Lucifer's Friend
Banquet

From the mists of my memory resurface the Lucifer's Friend. A band that I had left with an excellent debut album, marked by a highly elaborate hard rock with dark atmospheres. I rediscovered them only recently and what I heard pleasantly surprised me. I had already read somewhere about the group's progressive turn in subsequent albums, but I probably hadn't quite understood the direction or the extent of this change. And to be honest, it's not completely clear to me even now. The fact remains that this "Banquet" has literally overwhelmed me with its freshness and originality. One must admit that "kraut rock" in general has always sought to distinguish itself from other European movements, which have often tried to emulate the Albion musical proposal. The German cousins, on the other hand, have often followed a more experimental and bizarre line, marked by a clear creative freedom, without yielding to easy commercial compromises.

The Lucifer's Friend confirm the above in this album with a thousand facets. A great work of contamination between musical cultures, an uncontrollable mix of sounds, of changing and lush arrangements. Free and airy music, played with superb technique while never becoming excessive. A sonic fabric always open to melody, which at times is injected with visionary jazz improvisation, where demonic solo inventions emerge forcefully. A frenetic, mad, enveloping album, which perhaps would not have the same emotional charge without the precious contribution of a superlative John Lawton. The future singer of Uriah Heep (of "Firefly" and "Fallen Angel" to be clear) is indeed a significant added value, with his clear and powerful timbre, combined with a chilling vocal range. I feel compelled to say that one rarely finds a singer of such capabilities in a progressive rock band. Moreover, the vocal harmonies and the captivating refrains present on the album are reminiscent of the band where Lawton would find his fortune.

But, dear friends, the surprises do not end here, because seasoning it all is a real horn and brass section creating majestic orchestrations in the manner of Blood Sweat & Tears or Chicago. The key tracks of this splendid work are three long suites. "Spanish Galleon" opens the album with Latin rhythms and sounds, accompanied by airy and decidedly catchy refrains, then making way for the arabesques of a torrential saxophone, with a lyrical and dissonant pitch. However, it is the subsequent "Thus Spoke Oberon" that reaches the creative peaks of this work. A song with refined melodic taste that in the central part highlights extremely dynamic piano excursions, supported by dominant drumming. "Sorrow" completes the inspired trinity alternating melancholy and dreamy atmospheres with explosions of energy, with Lawton prominently switching the emotional switch on and off. Completing the album are the more rhythmic and, so to speak, conventional "High Flying Lady" and an acoustic piece with a retro flavor like "Dirty Old Town", which I assure you are not mere fillers.

Regrettably neglected by the general public and part of the critics, Lucifer's Friend left us a discography of absolute value, of which in my opinion this "Banquet" represents the pinnacle. If you love rock 360°, this is an album you absolutely must have.