Lana Lane's Favorite Songs

It’s no secret that the Reverend possesses a soft spot for female vocalists. No, not the mousy, shrill, no-talent hacks that regularly get pushed to the top of the charts by enormous marketing budgets and a record-buying public that, sadly, doesn’t know any better. No, I’m talking about brassy, ballsy, bigger-than-life women like Janis and Chrissie, Patti and Kate that have voices coated in experience and sadness, joy and jubilation – sexy women whose caress of every word conveys passion, every snarl drenched with attitude. That’s my kind of female vocalist…not some ditzy pseudo-celebrity with a lollipop body and an overpaid publicist.

Lana Lane is just such a vocalist, one of the good ones, with an astoundingly large voice and an amazing range. She’s known as “The Queen Of Symphonic Rock” among her growing legion of fans, and music lovers in Japan have been particularly smitten by Lane’s charm and talents. As a solo artist, Lane released her debut album, Love Is An Illusion, way back in 1995 and she has subsequently released better than a dozen more since. As Mrs. Erik Norlander, Lane has appeared on most of her husband’s recordings as well as performing with Norlander’s prog-rock band Rocket Scientists, and Lane appears on albums by prog-faves like Ayreon and Ambeon. Although she is primarily known as a “symphonic rock” artist, mostly because of the operatic timbre of her vocals, Lane’s pipes possess such subtlety and range that she can purr jazz overtures to romance just as easily as she melts hearts with a blast of explosive prog-metal.

Gemini is Lane’s second collection of cover tunes, and a concept album as well, following an astrological Gemini “twins” theme and gathering two songs apiece from some of Lane’s favorite bands from the ‘60s and ‘70s. It’s a concept that works, and not only because of Lane’s vocal capabilities or inspired choice of material. Along with hubby Norlander on keys, Lane has assembled a crackerjack group of players, including seasoned veterans like drummer Vinnie Appice (Vanilla Fudge, Cactus, Rod Stewart, too many more to list); bassist Tony Franklin (Jimmy Page, Blue Murder and Derek Sherinian, among others); and guitarist George Lynch (Dokken, Lynch Mob). Mark McCrite from the Rocket Scientists and journeyman voice-for-hire Kelly Keeling also join in on the festivities – if these guys can’t get the job done, nobody will.

Gemini stands tall on much more than mere gimmickry or an all-star band line-up, however. Lane and crew reinvent these songs, from the ground up, discovering the grain of truth at the core of each and building a new, different, and sometimes better version of the song. Cream’s “White Room” is afforded the grandiose symphonic reading that it has always deserved, with multi-layered instrumentation, Lynch’s slicing six-string pyrotechnics and Lane’s soaring voice driving the song into a stratosphere that even Icarus would be afraid to fly into. “Sunshine Of Your Love” kicks off with a muted, scratchy replica of the song’s familiar opening riff, Lane’s seductive vocals playing off of Lynch’s pounding fretwork and a potent, powerful Franklin/Appice rhythm.

Jefferson Airplane’s “White Rabbit” is a heavyweight contender; Lane’s vocal’s punching and bobbing, matching Grace Slick’s previous versions blow-by-blow, a martial beat marching this psychedelic classic to its abrupt end. A pair of songs about “home” follow, Lane tackling Foreigner’s “Long Long Way From Home” and the Moody Blues’ “You Can Never Go Home” (an obscure choice if there ever was one), the two songs as different as night and day – one a classic rock & roll shotgun blast, the other a gentle, pastoral ballad. On the flip side of the coin, Foreigner’s “Starrider” is provided an ethereal, art-rock arrangement (with elements of British folk wafting throughout the song), while the Moody’s “Nights In White Satin” is preserved in its original form as a beautiful symphonic ballad, Lane’s vocals respectful of the song’s dignity and origins.

The high point of Gemini is Lane’s “Pink Moon Suite,” a reinterpretation of several songs from Pink Floyd’s Dark Side Of The Moon juxtaposed with Heart’s “Johnny Moon.” Here the band really gets to shine alongside Lane’s vocals, providing a jazzy undercurrent to the affair with subdued-yet-intricate keyboard work matched by subtle drums and sparse guitar. The songs in the “Pink Floyd Suite” all flow together into a slipstream of singular sound, provoking an almost surreal, otherworldly experience. When Lynch finally cuts loose with the guitar-mangle that we all know him capable of, on Floyd’s “Time,” his fluid leads come as a shock, puncturing the dreamlike clouds of the previous songs with a mix of heavy riffing and jazzy overtones.

Lana Lane and Erik Norlander have created a cottage industry from their extensive talents, and there is no reason to believe that they would even be interested in the wider exposure afforded by major label distribution. They don’t really need a big league deal – they continue to record whatever and whenever they want, releasing albums with an alarming frequency that would send a normal label exec into therapy. They tour the world to perform before adoring audiences, and they attract the support of some of the most talented musicians in the fields of rock, heavy metal and prog-rock to contribute to their projects.

Gemini is a sparkling example of the talents of this incredible husband and wife team, and a fine introduction to one of the best vocalists that you’ll ever experience. If you’re unfamiliar with the charms of modern progressive rock, art-rock, symphonic rock, or whatever you want to call it – they’re all the same beast, essentially – then Lana Lane and Erik Norlander are a good place to familiarize yourself with this rapidly-growing, underappreciated style of music.

Click here for review of Erik Norlander's Hommage Symphonique CD

(Click on the CD cover to buy Gemini from Amazon.com)