Last update – 5 January 1997.

Date: Sun, 21 Jul 1996 17:22:42 +0400
From: Vladimir Milovidov <uheep@aha.ru>
Subject: Lawton news/Sumogrip CD

At saturday I was at "gorbushka" audiomarket and I was very surprised to see Lucifer's Friend "Sumogrip" CD for 10$... Can you guess my actions? :)

It's very good CD, and it's great to hear Lawton singing in 94 no worse that he did in 70... Of course, some high notes had gone, but his voice is still great... Musical material is very various, and very commercially focused... Like they just tried to appeal to everyone - some pop-metal stuff ("Heartbreaker", "One way ticket to hell") one great ballad ("You touched me", in two versions!), some "dance" song ("Cadillac", "Rebound"), some songs are in that stupid style of "Raging Silence", as Alex stated some time ago, and (surprise!) a great versions of "Ride the Sky" and "Free Me". Most memorable "new" tunes are "Heartbreaker", "One way ticket to hell", "You touched me" and "Cadillac", other "new" songs are not as good but not bad too. Only two members of original line-up were on this CD - Lawton and Hesslein, plus Curt Cress on the majority of the songs. Keyboardist is someone absolutely new, and his style of playing isn't a positive side of this recording. I would rather like to hear Peter Hecht and more traditional style of playing, some Hammond organ instead of modern synths. But his playing style isn't very annoying... All songs were composed by Hesslein (plus some "new" members co-wroting some of tunes), and Lawton has credits only for lyrics. And, another surprise, he isn't just John Lawton, but JOHN COOPER LAWTON! :-)

OK, it's good album, although not a same as their "serious" jazz-rock opuses in mid-70s, so I'll better stop writing here and send this letter while list still is working... :-)

-- Vladimir Milovidov,

(c) 1997