Best of Lana Lane 1995-1999 Reviews

THE BEST OF LANA LANE 1995-1999

REVIEWS

"Lana Lane plays a brand of rock music which can certainly be described as progressive, but with a very definite symphonic slant. Her vocal style draws comparisons with Pat Benatar and Heart's Ann Wilson and she is ably supported on keyboards and guitar by Erik Norlander and Neil Citron, both of whom co-wrote many of the tracks on this brilliant compilation. The superb opener 'Symphony of Angels' sets the scene for a wonderful collection that must have been an absolute nightmare to compile, given the quality of her back catalogue - just what do you leave off? She seems equally at home with either hard driving rock numbers or ballads and her vocal performance throughout is absolutely breathtaking. 'Love is an Illusion', 'Escher's Staircase' and the self penned 'Seasons' all prompt the Pat Benatar comparisons whilst 'Destination Roswell' has her sounding incredibly like Ann Wilson. 'Under the Olive Tree' and 'Through the Fire' bring to mind her fellow American Chrissy Steele, but I genuinely loathe to compare her to others, as she is an individual artist in her own right with her own unique style and talent. She is not averse to adding her own distinctive touch to cover versions such as Marillions 'Seasons End', Jeff Lynne's 'When Time Stood Still' (previously an obscure non-album ELO B-side) and an awesome nine minute version of 'In the Court of the Crimson King', which should entice even die hard fans to buy this album as this bonus track is previously unreleased. This is an absolute gem of an album and is a must for any self respecting rock fan, and serves a s a fine introduction to her work for anyone not familiar with her albums. I'm off now to investigate her back catalogue as I've now run out of adjectives!"

[Steve Ward, Wondrous Stories, England, February 2000]

"Singer Lana Lane, erstwhile wife of Rocket Scientists keyboardist Erik Norlander, has been likened to a proggy version of Heart's Ann Wilson. The comparison is accurate, particularly when she hits the upper registers - Lana certainly has range to spare, a strong, clear voice that can seductively soothe or shake the rafters. The progressive connections comes through in lushly orchestrated arrangements provided by Norlander, who also produces.

This compilation disc draws from eight albums on the Japanese Avalon label. I guess the old cliché applies here - Lana Lane is "big in Japan". Most of these pieces are hard-rock/AOR power-ballad fare (again, with progressive/symphonic trimmings), with nice melodies and solid production. For proggy flourishes check out the likes of "Symphony of Angels" and "Escher's Staircase". Also, Lane and the band cover Marillion's "Seasons End" and King Crimson's "Court of the Crimson King". The latter was recorded live in Tokyo. There's an earnestness and confident flair to Lane's singing that places her in the diva category, at least as far as this style is concerned - not many folks are navigating these musical waters in e new millennium. More power to her!"

[John Collinge, Progression Magazine, USA, May 2000]

"This is possibly the best kept rock-prog secret in the Western World, a talent that sells by the truckload in Japan, has produced albums of ever increasing quality with every release and, in the late eighties, really WOULD have been a world-wide mega-selling sensation. This lady has what is probably THE best voice in rock/prog both for a long, long time, right here and right now, and presumably for a long time to come. But if that wasn't enough in itself, she has a band that includes her husband, synths/keyboards wizard and arranger 'par excellence' Erik Norlander, plus electric guitarist supremo Neil Citron, and a remarkably tight and driving, tasty and restrained, rhythm section. Between them they cook - and fly through compositions that just ooze class, energy, sheen, enthusiasm, passion, and quality, as well as THE best production you'll find on any rock-prog album on the planet. So, if you're new to things and want a place to start, this is as good a sampler as it gets, with fantastic packaging in the form of a multi-page glossy colour booklet that has the lyrics, track info and pics. The selection of songs from her album career is nothing short of amazing, with the tracks positively leaping out of the speakers and filling the room with sound as synths fly, a solid rhythms section lays down a course, the guitar scorches and those incredibly strong, beautiful vocals turn your heart and mind to jelly. From out and out rockers, through masterpieces of prog-rock, to ballads, this is way above any standard rock-prog act - this is both mighty and special. As a bonus you get a track exclusive to this CD in the form of a smoking rendition of King Crimson's classic 'In The Court Of The Crimson King', nine and a half minutes of classic prog delivered to perfection by a band that really whips up a heady prog brew indeed. In essence, not a less than perfect moment in sight".

[Andrew Garibaldi, CD Services, Scotland, 1999]

"Lana Lane can be seen as one of the biggest new sensations in the symphonic rock music genre. Together with Erik Norlander, she form s a strong team who seem to write beautiful rock songs easily. Five years of recording gave us the following result: four studio albums, two EP's, a live album (recorded in Japan) and a compilation album with ballads. Her new album is entitled "Best of Lana Lane". Lana's music is catchy, symphonic rock, performed in a most brilliant way. Here and there it even gets slightly experimental but without getting boring. It's almost like the vocals of the old Heart records were put on the old Marillion songs. This is the only way I can describe it, but it comes close to the sound this very talented band puts together. Because of Lana's clear, powerful voice, she shows some similarity with the voice of Ann Wilson (Heart vocalist) and the music and compositions lean towards the old Marillion stuff. Sometimes the songs are catchy and short and the compositions need a bit more room to spread out. Just listen to the great bonus track "In The Court Of The Crimson King" (King Crimson) and you'll know what I mean. Erik simply throws in a short piece of Grieg's "The Hall Of The Mountain King" (which we all know by Savatage and Leslie West to name but a few) and the band follows him like it's the most natural thing in the world to do. Talk about professionalism here! Two other songs I'd like to mention from this CD containing 12 compositions (to talk about ordinary songs would be an understatement here!. . . worthy of seventy-three (!!) minutes,) are Marillion's "Seasons End" and Jeff Lynnes (ELO) "When Time Stood Still". But my favorite tunes are "Symphony of Angels", the beautiful ballad "Avalon", and the heavy "Rainbows End" (which has some Deep Purple influences). Here's the diversity of a band that is still in the beginning of its career. With the inclusion of "Stardust" (one of my personal Lana Lane favorites) this great release is, for me, the ultimate "Best of...." collection. I wish there were more great talents like Lana Lane and I think we should cherish her like a precious little diamond!"

Score 10 out of 10

[Toine van Poorten, Metal Maidens magazine, The Netherlands, March 2000]