracks)
