Jan
18
Review: Lucifer – Black Mass (1971)
Filed Under Reviews
People die, but music doesn’t though I would be a happy man if I could murder Good Charlotte’s entire catalog. Though I am forever damned by “Boys and Girls”, I will be able to listen to the work of Mort Garson even though he passed away earlier this month.
Mort Garson was an innovator when it came to composing music for the moog, for he strayed from the norm of using the instrument solely for exotica and pop covers and ended up creating soundscapes that displayed the dynamics of Robert Moog’s device. Now, you might be asking yourself why the death of Mort Garson is being reported in a review for Lucifer’s Black Mass. 
Actually, Mort used an array of different pseudonyms to release various concept albums; one being Black Mass. Some of the other pseudonyms are; The Wozard of Iz (released a “hippie” satire on The Wizard of Oz), “Z” (released an album based off the best-seller The Sensuous Woman), Ataraxia (another look into the occult), and Mother Earth (under which he released Plantasia, an album that helped house plants grow). I know that this collection of bizarre pseudonyms make Mort look like someone who has lost all aspects of reality, but actually he was just a musician taking his instrument, the moog, past it’s preconceived limits.
Now the first aspect of the record you need to know is that it won’t allow you to call up demons to complete your murderous goals; you will just have to make due by your lonesome. Secondly, Black Mass isn’t going to be an overly horrific listen, it indeed is filled with dark and creepy moments but I feel time has made this piece less shocking than it originally was. Nevertheless, there are times within this album where you will get goosebumps and imagine a hell with monsters that are part machine. And this is where the true beauty of this work is found. For Mort Garson’s (aka Lucifer’s) compositions take the listeners to places using the moog, when most moog performers were using the instrument as a gimmick to sell albums. This is where the legacy of Mort Garson lies, in creating unique pieces that couldn’t be replicated with traditional instruments. Though Mr. Garson will be missed, his obscure but enjoyable albums will live on.
Lucifer – Voices of the Dead (The Medium)
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