Description
Buzz is the fifth album by the American hard rock band Guardian, released on Myrrh Records in October 1995, a division of Word. The album was recorded by Russ Long at Quad Studios and at The Carport in Nashville, Tennessee; with Steve Taylor producing. (Guardian opened for Taylor on a tour which prompted them to ask him to produce their next album.) Mixed by Rick Will at The Saltmine in Nashville. String arrangements by John Mark Painter of Fleming & John fame. The album slip features four interchangeable covers.
Few bands have tested the limits of their abilities (not to mention the patience of their audience) as much as Guardian. I’d venture to guess there’s been some turnover between the crowd that was into the space-suited, glam metal band of ‘First Watch‘, the arena rock quartet of ‘Fire and Love‘, the sophisticated rock outfit of ‘Miracle Mile‘ and the rag-tag acoustic-oriented group responsible for ‘Swing, Swang, Swung‘. Of course, each time around, the band has said “This is the album we really wanted to make,” but in the case of ‘Buzz’, it may be true.
If a band can be said to be a sum of its influences and albums, then ‘Buzz’ is a pretty good summary. Although it doesn’t go in the extreme direction that Guardian’s previous albums have, it does contain recognizable musical elements from those albums. And then, there’s the intangible influence of the producer; in this case, Steve Taylor. Over the past few years, Taylor has become adept at making “Steve Taylor” albums for other artists that are almost as good as his own. However, Taylor’s involvement is hard to gauge on ‘Buzz’. One thing is for certain – his direct involvement with Guardian’s music and lyrics is not nearly as pervasive as his input on Newsboys‘ albums. And like Newsboys’ last two discs, there is some wordplay on ‘Buzz’ you would think is attributable to Steve which isn’t, and some musical and lyrical twists that seem Taylor-esque that are actually band compositions. However, Guardian plays about 98 percent of the music on ‘Buzz’, except for percussion and string (a quartet, arranged by Fleming & John‘s John Mark Painter).
No matter who gets the credit, these are some of the best songs to ever appear on a Guardian album; enthusiastically and expertly played, and extremely ripe with clever and probing lyrics. On «Lead the Way», Taylor and vocalist Jamie Rowe take pens in hand to trade off lines like “I got talk show-offs giving me gas” and “The more I chew, the less I swallow,” over a grinding beat. Rowe also sticks to his lower register throughout this and most of the tracks, giving the lyrics more bite and snarl without the artificial attitud often associated with hard rock. «State of Mine», written by Rowe and bassist David Bach, showcases the psychedelic stylings of “The Love Sponge String Quartet,” conducted by Painter. Over an off-kilter Karl Ney rhythm, Rowe lays down some blues-inflected licks, as he sings about a “Psalmist with a blues harp [who] knew about the darkest blues.” «The Lion’s Den», a brilliant Taylor lyric, draws parallels between the Daniel in the lion’s den and modern man’s desire to be “lionized” by men; guitarist Tony Palacios offsets the aggressive attack with some piercing guitar runs. «Psychedelic Runaway», a lament for lost souls of the ’60s (or any generation) features Palacios again, along with lyrics like “When the drink has lost its fizz/ Like a dog returning to his,” which I’d say pushes the envelope a bit for metaphors.
If there’s a dominating influence on ‘Buzz’, it’s the blues-based rock of the 1970s; specifically, the swaggering approach of Aerosmith. But Guardian stakes its own turf quite nicely, not bowing to any particular trend. ‘Buzz’ is high-energy, high-decible music, that’s comfortably retro yet thoroughly modern. [Bruce A. Brown, CCM, October 1995]
> Apple Music (https://music.apple.com/us/album/buzz/123453697)
CD tracklist:
01. This Old Man – 2:49
02. Lead the Way – 2:42
03. State of Mine – 3:03
04. The Lion’s Den – 3:53
05. Are You Gonna Keep Your Word? – 3:34
06. One Thing Left to Do – 3:36
07. Hand of the Father – 4:27
08. Psychedelic Runaway – 3:25
09. Even It Out – 3:55
10. Lift Me Up – 2:57
11. Shorty – 2:23
12. Lullaby – 2:50
13. Them Nails – 2:26
Note: Simultaneously released on cassette and CD by Myrrh Records. The album slip features four interchangeable covers, all of them references to the title Buzz. The four covers were: 1) A picture of astronaut Buzz Aldrin. 2) A close-up of a bee hive. 3) A picture of two girls whispering between them (as in “buzzing”). 4) A picture of a mother giving a buzz cut haircut to her young son. (This picture is actually Guardian bassist David Bach’s mom giving his older brother a haircut.)
A full-page advertisement for Guardian’s Buzz was featured in the December 1995 issue of CCM Magazine.
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