Lucifer's Friend - S/T - LP

Their earlier releases are aggressive and raw, not unlike The SCORPIONS, JANE or LONESOME CROW. Living up to their sinister name, they performed heavy, mean, keyboard-based rock that should please LED ZEP, SABBATH or PURPLE fans. Then came their absolute masterpiece, "Banquet", in 1974, which focusses on epic prog numbers with complex instrumentation, complete with string and horn arrangements, and Lawton giving his full-throttle vocal performance. This album perfectly pulled together the many different elements of their sound: prog, soul, jazz and hard rock. If you want to sample some LUCIFER'S FRIEND, you could try their compilation albums; if you want to hear LUCIFER'S FRIEND at their proggiest, go for the "Banquet" - their subsequent releases received mixed reviews, particularly "Sumogrip" in 1994.

Fans of URIAH HEEP or those interested in the roots of heavy metal definitely ought to get their hands on some of these items.