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General Information
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Artist...............: LUCIFER'S FRIEND
Album................: Banquet
Released.............: 1975
Genre................: Progressive Rock (Heavy)
Duration.............: 38:47
Number of Songs......: 5
Cover(s) Included....: Yes
Audio Format.........: MP3
Bitrate..............: CBR 192
Hz...................: 44,100
Channels.............: Joint Stereo
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Release Notes
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Track Listing:
01-Spanish Galleon-11:52
02-Thus Spoke Oberon-06:47
03-High Flying Lady, Goodbye-03:43
04-Sorrow-11:39
05-Dirty Old Town-04:46
Album Review:
On Banquet, Lucifer's Friend finally pulled together the many different elements
to their sound (prog, soul, jazz, hard rock) into one cohesive and totally
distinctive style. This time out, the primary focus of the album is epic prog
numbers with complex instrumentation that go through a variety of surprising and
ambitious changes in their arrangements. The standout example is the opening
track, "Spanish Galleon": this pirate-themed epic starts with a Latin-flavored
rock groove, that is given further power by the addition of horns, segues into a
lyrical, pirate-themed song section that climaxes with a rousing chorus, takes a
left turn into an instrumental portion studded with jazzy solos, and then
finishes with a stirring reprise of the song section. The other prog numbers
continue in a similar vein, reaching heights of almost orchestral complexity,
but working in enough hooks and solid songcraft into the compositions to keep
the listener hooked. Another standout in this arena is "Sorrow," a
keyboard-based epic that features a lovely midsection where a keyboard solo is
accompanied by a lush string arrangement. Banquet also balances out these epics
with a pair of shorter, poppier songs that still manage to show off the band's
firepower and complexity in their tighter format; the best is "Dirty Old Town,"
the closing ballad that builds to a jazzy, horn-powered chorus. All in all,
Banquet is a fine, underrated prog outing and is worthy of rediscovery by
art-rock fanatics. It's an ideal introduction to the sound of Lucifer's Friend.
- Donald A. Guarisco, All Music Guide
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