08. Buffalo Only Want You for Your Body 1974 (Vertigo)
Heavy Metal
A brazenly distorted burst of Aussie metal.
Overview
After finding their focus on the previous year’s
Volcanic Rock and also giving us an EP in between, the Sydney based quartet gave us another dosage of their proto-metal barnstormers on their third album
Only Want You for Your Body and this album along with the previous
Volcanic Rock stand as the band’s defining moment. Once again they courted controversy with their choice of album cover, last time it had been a play on a phallus shaped rock! This time around though, it was a fleshy woman strapped semi-naked to a torture device! The cover though, was no more than a humorous touch by the band which actually went hand in hand with their blatantly sexual lyrics. In fact the album cover could be seen as a precursor, to a number of album covers that bands from the future New Wave of British Heavy Metal (NWOBHM) would put out several years later and the album cover also has NWOBHM DIY feel about it. The band would finally lay to rest their progressive and psychedelic influences as well and give us their most accurate musical representation yet on
Only Want You for Your Body. The album only clocks in at around 34 minutes and it’s very much a case, of what you hear is what you get for those 34 minutes on this album. After this album the quality of the band’s releases would drastically go downhill, which was largely due to the sacking of guitarist John Baxter the following year. Eventually the band folded and largely passed into the vault as a forgotten metal band of their era. Without a shadow of a doubt, future Australian rock bands such as Angel, Rose Tattoo which was formed by bassist Peter Wells and of course AC/DC, owe a huge debt to this band with their pacey and highly addictive riffs. Along with a couple of other bands featured on here, Buffalo have often been seen as precursors for the future doom and stoner rock movements and will be of interest to somebody into that scene.
Album
I’m a Skirt Lifter, Not a Shirt Raiser- With a corny loudspeaker introducing the band and quickly followed up with a drum intro, David Tice’s rasping vocals carry this energetic song across. The song then lets up for the odd special effect such as a toilet being flushed and then doesn’t let up with the energy for a moment.
I’m Coming On- Nifty crunching guitar start before engaging in some Black Sabbath type heaviness and then the band have the talent to keep the intensity of the song going.
Dune Messiah-Back to special effects again and this time with a church bells intro followed up by a guitar and drum intro. The song then settles down into a mid-tempo Sabbath style raunch.
Stay With Me- Another metallic caress, as the band mix a subtle clapping beat and rhythm into the song. The song has a good tempo throughout but is an album track through and through.
What’s Going On- Another uptempo song in a similar vein to the epic “Shylock” from the previous album, but of course not as startling as that song. The song finishes up with a tinge of a proto-death metal growl!
Kings Cross Ladies- Another cheeky voice opener about ladies of the night and they’re referring to Kings Cross in Australia and not the London variety. This is the longest track on the album and one of the better known songs with fans of the band, and over the space of 7 minutes we are treated to a variety of speeds and some great guitar and drum work as well.
United Nations- Another lengthy track to close the album and as expected the band really indulge here in what they do best, and that is to really beat the hell out of their instruments and as what could be expected we finish off with a voice outro.
David Tice- Vocals
John Baxter- Guitar
Peter Wells- Bass
Jimmy Economou- Drums
Production- Spencer Lee
Verdict
From the word go,
Only Want You for Your Body is all about both thunderous power and energy in true Aussie style, and David Tice’s raspy voice on the album opener the blatantly sexual “I’m a Skirt Lifter, Not a Shirt Raiser” demonstrates this point to perfection! In many ways he carries a voice similar to that of Dan McCafferty of Nazareth, who of course were far better known than Buffalo at this time. The humorous attitude of Buffalo can also be heard on “Kings Cross Ladies” which at over seven minutes running time is the longest track on the album and in the latter part of the song we are treated to some stunning jamming by the band, who can do it as well as any band out there. The root psychedelic and proggy influences of the band are completely out the window here as well and most of the songs have far more in common with either Black Sabbath or Led Zeppelin. The song “I’m Coming” proves this point and you could say that the band display an intensity here, that either Led Zeppelin or Black Sabbath themselves would’ve been proud of. But things don’t get more Black Sabbath like than the third track the superbly named “Dune Messiah” is one of the best tracks on the album. Throughout nearly all the songs on the album, the guitar work of John Baxter and his distorted six-string often takes centre stage on the album. If variety or diversity is what the listener is looking for here, then this album doesn’t provide that at all, this is quite simply a great early metal offering full of solid tunes in the vein of Black Sabbath and with no hidden surprises. Anybody interested in AC/DC, should also listen to early Buffalo and realise that this Sydney based quartet, really set the pace for the Australian ‘heavy scene’ at the earlier part of the decade. This album clocks in at just 34 minutes and as they say good things often come in small packages!