Lamb (duo)

Lamb, a musical duo from the 1970s through the early 1990s, effectively defined Messianic music, was organized in the early days of contemporary Christian music. The original duo, consisting of Joel Chernoff and Rick 'Levi' Coghill, blended Jewish folk music and folk-rock.

Lamb's musical style changed markedly during the course of their career. In the 'seventies, their first four albums were acoustically driven folk, built around the duo's six and twelve string guitars, sometimes with the addition of piano and restrained electric guitar, with guest bass and occasional drums taking the back seat: All topped off with songwriter Chernoff's rich and melodious tenor.

Lamb performed live as a duo, without backing group, as demonstrated on 1980's Lamb Live. 1981's self-explanatory New Mix album, presented a high-class, straight-forward pop-rock ensemble approach, departing significantly from their folk style, and including none of their hitherto characteristic Hebrew lyrics. 1988's Dancing in Jerusalem marked an even clearer musical turning point with the introduction of exclusive synthesised drums and bass. This was used as recorded backing tracks in their live shows, as exemplified on the reedy-sounding Dancing in Jersualem Live in Concert Video Soundtrack, retaining little of the folk vibe of their early years. The final album by the original Chernoff-Coghill pairing, Seer, pushed the stylistic envelope as far as it would go, with a decidedly heavy tone, drenched in the harsh synth drums and cymbals of that period.

After a hiatus, Chernoff returned to form at the turn of the millennium with a brace of solo albums that effectively put the 'heart' back into the 'lamb', complete with the organic warmth of real instruments. In their wake the renaissance Lamb album The Sacrifice, with a new partner for Chernoff, takes the synth route once again, but this time with the subtler touch afforded by 21st century technology - and a generous sprinkling of Hebrew lyrics.

Current

 * Joel Chernoff - guitars, vocals, songwriter
 * Ted Pearce - guitars, vocals, songwriter

Original

 * Joel Chernoff - all lead vocals, background vocals, 12 string guitar, piano, composer
 * Rick 'Levi' Coghill - vocals, electric and acoustic guitar, percussion and effects, organ, vibes, harpsichord, xylophone, arranger, producer

Discography
Finding their early music is complicated by the fact that Lamb's first three albums were called simply Lamb, Lamb II, and Lamb III. However in 1993, those first three albums from the '70s were re-released as The Lamb Trilogy.

Original

 * Lamb (Messianic LBA-1001) (1972)
 * Lamb II (Messianic LBA-1002) (1974)
 * Lamb III (Messianic LBA-1003) (1976)
 * Songs For The Flock (Sparrow Records SPD-1045SPC-1045, 1978)
 * New Mix (Sparrow Records SPD-1054 SPC-1054, 1981)
 * Lamb Live (1981)
 * Zola's Songs - Zola Levitt performed by Lamb (ZLR/C-1001, 1983)
 * The Year Of Jubilee (Maranatha/Messianic Publishing MSICD-2, 1985)
 * Dancing In Jerusalem (Maranatha Music/Messianic Publishing MSICD-1, 1988)
 * Dancing in Jerusalem - Live In Concert video soundtrack (1989)
 * Seer (Messianic Records, 1990)
 * Come Let Us Celebrate compilation (Messianic Records, 1993)
 * The Lamb Trilogy compilation of Lamb I/II/III (Messianic Records LBCD113AB, 1993)
 * Lamb Favorites compilation (Sparrow Records SPD-1046, 1980/1995)

Current

 * The Sacrifice (Galilee of the Nations, 2005)

Joel Chernoff solo albums

 * The Restoration of Israel (Galilee of the Nations) (1999)
 * Come Dance with Me (Galilee of the Nations) (2002)