Hear 6 tracks from Electric Lucifer on a new Bruce Haack compilation! Details at the bottom of this page....

Bruce Haack's Electric Lucifer is a concept record, ostensibly about Lucifer's banishment from heaven. If it isn't already, this record will one soon be on everyone's electronic record want list, because it's not only a great record and fun to listen to, but it's also really out there. Aside from Bruce's homemade synthesizers, this record also features Moog and electronically altered voices.

So what's the concept behind this record? Here's what the Dr. Bronner-ish back cover liner notes say:

"The Electric Lucifer" begins with a quotation from Genesis: "And there was war in heaven." There probably was --in some other galactic haven. There were probably mistakes in other scenes--there was probably a migration of The Lucifer People to this solar system ...."And he was cast out --and his angels with him." But that happened so long ago --it was easy to forget. The war in heaven might have ended all wars. Maybe it will.

A primary function of "The Electric Lucifer" is to help end war- and hate and pain and fear. The god I want mankind to walk with hand-in-hand is so full of love and genius that even Lucifer, the eternal underdog, will be forgiven.

Other notes on the back cover supply Bruce's musings on Lucifer and war:

Here are some thoughts as they connect now:

Lucifer is a love angel. I suppose he could be made into a saint. Oh what a painful fall --the cherubs all over said "No --It can't happen--." banishment of a leader who dared to what?

Colonialism and clones duplicating clowns.

Aside to Lucifer...

"Lucifer -- I read that after the war you and your angels were sent out of heaven to Earth. Most of us like it here but we don't believe in war. Our newborn are beginning to understand mistakes of the old ones. Maybe the Angel People will all unite. The key is Powerlove"

Bruce

Powerlove.
Incidentally--Powerlove is a word I coined. I like the word coined!

Just reading these notes (which Bruce wrote) should give you an idea of what the lyrics are like. At times, the somewhat mystical lyrics remind me of the Doors, but without the self-importance (and self-parody) that the Jim Morrison would eventually succumb to. I could imagine someone listening to this record in an altered state of consciousness and vainly trying to grasp the deep meanings and universal truths held within it. Which isn't to say that there aren't deep meanings in the lyrics; I'm sure there are layers of allegory in here, especially relating to the Vietnam War. It's just hard to ascertain what this record actually means. Here's some helpful background from the notes to help you understand:

Among the things I love are lights and legends. Genetic Memory is the key to knowledge. The Bible seems to be a highly tuned, sensitive family of memories. As any literary work of promise --the Bible promises to light the paths of men with illumination varying directly with each man's ability to see. And in this time of accelerating techmotion our eyes become more clear --our focus is no longer on the gods alone --nor on humanity alone --but on the great alliance of Man-God-Knowledge. As we continue our psychic growth and increase our ability to unblock --to remember points along the infinite stream of memory-consciousness --so our communication increases even though our communicative media and devices are far from achieving the perfect information relay-- silence.

Got all that? I like the word "techmotion".

You can see the cover of The Electric Lucifer LP, and also the back cover and its copious notes (although they're not so easy to read ).

Here are places you can hear Real Audio samples from The Electric Lucifer:

"Electric To Me Turn" from Paul's RealAudio Sound Clips.

"Song of the Death Machine" can be heard at Xanadu.

And here's the catalog record from Worldcat for you discography compilers:

Bruce Haack available again on a new reissue CD and LP!!

As of late 1998, a compilation CD (also available on LP) of Bruce Haack's early work called '"Hush Little Robot" is available from a label in Germany called QDK. This record is/was available through Cargo Records (Chicago) in the US, although net-rumors keep flying that Cargo will soon be filing bankruptcy (if they haven't already), thus limiting your local record store's ability to get it from them for you. Despite the hefty price (it's an import, ya know) and difficulty one might have in finding a copy, I heartily recommend picking this up. The LP version is that nice heavy vinyl you don't see that often. Here's the track listing from the LP:

Side 1
Electric to me turn (Electric Lucifer)
This old man (This Old Man)
Bods (This Old Man)
Elizabeth Foster Goose (This Old Man)
Four dances : Soul progression; Queen Elizabeth visits America ; Talking in tongues ; Hush little robot (This Old Man)
Wooden bread (This Old Man)
Program me (alternate version, not sure of original source)

Side 2
School for Robots (The way-out record for children)
Shine on (This Old Man)
Rubberbands (The way-out record for children)
War (Electric Lucifer)
Chant of the unborn (LP calls it "Chant of the unicorn")(Electric Lucifer)
Incantation (Electric Lucifer)
Song of the death machine(Electric Lucifer)
Word game (Electric Lucifer))
Thank you (This Old Man)
Campus Radio Voice A (2 minute radio interview promoting Electric Lucifer, circa 1970)
Campus Radio Voice B (2 minute radio interview promoting Electric Lucifer, circa 1970)

Unfortunately, this record only has two paragraphs of liner notes. They read as follows:

Created and totally performed by Bruce Haack. An electronic musical-poetic treat for children and high school-people revealing more wonders of our earth-ship.

Most of the music on this album was programmed on a polyphonic music computer built by Bruce Haack from surplus parts furnished (from) Ver-Tech Radio Philadelphia. The machine was made in 18 months without diagrams or plans {Bruce Haack has never studied electronics} and will produce up to twelve simultaneous voices in changing sequence via a memory holding over four-thousand bits of information. It will also compose at random.

Thumbs up to the QDK crew on this project. Please buy a copy so they break even and thus can be encouraged to do a follow-up/part 2...

This page updated Dec. 1, 1998 by lara7.