Audio CD review:
Peter Lang - Lycurgus

Peter Lang - Lycurgus

Band: Peter Lang Title: Lycurgus Rating: Release Date: 2003-04-26 Media: Audio CD Tracks: 1: Round Worm Reel 2: That Will Never Happen No More 3: Green Apple Quickstep 4: Untitled Oblivion 5: Lycurgus 6: Poor Howard 7: Let the Old Boy Go 8: V/ The Connecticut Promissory Rag 9: Zero Adjustment 10: Flames Along The Monongahela 11: Untitled Oblivion (Instrumental) 12: V/ The Connecticut Promissory Rag (alt.) 13: Zero Adjustment (Instrumental) 14: Hello Baby Blues 15: Stackolee

Lang's best album of the 70's The album received great critical acclaim as well as a Grammy nomination. Lycurgus was Lang's first solo effort on Flying Fish records. In my estimation, it was Lang's best album from the 70's. Known primarily as an instrumentalist, Lang stepped out a bit and added vocals to a number of the pieces. Though not his best suite, his vocals are a nice addition and they round the character of the album out. What is really outstanding however are the instrumental pieces. On several, Lang adds the talents of Butch Thompson on Piano, Cal Hand on Dobro, and a young Peter Ostrousko on Mandolin. His solo pieces are groundbreaking, especially the seven-minute plus Flames Along The Monongahela, which is a potpourri of Americana sty lings. The album has an additional five bonus tracks of alternate versions and new material. This album is an absolute must for any aficionado of Lang. Lang Stumbles on His Sophomore Effort Where the former was a finger picker's delight, 1975's LYCURGUS strayed from the formula to include country and Dixieland influences, a host of session musicians, and worst of all--vocals. For those of us who were blown away by Peter Lang's debut (1973's THE THING AT THE NURSERY ROOM WINDOW), his follow-up was a major disappointment. This may have worked for Leo Kottke, but Lang's vocals are serviceable at best. And on tracks like "That Will Never Happen No More," Lang's guitar is buried so deep in the mix that you can't even hear it. Instead, the song features piano and clarinet solos by Butch Thompson. The standout tracks are the solo instrumentals. "Round Worm Reel" and "Medley: V/The Connecticut Promisory Rag" especially display Lang's deft finger-picking skills. Lang can also work effectively in a group setting on songs like "Poor Howard," where he shares solo space with Cal Hand (who also worked with Leo Kottke) on pedal steel and a very young Peter Ostrousko on mandolin. Lang junkies will jump at the chance to get this album after being out of print for nearly three decades, and there are some real gems here; but overall this is not one of Lang's bests efforts. A better choice would be to get the recently rereleased PRIME CUTS from 1978 that presents some of the album's best tracks in a live solo setting. You can see a complete list of all Peter Lang discography, or go back to the Peter Lang tabs