| Good Music For Good People |
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BUSTER - s/t (in Shake Some Action Best Of List) |
Japan o nly reissue with 4 bonus trax! WHO are Buster? That is what I wanted to know when John M. Borack turned showed me his Top 200 Power Pop Albums Of All Time list for the Shake Some Action: The Ultimate Power Pop Guide book. I went through his list, meticulously, and figured I owned(or had owned) 195 of the 200 albums he listed. Of the five I did not have, Buster stumped me. Never seen it, heard of it or, of course, HEARD it. This album came in at #197 and this is what Sir Borack has to say about this obscurity, now out for the first time on CD with these bonus trax(sadly, only in Japan): "Super-obscure UK bubblegum/teen pop with shiny, happy harmonies. Cute `lil tunes such as "We Love Girls", "Love Rules" and "I Was Born To Sing Your Song" are more pop than power, to be sure, but appealingly wimpy. Covers "Listen To What The Man Said" and "Born To Be Wild"(odd choice)." Now, those two covers ARE a bit odd, no doubt but, they really DO bring something new to the table w/ their arrangements. Some of the band members look like they are 15 and there is no doubt, some cigar chomping, stumpy, balding music exec saw big `ole dollars in these boys in the wake of Bay City Rollers. No, this would not make my personal Top 200 list but it�s a bit more than a curio for the serious power pop collector so get in there and enjoy!
 Song #1 - mp3
Song #2 - mp3
Song #3 - mp3
Song #4 - mp3
Song #5 - mp3
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| Customer Reviews |  | |
| Buster Rules O.K.! | |
| Reviewer: Hannes Jonsson | | 1977 -- What a remarkable year for Rock music! The Sex Pistols as well as The Clash released their debut (and definitive) albums and, tragically, Elvis Presley died.
As for Pop music, it was the best of times and it was the worst of times. Disco was all the rage with the soundtrack of "Saturday Night Fever" and the brothers Gibb at their most annoyingly successful.
However, '70s Teenybop was coming of age. So to speak. The Bay City Rollers released the most accomplished album of date, "It's a Game", in May that year, while Rosetta Stone (featuring ex-Roller Ian Mitchell), Scotties (featuring his Rollers-replacement Pat McGlynn), Rubinoos, Dead End Kids, Taxi, and - yes! - Buster all issued debut albums in '77.
And while of varying quality, the "Buster" album by Buster is probably the best of the bunch but the least-known as well. I happened to come across it in the bargain bin of a long-defunkt Reykjavik (Iceland) record store along with the Sweet's "Greatest" in late '77 and literally my life hasn't been the same since.
As much as "Never Mind the Bollocks...", "The Clash" and, indeed, "It's a Game" meant (and continue to mean) to me, "Buster" will always hold a special place in my heart.
From the opening chords of "We Love Girls" to the closing of, eh, "We Love Girls" (actually a "highlights" medley of sorts) it's a captivating experience. The only duds being the original instrumental composition of "Daybreak" and an ill-advised cover of "Born to be Wild", the rest of the record is a sheer pop pleasure.
One of those albums one NEVER expected to be issued on CD (Buster's only evident claim to fame being a #49 placing of the single "Sunday" in the U.K. in charts - for a mere one week - in the summer of '76, although they were - reportedly - "Big In Japan" the following year...which explains this Japanese CD-issue), it absolutely stands the test of time by the sheer quality of the songwriting; most of which was done by messers Scott and Wolfe who, at the time, also handled the affairs of a certain pre-"Total Eclipse of the Heart" Ms. Bonnie Tyler. "It's a Heartache", anyone?
Extra tracks include the excellent Japan-only single "Beautiful Child", as well as "Rock" demo versions of probably the album's strongest tracks "We Love Girls" and "Love Rules (O.K.!)".
The only beef I have with this CD-issue is the fact that the original album-mix where all the tracks "melted" into one another without any space inbetween 'em (like you were in a '70s disco or sth.) has been aborted in favour of the traditionally done track-space-track mix. That's all. |
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