Lucifer's Friend -....Where The Groupies Killed The Blues (1972)

On their second album, Lucifer's Friend pushes their sound in a more straightforward prog-rock direction with mixed results. The resulting album, Where the Groupies Killed the Blues, shows the band had the instrumental dexterity necessary for this style of music but lacked the discipline to create focused and coherent art rock. The album is riddled with instrumental solos that seem so different from the songs surrounding them that they often feel like they have been arbitrarily added to the songs. A good example of this problem is "Rose on the Vine": it features an arresting, Black Sabbathish guitar riff that is effectively doubled by the vocal melody but makes the mistake of burying these hooks in a series of noodly keyboard and guitar solos. The numbers that work the best are the ones that cut back the excesses and play up the group's songwriting skills: "Hobo" is a keyboard layered rocker built on a solid array of riffs and a dramatic vocal from John Lawton, and "Burning Ships" is an acoustic-based number that utilizes the band's instrumental chops to create a compelling atmosphere for the strong tune at its core. Ultimately, Where the Groupies Killed the Blues is neither fish nor fowl: it is too artsy and jazzy to please heavy metal fans, yet is too full of guitar bombast to make a comfortable listen for prog fans. It has enough moments of interest for anyone seriously interested in the work of Lucifer's Friend, but will most likely be seen by casual listeners as an interesting misfire.

Track listing

01. "Hobo" (Hesslein, Lawton)  -  3:42
       Words By – John Lawton / Written-By – J. Lawton, P. Hesslein
02. "Rose on the Vine" (Hesslein)  - 8:19
       Words By – John O'Brien-Docker / Written-By – J. O'Brian Docker, P. Hesslein
03. "Mother" (Hecht)  - 7:25
       Words By – John O'Brien-Docker / Written-By – J. O'Brian Docker, P. Hecht
04. "Where the Groupies Killed the Blues" (Hesslein)  - 5:04
       Words By – John O'Brien-Docker / Written-By – D. Horns, J. O'Brian Docker
05. "Prince of Darkness" (Hesslein)  - 5:37
       Words By – John O'Brien-Docker / Written-By – J. O'Brian Docker, P. Hesslein
06. "Summerdream" (Hecht, Hesslein)  - 8:56)
       Words By – John O'Brien-Docker / Written-By – J. O'Brian Docker, P. Hesslein
07. "Burning Ships" (Hesslein, Horns, Lawton)  - 4:34)
       Words By – John Lawton / Written-By – D. Horns, J. Lawton, P. Hesslein

Credits
Vocals – John Lawton
Piano, Organ, Electric Piano, Synthesizer [Moog], Mellotron – Peter Hecht
Drums, Percussion – Joachim Rietenbach
Guitar, Acoustic Guitar, Percussion, Vocals – Peter Hesslein
Electric Bass [Fenderbass], Double Bass [Bass-fiddle] – Dieter Horns
Arranged By [Strings & Brass] – Peter Hecht
Arranged By [The Group] – Lucifer's Friend
Design [Album Design] – Witt (2)
Engineer – Conny Plank
Photography By – Foth
Producer – J. Rietenbach, C. Plank, D. Horns, H. Hildebrandt, P. Hecht, P. Hesslein*

Companies etc
Pressed By – Deutsche Grammophon Gesellschaft Pressing Plant
Recorded At – Windrose-Dumont-Time Studios
Recorded At – Star Studio Hamburg
Lacquer Cut At – Deutsche Grammophon Gesellschaft Pressing Plant

Notes
Recorded at Windrose - Dumont Time Studio & Star Music Studio, Hamburg, January 1972
Genre: Jazz-Rock, Progressive Rock
Length: 41:24
Release: 1972

Label - Vertigo Records