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MIND EXPLODING

Lucifer's Friend

Heavy Prog


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Lucifer's Friend Mind Exploding album cover
3.26 | 68 ratings | 6 reviews | 12% 5 stars

Good, but non-essential

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Studio Album, released in 1976

Songs / Tracks Listing

1. Moonshine Rider (4:48)
2. Blind Boy (4:46)
3. Broken Toys (5:54)
4. Fugitive (4:55)
5. Natural Born Mover (4:25)
6. Free Hooker (7:17)
7. Yesterday's Ideals (6:54)

Total time 38:59

Line-up / Musicians

- John Lawton / vocals
- Peter Hesslein / guitar, percussion, backing vocals
- Peter Hecht / piano, Fender Rhodes, Minimoog, String Ensemble, Hammond, Hohner clavinet, celesta, string & brass arrangements (7)
- Karl-Hermann Lüer / soprano, tenor & baritone saxes, flute, bass clarinet, violin
- Dieter Horns / basses
- Herbert Bornhold / percussion, drums (7)

With:
- Curt Cress / drums
- Dave Brian / backing vocals (2,4)
- Earl Jordan / spoken word (7)

Releases information

LP Vertigo ‎- 6360 633 (1976, Germany)

CD Repertoire Records ‎- PMS 7085-WP (1998, Germany)
CD Repertoire Records ‎- REPUK 1273 (2015, Europe) Remastered

Thanks to ProgLucky for the addition
and to Quinino for the last updates
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LUCIFER'S FRIEND Mind Exploding ratings distribution


3.26
(68 ratings)
Essential: a masterpiece of progressive rock music(12%)
12%
Excellent addition to any prog rock music collection(40%)
40%
Good, but non-essential (37%)
37%
Collectors/fans only (9%)
9%
Poor. Only for completionists (3%)
3%

LUCIFER'S FRIEND Mind Exploding reviews


Showing all collaborators reviews and last reviews preview | Show all reviews/ratings

Collaborators/Experts Reviews

Review by Gatot
SPECIAL COLLABORATOR Honorary Collaborator
4 stars It's a pity that no one has ever reviewed this powerful album. First of all I never realized that this band would be under prog music basket. What is prog, anyway? History-wise it might be OK to label this album under what so called prog rock music. Why? This album was actually the band's answer to music trends that happen sometime mid seventies where mainstream rock bands such as Deep Purple, Led Zeppelin were dominating the charts. Backed by an English speaking vocalist John Lawton and other Germany's great musicians (especially the bass guitar player) made up this excellent album.

Well, actually I used to listen to this album (best of other albums of this band, I think) in classic rock mind. But I think, it's not a typical classic rock album for this. I can sense it from the music compositions that vary dynamically. "Moonshine Rider" is an energetic rock opened with nice piece combined with piano. The bass playing so dynamic and sets the tune of the track. Lawton voice is really top class. He's a true rocker. This track rocks!

"Blind Boy" to me is a typical mainstream classic rock music with a bit of rock'n'roll. But .. don't get me wrong because when it enters the interlude, there is a prog bit here. Something that not every classic rock band has ever created. "Broken Toys" is nice, especially in its melody. Excellent acoustic guitar. The chorus reminds me on my childhood.

"Fugitive" is one of my favorites in this album. Opened with a stormy and rain sound followed by dynamic bass guitar playing and then vocals part. This track has caused my adrenalin to explode! I mean it. Listen to how the bass guitar is played throughout the entire track; great keyboard playing, and observe how Lawton sings . uuuuhhh . very nice! Galileo! I cannot afford not to repeat this track mannn .. It rocks the world! The track ends nicely with solo keyboard.

"Natural Born Mover" is another high energy and nice track. Again, bass playing is great throughout the track. And also the guitar that creates nice sound distortion. Solo guitar at the interlude part is great, backed by nice piano and keyboard sound. This track is bit complicated but very nice.

The last two tracks "Free Hooker" and "Yesterday's Ideal" are also excellent. Again, look at how dynamic the bass guitar part is! These two tracks, probably, that justify this album categorized under prog rock scheme. What is prog, anyway? But these two tracks are top class! "Yesterday's Ideals" has a very nice narration voice at intro part.

Overall, for those of you who like a high energy, upbeat prog music, this probably fits you. Caution only for those who love mellow neo prog that might not like this album. For me personally (I love neo and symp prog) this album is top class! What do you think? - Gatot Widayanto, Indonesia.

