THE BUOYS : THE BUOYS

1. Give Up Your Guns
2. Castles
3. Sunny Days
4. Memories
5. The Prince Of Thieves
6. Timothy
7. Tell Me Heaven Is Here
8. Bloodknot
9. Tomorrow
10. Absent Friend

Label : Sceptre

Release Year : 1971

Length : 31:35

Review (AllMusic) : One-hit wonder band the Buoys debuted with this 1971 platter, the back cover of which features a photo of the group dining at a fancy restaurant with the ironic caption "Dinner Music." The centerpiece of the LP is, of course, "Timothy," the tasteless Top 40 hit that earned the Buoys temporary stardom and launched the career of songsmith Rupert Holmes. It's a classic death pop number, the sprightly tale of three miners trapped by a cave-in who turn to cannibalism for survival during their ordeal. Despite the gruesome theme, "Timothy" has a hooky chorus and a production rich with brass and strings, so it's likely that many of the song's fans never listened much deeper than the melodious tune. The rest of the album's material is relatively faceless, though the second single, "Give Up Your Guns," is a good country-rock number and strives for an "outlaw on the run" vibe that almost convinces. Nothing else on the album matches "Timothy" in either content or euphony, dispensing with the gallows humor and catchy refrains in favor of a rustic rock sound laced with a few contemporary psychedelic elements. Holmes penned half of the album's tracks, including "Guns" and the "Timothy" sound-alike "Bloodknot," but the Buoys' own songwriting suggests a band aspiring to Crosby, Stills & Nash heights, most successfully on "Tell Me Heaven Is Here." the Buoys failed to secure a spot among serious rock's elite, but their peculiar chart entry puts them in good company with such lurid Top 40 favorites as Bloodrock's plane-crash dirge "D.O.A." and Jody Reynolds' rockabilly suicide note "Endless Sleep."