LUNCH

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.

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