About half an hour ago I was just driving home from every friday's amateur-soccer-massacre when the random track selection of my car stereo stopped at the title-track of Buffalo's first album...
Not having listened to it for a longer time i nearly forgot how much i like this band and suddenly realized that i had to write something about them right now!
To be honest, I don't know much about the combination Australia + Rock-Music except maybe AC/DC and that kind of stuff everybody knows...the great Masters Apprentices also come to mind but shamefully thats where it ends for me, with the exception of one more band that can not be ignored when we're talking about rock-music from Down Under:
Buffalo!!!
Founded by Dave Tice (vocals), Alan Milano (vocals), John Baxter (guitar), Peter Wells (bass)and Paul Balbi (drums)in 1970 this band went on to record five albums (the first two of them on the Swirl Label as the first non European act ever signed to Vertigo!)before they quit it the late 70ies.
Some like to call them the first Australian heavy metal band which seems quite understandable after being blown away by the sheer heavyness of some of their songs.
As stated in the beginning of this review this is Buffalo's first record and it's safe to say that they didn't reach the top of the mountain on that one. What we hear is Hard/Bluesrock with psychedelic/progressive moments including two cover-versions: "I'm A Mover" (orig. by Free) and Pay My Dues (Blues Image).
It all sounds raw and unpolished which is more of a compliment than criticism but in some way Dead Forever is not as consistent as Buffalo's follow up masterpiece "Volcanic Rock" - also the attempt to split vocal duties between Tice and Milano didn't work out as good as they might have expected. (Fortunately?) Milano left the band after this record as the later "Tice-only" vocals sounded way better ;)
Dead Forever still remains a very strong and recommendable album which already shows many of the strenghts that laid the foundations for Buffalo's (well deserved!) underground-cult-status.
Play the following songs LOUD!
Bean Stew
Pay My Dues
Suzie Sunshine
So he has been dead forever! What a surprise! I thought he would come back as a unicorn (only possible for a virgin though).
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