Reviewed by Rod Brogan / LISTENING POST DISCOVERY
Released: 1981 EF Band Last Laugh Is On You Genre: Heavy Metal Rating: 4 out of 5 Highlights: The Last Laugh Is On You Two former swedish prog rockers, bassist/vocalist Pär Ericsson and guitarist Bengt Fischer (the titular E&F), started this power trio, along with drummer Dag Eliason. Derek Lawrence, who had produced three Richie Blackmore era Deep Purple albums, oversaw Last Laugh, and he proves to have good rock and roll ears. This isn't the Mutt Lange wall of sound that took over the 80s in just a few short years, but the drums still sound robust and give an unusually heavy bottom to the sound for the time. The title track main riff is fast, furious, and a bit sleazy, and could quite nicely fit in the setlist of Live Like A Suicide early Guns N' Roses, when it was still Izzy Stradlin's band. What's remarkable is not how big the sound is for a trio, but how everywhere on the album you find something reminiscent of production and songwriting that came later. Hard Liqueur And Women could be the B side to Whitesnake's Slide It In. This album represents the beginning of 80s excess. Not just longer solos, but drum fills galore as the pocket gave way to fast beats. There's no room or space left in the music, every second is filled with playing. Who knew that in the coming decade, musicianship would become such an athletic endeavor? Possibly with some help from producer Lawrence, EF Band opened for Blackmore's Rainbow, and what a tour that must have been. E.F. Band had two more albums before calling it a day after 1985's One Night Stand. A shame, because this was terrific hard rock/proto 80s metal. E.F. disappeared, and David Coverdale recorded with Jimmy Page. The last laugh was on them.
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