LWE: LWE

Cover	Release	Style
	2006	Art Rock
	Label
	ProgRock Records
	Website
	www.franklucas.net
	Contact
	-
	Playing Time	Cat. N°
	approx. 58 min	PRCD020
	Review by	Rating
	Christoph	8/10
nederlands	Review
If this American trio (keys, drums and bass) had called itself ELW, the unmistakeable influence of prog giant ELP would have been too obvious. So it became LWE, which stands for three very fine musicians: Frank Lucas, Chuck White and Steve Edsey. What makes this album such a joy to listen to, is its stylistic versatility, without endangering the cohesion of the whole. Beautiful figures of speech from the gulden book of prog are scattered, but jazz and bluegrass are adopted easily as well. And what is important anyway: the technique is always there to assist the melody. You could consider LWE the more accessible twin brother of Parallel Mind. A song like “Liberty” may sound like a patriotic sermon at first, yet it is this apparent naivety that gives way to the record’s undoubted charm. Admittedly, the music isn’t completely freed from kitchen clichés (the obligate soloing, of course), but that is more than compensated by the very fine, catchy playing. The latter is particularly accounted for in “A Note to Jordan”: it is prime composer Frank Lucas’s salute to his discoverer and training master, Jordan Rudess. So, yes, there are enough inversed rhythms and fast keyboard play on this cheerful album to keep our demanding teeth happy.
Musicians
Frank Lucas – keyboards Chuck White – drums and percussion Steve Edsey – bass with Edger Gabriel – violin on track 3
Tracklist
1. Liberty 2. Sleight of Hand and Foot 3. A Note to Jordan 4. Hasta Mañana 5. Waiting for Bela 6. The Nightcap 7. A Dog and His Boy 8. The Good Life


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