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Anyway, time to review one of the best albums ever from a really great German hard-rock group....who nobody seems to know about.
Lucifer's Friend - Banquet (1974)
Track Listing
1. Spanish Galleon (11:50)
2. Thus Spoke Oberon (6:44)
3. High Flying Lady-Goodbye (3:40)
4. Sorrow (11:36)
5. Dirty Old Town (4:46)
There's a rather sad story behind many of the German rock bands in the 60's and 70's, in that it was nearly impossible for them to find exposure outside their home country, plus it was looked down upon for them to write their own compositions.
Example conversation:
Person: "So, you guys are a rock band?"
Band: "Yes."
Person: "Cool! What Led Zeppelin tracks you gonna' cover tonight?"
Band: "None. We wrote all our own stuff!"
Person: "STFU GTFO!!!!!111"
Taking such into a considersation, its a real wonder that Lucifer's Friend, who began as a hard rock band around the same time as Black Sabbath and Deep Purple formed, got ANY exposure at all despite landing a record deal at Vertigo Records (which Sabbath was also on). Despite that however, the exposure was still minimal, as they weren't able to produce that many of their records for distribution. Hence, while anyone and their grandma can tell you who Deep Purple is, they'll just scratch their heads at the mention of Lucifer's Friend.
Anyway, onto the review of this particular work: Of the nine studio albums that Lucifer's Friend ended up putting out before finally biting the bullet for good in the mid 90's, Banquet is without a doubt the peak of their creative output. While "Spanish Galleon" with its swingin' pace and the epic "Sorrow" are major highlights here, the 30-piece brass band behind Lucifer's Friend really show their chops behind the main group, resulting in awesomeness from start to finish.
There's a lot to like for those who get a kick out of great instrumentals: the guitar and piano are both prominent & tasteful, John Lawton (who would later front Uriah Heep) is in top vocal shape here, and the songs themselves never cease to keep one's attention. This is partly due to the rather bombastic big-band vibes due to all the brass background instruments, but all-in-all I would say Lucifer's Friend themselves had captured a unique blend of progressive/hard rock with this record that you just don't see anywhere else today. Its jazzy, its hard, and its a damn lot of fun to blast it out your car speakers as you drive!
So, if nothing else, I recommend Banquet for anyone who wants to hear the best rock this rather poorly exposed German outfit has to offer, and also to check out their 1970 S/T debut if you like this. Listen well and appreciate just how far Lucifer's Friend has progressed beyond those other rock bands of the era in complexity/originality in the space of a mere four years while the rest stuck to their formulaic 3-chord recreations of their debut albums for the rest of their careers (I'm looking at YOU Black Sabbath!!).
R.I.P Lucifer's Friend, and may your music be remembered and appreciated by those who wish to listen to the best that history has forgotten.