Buffalo – Mother’s Choice (1976) Reissue 2014, MP3+FLAC

As requested, more ’70s hard rock by the hand of Australians BUFFALO and their fourth LP 1976’s “Mother’s Choice“, in its remastered digipak version including as bonus tracks two single B-sides non-album tracks.

After the dismissal of guitarist John Baxter at the end of 1974, the band underwent both a major line up change, and a shift towards more commercially oriented hard rock in a bid to attain greater radio airplay (which had eluded them up to this point) and mainstream acceptance.
The artwork of ”Mother’s Choice” was overtly conservative. Whilst partly a result of the band striving for mainstream appeal, it was also partly in reaction to the management of Phonogram Records (parent company to the Vertigo label) objecting to two working titles for the LP – ‘Songs for the Frustrated Housewife’, and ‘Thieves, Punks, Rip-Offs & Liars’.
Personally, this is one of our favorite Buffalo albums. The sound is a big move forward with the times, more traditional in the song structuring and the lyric topics. ”Mother’s Choice” really is a great hard hitting high energy rock & roll album. The songs are meaty, short (for Buffalo standards) and dynamic.

New guitarist & music writer Karl Taylor playing is very much in the Paul Kosoff (Free) and Mick Ralphs (Bad Co.) style; tough & tight. Vocalist Dave Tice finally gets a chance to do some great Rock and Roll singing and his lyrics and melodys are strong and catchy. Bass player Peter Wells is really on fire on these tracks. His playing weaves around all the instruments yet like all great players never over does it. Drummer Jimmy “The Greek” Eonomou seems to be in his element here, like Wells he plays exactly what is needed for the songs.
Short term slide player Norm Roue appears on most of the tracks here and his playing at times is incredible. It’s not hard to hear where Pete Wells (who after Buffalo starting playing slide and formed the mighty Rose Tattoo) got a lot of his inspiration.

Hell, with the right promotion this album could have been a hit, but one gets the impression that as far as the music industry and radio stations were concerned Buffalo had perhaps lost their chance at being accepted (if only Phonogram in Australia had bribed the right people).
Bonus tracks here are two cool B-sides. A cover of Little Richards’ “The Girl Can’t Help It” which absolutely rocks! And a great original “On My Way”.

Once again I must salute Aztec for re-releasing these albums and allowing them to be heard by future generations of Buffalo fans.
Highly Recommended

Tracks

01. Long Time Gone
02. Honey Babe
03. Taste It Don’t Waste It
04. Little Queenie
05. Lucky
06. Essukay
07. Sweet Little Sixteen
08. Be Alright
09. The Girl Can’t Help It (Single B Side)
10. On My Way (Single B Side)

turbo FLAC