This latest release follows on the coat tails of 2016’s ‘Too Late To Hate’, and continues Lucifer’s Friend ride into what the band call ‘their reunion era’.
Written by: gdmonline
ARTIST: Lucifer’s Friend
ALBUM: Black Moon
LABEL: Lucifer’s Records
SERIAL: LF004CD
YEAR: 2019
CD REISSUE: Discogs Reissue List
COUNTRY OF ORIGIN: Germany
LINEUP: John Lawton – vocals * Peter Hesslein – guitar, keyboards * Dieter Horns – bass * Jogi Wichmann – keyboards * Markus H. Fellenberg, Stephan Eggert – drums
Additional Musicians: Chuck Findley – trumpet (#1) * Stefan Pintev – electric violin (#8)
TRACK LISTING: 01 Black Moon * 02 Passengers * 03 Rolling The Stone * 04 Behind The Smile * 05 Palace Of Fools * 06 Call The Captain * 07 Little Man * 08 Freedom * 09 Taking It To The Edge * 10 Glory Days
RATING: 80/100
WEBLINKS: Site Link
Background
This latest release follows on the coat tails of 2016’s ‘Too Late To Hate’, and continues Lucifer’s Friend ride into what the band call ‘their reunion era’. With three original members still part of the lineup (Hesslein, Horns and Lawton), the legacy keeps rocking on and long time fans couldn’t be happier. The album was recorded in New York earlier this year and marks another milestone on the timeline of these veteran German progressive rockers.
The Songs
Peter Hesslein and John Lawton have written all ten tracks on this new set, and there are some quite varied tracks throughout. Starting with the earthy rocker and title track, the dominant vocal of Lawton is apparent from the start, so too the crazy trumpet solo from the renowned trumpeter Chuck Findley, who is best known for his work with Steely Dan, Toto and many others over a prolonged period.
‘Passengers’ is more in keeping with LF’s past track record, and along with ‘Rolling The Stone’, these two are a good pairing and shows the band right on song. ‘Behind The Smile’ takes on a slightly whimsical but progressive persona, whereas ‘Palace Of Fools’ edges into hard rock territory with some brash drum work to heavy it up.
Taking it one step further is the energetic hard rock of ‘Call The Captain’, a track which picks up the pace noticeably. Offsetting that, ‘Little Man’ is a soulful rocker which is sorta/maybe ballad like in quality, but not quite. ‘Freedom’ is a rollicking track (holy roller stuff in the lyrics department) with some insane electric violin playing on the solo courtesy of Bulgarian (but German based) violinist extraordinaire Stefan Pintev, as a point of difference.
‘Taking It To The Edge’ is another rocker with nice wurlitzer piano tapping and swirling strings delivered in a quasi Deep Purple style. Gotta love the title of the tenth and final track, ‘Glory Days’. Perfect for this site I know! The song is a straight ahead rocker with a jangly quality but energetic nonetheless.
In Summary
If you’re a long time supporter of Lucifer’s Friend then you’ll probably enjoy what’s going on here. They do mix it up a bit, but if you’ve followed their back catalogue since the early 70’s, then this shouldn’t come as a surprise to many. Released on their own label Lucifer’s Records, you can find it on Amazon and on iTunes:
Lucifer’s Friend on Video
Click to go to YTM album page.
