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Friday, March 22, 2013

Tip I'll Give You a Break, Pt. 55: Second Hand's "Lucifer and the Egg"

Posted by Dave Segal on Fri, Mar 22, 2013 at 4:35 PM

[I’ll Give You a Break is a sporadic series of posts highlighting obscure (and not so obscure) breakbeats in unlikely places, so that they may be sampled by producers or just enjoyed for their own geeky purposes. NB: Don’t forget to clear all samples through the proper channels (cough).]

This may be the wackiest entry in the I’ll Give You a Break annals. Check out the naked beats in the first seven seconds of Second Hand’s nutso prog monstrosity “Lucifer and the Egg.” They’re not the easiest slaps to work with, but I have faith that somebody out there can use them—especially the opening volley—to benefit the human race.

The song’s remaining seven-plus minutes take you on a serpentine journey to the heart of British prog’s baroque virtuosity and boundless tomfoolery. If you gaze long enough at the amazing cover art, it all starts to make (non)sense. The first time I heard the album on which “Lucifer and the Egg” can be found—the geniusly titled Death May Be Your Santa Claus—I was tripping on acid in Dallas, Texas (thanks, Eric and Matt). I’m still trying to recapture that feeling of helium-filled, outlandish absurdity that this track conjures.