LUNCH

Somehow something went terribly wrong on this album. After Friends and House , I think everyone expected this one to be their opus , their masterpiece , their apex ........ And then it hits you , the album is a conceptual one and therefore increases your expectations, only to be cruelly let down. I still have problems figuring what is wrong in here but I find Lunch hard to digest ( tooo easy!!!) but something is not working here and I will call it inspiration. This sounds as though , they were asked to do a concept album , by their label but the envy was not there. This is also their last album , so one can imagine that there was friction about this as they broke up. If you are a fan of their first three , you wil want to listen to this , but I have warned you.....

I was rather surprised to find the often-overlooked Audience listed on the Archives, because I have a hard time regarding the music that singer/songwriter Howard Werth and company make as progressive rock. Although the English band recorded on Charisma Records (in company with label-mates Genesis and Van der Graaf Generator), and despite the fact that '72's LUNCH was engineered by early Genesis engineer David Hentschel, I have always broadly classified Audience's distinctive music as folkish, rhythm and blues-based straight rock, with just a tinge of country.

Quibbling over categories aside, I am nonetheless glad for the opportunity to review an album that has long been a favourite of mine, in any genre. LUNCH is one of those perennially-treasured albums that I fondly revisit again and again.

The band's sound is driven by Werth's strong voice (somewhat reminiscent of CCR's John Fogerty) and acoustic guitar -- there are no electric guitars or synths -- and the tenor sax of Bobby Keys. Drums, bass, piano, vibes, marimba, trumpet, trombone, flute and accordion fill out the mix, and impart a joyful atmosphere to the proceedings.

Taste is a highly individual thing, but I can't understand why my fellow reviewer Hugues Chantraine has given this terrific disc such a poor rating. For the record, LUNCH is not a concept album, but simply a fun CD, and not one to take too seriously. This is perfect music for friends, good times and cold beer! I enjoy every song here, but some are particular standouts: The opener "Stand by the Door" is about as close as this album gets to "Progressive Rock," and gets under your skin (in a good way!) from the first listen, with its plaintive lyrics, infectious chorus, and superb harmony vocals. This magnificent song should have been a hit!

"Hula Girl" is a happy little ditty, replete with whistling, vibes and marimba, and sees Werth singing of his love for his "Polynesian queen." This number never fails to put a smile on my face!

"In Accord," with its double entendre title, is a masterful example of the songwriter's craft, and especially notable for its clever lyrics, which employ musical terminology to describe love: "I just have to tell you girl, that I'm in tune with you. You just tipped the scales my way -- saw your notes were true. Made my mind up now, you've got to come and sing with me. Something tells me by your tone, we won't sing out of key...." Werth's impassioned voice and powerfully strumming acoustic, accompanied by Keys' wailing and statacco sax, really shine here!

"Thunder and Lightning" is also a winner for me -- a passionate declaration of love that serves as another superb showcase for Keys' sax, and Werth's guitar and vocals. A fabulous song!

Next, the catchy music and lyrics of "Party Games" eminently suits its title, and the western-themed "Trombone Gulch" ably keeps the session moving at an up-tempo, joyous pace.

My overall favourite, though, brings this excellent musical repast to a regrettably early end: At over five minutes, "Buy Me an Island" is the longest selection on this all-too-brief recording, and finds Werth singing of his desire to escape the rat race: "I'm gonna buy me an island in the sun -- stay there till my days are all done. Life's gonna be coconut trees and swimming in the sea for me -- and no one's gonna take that from me." When Werth harmonizes "Da de-do-do, do-do do dooo" along with the sax for the superlative final minute, my heart soars along, and a masterpiece of classic English rock comes to a very memorable close.

Thus, I urge all to take another look at the LUNCH menu -- its offerings are actually quite tasty! Highly recommended indeed, for those fans of classic British rock who like to smile!

This was certainly anything than their best work and knowing and adoring their two previous masterly done albums one could easily be disappointed by listening to it. But nonetheless if not drawing too many comparisons, especially not with classic Prog releases "Lunch" was still a fine enjoyable and moreover a funny album. In some way this strange mix of folk, country, pop, bluegrass and brass rock can be considered quite unique and actually it's hard to find any reminiscences. In fact the only ones coming to my mind are Van Morrison or maybe Kevin Coyne at times and it's true there's little to be picked up here that could be of any interest for a Prog fan. A bit outstanding track is for me "In Accord" with great brass sound but songs like "Stand By The Door", "Hula Girl", "Thunder And Lightnin", "Party Games" or "Buy Me An Island" have their charm too and are a nice listen every now and then. This one doesn't get a regular spin by my player and I could only recommend it for running in the back if having a few beers together with friends, but for me it's still good for 3 stars!

Stand by the door for a hasty exit!

While it is generally recognised that Audience's previous release "The house on the hill" was an excellent jazz/prog rock album, the views on "Lunch" are far more divided. "Lunch" should have seen Audience delving deeper into the jazz/prog sound they had created so well on tracks like "Jackdaw" and "House on the hill". Unfortunately, they made a very average album of pretty basic songs.

It all starts off brightly enough with "Stand by the door", a fine commercial piece with a strong refrain and some excellent vocal harmonies. The song is reminiscent of "You're not smiling" from the previous album.

Unfortunately, it's downhill from there on. Howard Werth's highly distinctive vocals are still here of course. While for many they were an instant turn off, there is no denying they were a major factor in the sound of the band.

"Seven sore bruises" is little more than a standard pub rock song, with strong retro feel. "Hula girl" is a light pop number with a pleasant but unremarkable melody. It is the sort of song you hear as background music at holiday camps! "Barracuda Dan" is another throwaway piece, this time a sort variant of ELP's "The Sheriff". "Trombone gulch" is a undistinguished romp. All these tracks are well under three minutes in length, a good indicator of the superficial nature of the album as a whole.

"In accord" finally sees Audience moving back towards "A house on the hill", being an altogether more substantial piece which may have later inspired the WATERBOYS. The brass section is particularly notable here, the piece having a heavy, ROXY MUSIC feel. "Party games", "Buy me an island" and "Thunder and lightning" try to offer something slightly more interesting, but they remain uninspired.

This, Audience's fourth release, turned out to be their last original album, the band's lifespan having been tragically short. The brevity of the album and the eclectic mix of mediocre songs indicates however that the tank was empty. In 2005, the original line up reunited for some live performances. Sadly, they were not supported by Genesis, as they had been in the early 1970's. It remains to be seen if there will be any new material from the band.

Audience last album Lunch is not a favorite among the fans. Personally I like it almost as much as the two previous albums. It´s a bit more diverse than those, but you can still hear that it is Audience playing. The style is a bit more soul influenced on this album though, just listen to a song like Ain´t the Man You Need.

Songs like Stand by the Door and In Accord are very good songs which reminds me of Audience great debut album. There are also some pretty horrible stuff here too I´m afraid. A song like Hula Girl is really bad but generally the songs are really good. It´s not the most progressive album you´ll ever hear though.

The musicians are very competent and especially singer Howard Werth stands out with his in your face attitude. What a powerful singer. Keith Gemmel´s flute and especially sax is also very present on the album. This is usual business for Audience. They have hired a couple of more horn players on Lunch though which helps the more soulful feeling to emerge.

All in all it´s an ok album, but really not too recommendable. I will always listen to their great debut instead of this. 2 stars is all I can give.