In 1981 Budgie released Nightflight, which in a way was a much harder but still melodic release to their earlier albums. The Welsh three-piece had first recorded their debut in 1971(self-titled) and had steadily built up a strong following with this being their tenth release.

The opening song-Turn to stone is a great opening track, and one of the strongest on the album. It starts with some lovely picking on the guitar and nice melodic vocal, leading in to a powered chorus, which finally gives way to a riff-crunching ending. A great start and nicely sets the tone for what's to come. Keeping a Rendezvous quickly follows with a great hookline sang with a harmony that sticks in the head, and remains a real anthem to the many Budgie fans. Shelley's vocals are not only strong throughout but distinctive enough to set him apart from the run of the mill vocalists of that era. John Thomas also shows that he can change the dynamics through his fine guitar work going from aggressive chordplay to subtle picking at will.

Next up is Reaper of the glory, a straightforward riff-driven tune, which is punched home again by Shelley's vocal, which sits well with the steady play of Thomas (who does a great job on the vocal harmonies throughout)a word also has to go out to Steve Williams on Drums, his play while not over elaborate, is solid and he shows he can handle any given melody and lay down a suitable, interesting beat to whatever he's given.

She used me up burns out of the speakers next, and again like the previous track is a good solid rock standard, that hits all the right places, this track leans a little more to the earlier Budgie releases than any other on the album, and has a real 'live' feel to it(I can imagine the crowd lapping it up)For me it's one of the hidden gems that is sometimes overlooked in favour of some of the other big hitters on the album.

Next comes the slowly-building (on drums) Don't lay down and die, another outstanding track that powers its way through while again never losing it's melodic roots (a theme throughout) Thomas sticks to the big chords allowing the bass/drum combo to punch through like a runaway train, the vocal proves a useful foil against this backdrop and again this creates the anthem effect with sing-along chorus.

On Apparatus we see a change in the dynamic, with the tempo dropping and some of Thomas's nice guitar play coming to the fore, the heartfelt vocal takes centre stage and is a nice platform for Shelley to show his 'Celtic' brogue, which for me is what sets his voice apart. This track is nicely placed coming after the two rockers beforehand.

After the drop in pace next up comes Superstar, with the guitar riff pulling you in and Shelley's rasping vocal telling you "you're a star". This is another gem of a track which became a firm favourite with the fans.

Change your ways is one of those vocal harmonies that you can't help but sing along with, slighty slower in tempo, which allows the lyric the space it needs to do its job, the guitar/bass/drums here simply provide a backdrop and the tune relies on the vocal to carry it.

The album ends with a tuneful 1:16min outro Untitled Lullaby which is a nice way to complete the package.

Overall for me this is a hidden classic to anyone who loves that 'classic rock' tab, and sums up all that was good around 1981,do yourself a favour, if you like this type of genre, check it out you wont be disappointed.

STEVO