Review by SouthSideoftheSky
SPECIAL COLLABORATOR Symphonic Team
3 stars Yesterday's Ideals

Leaving behind the overtly progressive approach of Banquet, Lucifer's Friend returned once more to a more straightforward Rock sound with Mind Exploding. The album most similar to this one is I'm Just A Rock 'N' Roll Singer from a couple of years earlier and, like that album, Mind Exploding features shorter and more Rock-based songs. The band still utilizes assorted keyboards, brass and female backing vocals, but all this is more discrete here than on Banquet. The Heavy Metal sound of the first two albums is still absent, however.

Structurally similar to I'm Just A Rock 'N' Roll Singer, about half of the material here is very strong and the rest is a little bit too far towards Rock 'N' Roll for my tastes. Moonshine Rider is a strong opener and semi-progressive, semi-ballads like Broken Toys and Yesterday's Ideals are really great songs that wouldn't be too out of place on the band's better albums. Blind Boy and Natural Born Mover are straightforward Rock 'N' Roll songs with little or nothing to impress. Fugitive is a funky rocker with a nice synthesiser solo, but overall not too interesting. Free Hooker is the album's longest track and possibly its most progressive and best song. Anyway, the best songs comes at the end with Free Hooker and Yesterday's Ideals taking pride of place.

Mind Exploding is hardly Lucifer's Friend's best album, but neither is it their worst. It is a very good addition to any collection that already holds the essential Banquet, Where There Groupies Killed The Blued and the self-titled debut.

Recommended!

Review by snobb
SPECIAL COLLABORATOR Honorary Collaborator
3 stars My first Lucifer's Friend album was their debut I listened some decades ago, and I was really impressed, even remember its dirty-grey vinyl cover till now....

"Mind Exploding" is different album. John Lawton is great vocalist, and other musicians are really competent, so this album is a well made better-then-average straight forward heavy rock one. Excellent melodies, perfect arrangements - all the best from mid 70-s fantastic heavy rock era. Listening to this album I just returning back to that time - and it was a time!

But - in sense of progressive rock this album is far not a best example. Taking its position somewhere between Uriah Heep and Deep Purple, supported by great vocals and good musicians, this work is really good example of rock'n'roll growing to heavy rock. Rainbow early works are released yet, so it's another point of direction for album's music.

Compositions are energetic, short and heavy. Shooting right to the target. No place for improvs, rhythm changes or concepts. Play it loud-here and now!

Great heavy rock album for fans of Uriah Heep, Deep Purple or early Rainbow. Not much food for dreamy proggers though.

Review by ZowieZiggy
PROG REVIEWER
2 stars After the weak and brassy "Banquet", the band reverts to a more rock oriented music. And this is good news but the whole is not very convincing. The orchestrations that can be heard during the energetic opening number are just a confirmation. Alas, the experience will be duplicated.

The problem is that a song as "Blind Boy" shares too much with their previous album and this is really bringing the quality of the work lower. OK: there are some fine background fluting?so what? The riff is also a rip off from the Fab Four.

If you like funky tunes, you might be charmed with "Fugitive". Needless to say that is at the opposite of my taste and that the only action I can recommend is to "press next" to avoid this nightmare. So far, so bad: not one great song to describe.

The most average song from this album is the great rocking "Natural Born Mover". It is quite lost within the maelstrom of the whole offering but it offers some relief at least. Unfortunately, it is followed by the lousy "Free Hooker". Some mix of soul, jazz and potentially rock music. But I can't sand this mix of genres. By no means.

Some Oriental touch for "Broken Toys" is just there to be closer to the model I have just mentioned. This might have been original in the late sixties; but not any longer in 1976 when this "Mind Exploding" was released. My mind was not exploding at all while listening to it? Do we need to fall apart for some table sound? I guess not.

This is just a below average album: two stars.

Latest members reviews

3 stars "Mind Exploding" sees Lucifer's Friend return to shorter and more conventional song structures. That is not to say, however, that they have abandoned prog rock all together. There are still moog solos and interesting instruments like the citarr (or something that sounds like a citarr) John La ... (read more)

Report this review (#39330) | Posted by | Wednesday, July 13, 2005 | Review Permanlink

4 stars Well, i remember the first time i heard the intro of moonshine rider...it Really took my breath away and i've said to myself that if i ever have the Chance to write a song i will use strings alike this intro(synth strings full Of flanger and some delay)thank god i have already done it and i've ... (read more)

Report this review (#36634) | Posted by | Thursday, June 16, 2005 | Review Permanlink

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