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)

Erik Norlander's Fantastic "Hommage"

Progressive rock is, without a doubt, the most self-referential of genres, bar none. Musicians jump from band to band like some sort of crazy Rubik’s Cube, usually with impressive results. The genre can boast of some of the most technically proficient musicians in rock & roll, and unlike other musical styles, progressive types aren’t afraid (or ashamed) to wear their artistic influences on their sleeves…which means that cover tunes and musical tributes are not entirely unheard of in prog circles.

Erik Norlander is a well-known figure in both electronic and prog musical circles, releasing some two-dozen albums under his own name and with his progressive rock band Rocket Scientists. He has also produced and played on several albums by his wife, Lana Lane, a powerful vocalist and solo performer in her own right. Norlander’s studio wizardry and musical training are apparent, and it is an interesting dichotomy that Norlander, with an impressive knowledge of audio engineering, has helped design modern synthesizers but still seeks out vintage keyboards and Moog synths to use on stage.

For his latest project, Norlander began with a core band that includes bassist Don Schiff (Rocket Scientists), drummer Gregg Bissonette (Joe Satriani) and vocalist Kelly Keeling (too many impressive credits to mention). Norlander then assembled a mini-orchestra around horns, strings and woodwinds in order to create a “symphonic rock” album of his favorite songs. The talented orchestral players that he recruited – horn players David Schiff, Eric Jorgensen and Jon Papenbrook, and cellist Mike Alvarez – rise to the occasion, imbuing each performance with a grandeur that belies their meager numbers. Rocket Scientists guitarist Mark McCrite came in later and added his six-string magic to the songs.

Norlander’s Hommage Symphonique is the result, an illustration of both pure genius and unbridled inspiration. Although many of the songs here will be quite familiar to the informed prog fan, many of them will not be readily familiar, and therein lays the attraction. In paying homage to his musical heroes – legendary first-gen prog bands like Yes, Procol Harum, ELP and King Crimson – Norlander has not always chosen the most obvious songs to cover. By digging a little deeper into each band’s catalog, he comes up with brilliant choices of material that challenge both the musicians and the listener alike.

The results are quite breathtaking, both in the classic mastery of their performances but also in the range and depth of material. Even with a much smaller “orchestra,” Procol Harum’s “Conquistador” sounds better than the well-known symphonic version of the song from 1972. Accompanied by Norlander’s graceful fleeting piano, Keeling’s wistful vocals on the Yes ballad “Turn Of The Century” echo those of Jon Anderson, creating a quieting, transcendent moment. Jethro Tull’s “Clasp” is punched up with some imaginative synth work and high-lonesome woodwinds while ELP’s “Pirates” evokes a certain visual landscape through the deft use of syncopated sounds, squiggly synthesizer riffing and determined orchestration. Keeling’s chameleonlike vocals sound like Greg Lake in relating this overlooked song from Works, Vol. 1.

Rick Wakeman’s “Sir Lancelot and the Black Knight” is a gimme given Wakeman’s obvious influence on Norlander’s work. Here, though, the song is delivered with more strident instrumentation, the song’s fretboard duel more violent and darkly potent. The choice of covering Chuck Mangione’s “Children Of Sanchez Overture” is not as difficult as it might seem, there being a natural link between the improvisational inclinations of both prog-rockers and jazz musicians. Here, one of Mangione’s better compositions is provided an almost King Crimson-styled remake, the song’s innate ambiance complimented by Keeling’s somber vocals and a vaguely threatening instrumental undercurrent.

The most startling musical transformation, however, on Hommage Symphonique is within King Crimson’s signature “Starless,” evolving here into an ominous extended jam with jazzy overtones, deliciously muted horns and discordant instrumentation. A wild ride across an ever-changing musical turnpike, the song’s tempo changes, movements between stylistic elements and inspired performances by the musicians create a simply spellbinding reading of the title song from Starless And Bible Black.

A talented performer, composer and musician, Erik Norlander may never break from the progressive ranks to find mainstream success but, then again, he doesn’t have to. A respected figure in the prog-rock world, the only constraints on Norlander’s musical fortunes seem to be his own seemingly limitless imagination and artistic ambition. Hommage Symphonique is both a lovingly crafted tribute to Norlander’s musical heroes and a wonderful showcase for the talents of the assembled musicians.

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