Reviewed by Paul J Zickler / LISTENING POST DISCOVERY
Released: September 1981 Lucifer's Friend Mean Machine Genre: Metal Rating: 4 out of 5 Highlights: One Way Street To Heartbreak Fire And Rain Cool Hand Killer Bye Bye Sadie Lucifer’s Friend was a band made up of German musicians with a British lead singer, John Lawton. They released several hard rock albums, starting in 1970, but according to what I read, they “lost their way” musically after signing with Elektra in 1978, drifting into a funkier sound and away from their roots. Mean Machine marked a return to metal, albeit what sounds to me like a very commercially viable metal. Somehow, it failed to hit, and the band went silent for 13 years, before reuniting for one more album, which flopped even worse. Thing is, I’m not really a metal fan, but this is good stuff. I hear elements of Rainbow, Judas Priest, the usual NWOBHM suspects, but also Deep Purple, Van Halen, AC/DC, hell, even early Chicago. They’ve got a piano/organ player! Their songs are varied and complex! And maybe most importantly, John Lawton is a hell of a singer! The one and only year I played organized football, in the 8th grade, we had a coach who thought it would be cool to have us reenact the climactic scene from The Longest Yard, a silly Burt Reynolds movie none of us had seen, by making half of us chant “the Mean Machine” over and over while the other half pretended to be evil prison guards trying to stop our version of Burt from scoring the winning touchdown. I’m sure Coach Springer meant well, but I have always associated the phrase with that day, which was awkward and embarrassing. Just thought I’d throw that in for some local color. Now back to our record review, already in progress. My highlights may not be your highlights, especially if you’re an experienced metalhead. Album opener One Way Street To Heartbreak incorporates what feels like a super effective metal trope: call and response vocal section leading into a big repeated chorus, followed by a speeded up tempo and fadeout. Fire And Rain features a piano section slightly reminiscent of Starship’s Jane, but proceeds to shred any comparisons with an unexpected bridge and some big time vocal histrionics from Lawton. I really enjoyed Cool Hand Killer, a driving thumper that ends side one. The organ/guitar interplay in the last few minutes really worked well, and even the Eruption-style solo that precedes it (titled Mean Machine) didn’t distract from the actual song’s epic power. Bye Bye Sadie grabbed my ear with Chuck Berry riffs, held on with a melodically strong chorus, and sealed the deal with a tightly composed ending. I could find moments in every song that stand out. The truth is, they all ROCK (insert devil horns emoji here). It’s possible I’m just in a good mood today and genuine fans could criticize this record and explain why it failed to break out. Either way, I’m glad I got to review a metal album I actually liked. Pretty sweet deal.
Showing posts with label Lucifer's Friend. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Lucifer's Friend. Show all posts
Thursday, December 14, 2023
Thursday, December 16, 2021
The 1980 Listening Post - Lucifer's Friend - Sneak Me In
Lucifer's Friend - Sneak Me In
1980 Housekeeping LISTENING POST DISCOVERY
Lucifer’s Friend
Sneak Me In
Genre: Styx meets Scorpions
4.25 out of 5
Highlights:
Goodbye Girls
Sneak Me In
Foxy Lady
Don’t You Know What I Like
Piana! Rifftastic licks! Strings!! What is this blazing nonsense?
It’s the SEVENTH album by Lucifer’s Friend. I have never ever ever heard of this band.
In the Styx vein comes this offering and, you know what? I want to go to a concert with a big ass light show after listening to this thing.
This is everything I love about the bombast of late 70s rock, with crazy keyboards that sound like a hybrid between a B3 and a Theremin. With a touch of Queen.
Rock on, Lucifer’s Friend.
Monday, August 24, 2020
The 1980 Listening Post - Lucifer's Friend - Sneak Me In
Lucifer's Friend - Sneak Me In
#270
June 1980
Lucifer’s Friend
Sneak Me In
Genre: Rock
3.25 out of 5
Highlights:
Goodbye Girls
Indian Summer
There are strings!!! A violin section on the chorus of the opening song and I am there for it!
This is the exact sound that would get a revival from the Swedish retro bands, specifically I’m thinking about Thunder Express, Strings Dahlquist’s side project from The Hellacopters (a band I became a huge fan of just because of the sheer number of times they are mentioned in Joel Harrington’s Sonic Cool, the History of Rock and Roll). I’ll link my favorite Thunder Express tune at the bottom.
This is that Styx/Journey sound that so few are practicing but, when it’s done right is so freaking delicious.
It’s records like this that present a quandary. I’m glad it exists so I can hear it. I don’t think I’d have liked it in 1980. I don’t love it now. But i appreciate it. I wish there was a reason to recommend it but it’s just not great. But it doesn’t suck.
I’m gonna add “Indian Summer” to the Highlights just cuz it’s so representative of the type of sound of this era and I can only hear the same Journey and Styx songs so many times. Either that or “Cosmic Crusader” for sounding exactly like what Queen would sound like in 4 years.
“Get Back In” by Thunder Express, circa 2005
https://open.spotify.com/track/0ZkxKyT1FUda09OdcOlINp?si=kATV-ZwmSZa17E4H4dkE3w
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