English vocals, Swedish vocals
International relevance: ***
One of the 'lost' bands of Swedish 70s
hard rock, with only one seven-inch released in 1973 on the Efel label. And what a seven-inch it is! Especially the 'B' side
”Svarta skogen” is a full-blooded hard rock classic. The other track, ”Speed”, might be weighed-down by
embarrasingly poor English pronounciation and some flat vocals but
the song itself is still good. So my interest peaked when Subliminal
Sounds announced an archival release of Alexander Lucas. Especially
following the label's powerhouse release of Great Ad which will stand
as one of the best Swedish tape archive clear-outs for many years to come.
There's a lot to like on ”Alexander
Lucas”, but it also reveals the band's shortcomings – the vocals
in particular were obviously a constant problem that unfortunately
weakens the impact some. The adolescent machoisms occasionally occuring are downright cringeworthy even for a hard rock band, and the material is somewhat inconsistent
too. Inferior tracks include ”Race To Heaven”,
”The Saint”, a completely pointless cover of ”Johnny B. Goode”
and – worst of all – the absolutely dreadful ”You're Gonna Die”
that not only has seriously embarrassing lyrics but
also the silliest attempt at ”scary” vocals ever. The compilation would
certainly have benefitted from a less allowing selection – it would have presented Alexander Lucas in a generally better
light and the listener would have had fewer annoying moments. Nothing here is as good as the 45 tracks that open the album, but there are still a few things here that stand up fairly well and deserve to be heard. The guitar playing is pretty great too, with a nice bite and quite a few Eastern influences. I can also sense small bits of Black Sabbath, Pentagram, November and even Deep Purple scattered among the tracks. ”Free To Ride” even comes off as an early blueprint for a
Motörhead that hadn't yet made their debut on record!
I wouldn't call this essential to the casual listener, but if you're interested in obscure 70s hard rock, this will surely be a welcome listen, especially if you harness your expectations and are prepared for a couple of duds along the way.
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