This bizarre
collection of Moog compositions is credited to a band/artist named
Lucifer (or is it "Black Mass?"), but the man behind the machine is
better known by his more ordinary given name of Mort Garson. Along with
scoring films, producing easy listening records, and co-writing the hit
tune "Our Day Will Come," Garson released several electronic music LPs
with themes like the Zodiac, the Wizard of Oz, and plant growth
stimulation. Black Mass/Lucifer (the cover art is ambiguous as to title)
is Garson's exploration of the dark arts, an all-instrumental
soundtrack for a horror film that never existed. Garson conjures up a
sinister, minor-key atmosphere on tracks with titles like "Incubus,"
"Witch Trial," and "The Evil Eye" often achieving a tone similar to the
scores that Italian horror-rock band Goblin would record for Dario
Argento films later in the decade. The technology available to Garson in
1971 was still being developed, and the record occasionally sounds
dated, particularly when some very corny synthetic drums ruin the mood.
There's some evocative music on Black Mass/Lucifer, to be sure, but
ultimately it's just not as wild of a recording as legend has painted,
perfectly rendered for a psychedelic Halloween party but hardly strong
enough to raise evil spirits on its own. Garson's Wozard of Iz album is a
freakier Moog ride, a kaleidoscopic retelling of the L. Frank Baum
tale. Line-up / Musicians Mort Garson/All Instruments Discography
Black Mass 1971
1.Solomon's Ring 2.The Ride of Aida (Voodoo) 3.Incubus 4.Black Mass 5.The Evil Eye 6.Exorcism 7.The Philosopher's Stone 8.Voices of the Dead (The Medium) 9.Witch Trial 10.ESP
