Lana Lane - Queen of the Ocean Reviews

LANA LANE - QUEEN OF THE OCEAN

REVIEWS

"Whilst Annie Haslam, singer with Renaissance, simply is the "leading lady of prog", she can expect a decent amount of competition in the near future. Not so much what the timbre of the voice is concerned but as a female answer in the sympho-scene Lana Lane comes wandering in from the States. Together with members of the already famous "Rocket Scientists" (Lana and keyboard player Erik Norlander are married), Lana Lane has been very productive in recent years, just like de Mexican gentlemen from Cast. Do note "Love is an Illusion", "Curious Goods", "Garden of the Moon", EP "Echoes from the Garden", "Live in Japan". So now comes "Queen of the Ocean" as an attack on the European scene. With the added bonus tracks "Through the Rain", "Escher's Staircase" (recorded live in Japan), "Symphony of Angels" (recorded live in Japan); this new album directly situates Lana Lane into the upper regions of the world of symphonic rock. Her voice is similar to that of Ann Wilson from the band Heart. Even the rhythm guitar on "Night Falls" gets very close to their "Barracuda". "Let Heaven In" opens with some nice guitar which even ends with double guitars to continue in pure AOR tradition. They rhythmic "Frankenstein Unbound" precedes the nicely structured "Souls of the Mermaids" , a song where the percussive sound forms a nice contrast. Superb fireworks can be expected in "Rainbows End"; next to the battering drums of Tommy Amato are the sharp synths of Erik Norlander and the biting guitars of Neil Citron, and the phenomenal bass of Tony Franklin. Franklin is known by AOR enthusiasts because of his stints with The Firm and Blue Murder. All over the album he uses fretless bass which are best in place in e calmer songs such as the impressive "Without You". Contrary to the previous studio albums, Norlander (who also fills the role of producer) uses more analogue keyboards from the 70's. Expect masses of Mellotron, Hammond, Fender Rhodes and Minimoog. As a "finishing touch" the album is packed in a fabulous sleeve by the Polish surrealist artists Jacek Yerka. Also look for Lana Lane's "Ballad Collection" and the re-issue of her debut album "Love Is An Illusion" soon. Looking back at all the various releases plus the big diversity between Japanese, American and European releases, it looks as if Lana Lane can become the equal of Tori Amos. Welcome to the gallery of greats!"

[John "Bo Bo" Bollenberg, Brugge Magazine, Belgium, April 1999]

"To be honest, Lana Lane can do no wrong. The title track "Queen Of The Ocean" is a stunner, a progressive epic that harbors an immaculate chorus and a thoughtful and expert lead guitar excursion at its close. It is also a good showcase for Lane's strong, pitch-perfect voice which is full of character. The playing is exemplary throughout -- Erik Norlander's synth washes, Neil Citron's lucid and well-constructed lead guitar work, Tony Franklin's singing fretless bass and Tommy Amato's flexible drumming are all impressive. They rock a little on "Frankenstein Unbound", which also finds Lane in soaring mode. Norlander's Moog solo here is reminiscent of Rick Wakeman of Yes in the heady days of "Tales of Topographic Oceans". Well-composed, well played music".

[Paul Drosdzol, Nightshade Magazine, Germany, April 1999 -- translated from German]

"What does a musician give to their fans by making them wait for over two years for the next release? A large disappointment. But it is completely the opposite with Lana. The fourth studio CD is in my judgement their best to date. As with past Lana Lane CD, this one begins with a small instrumental introduction. With "Night Falls" Lana leaves the 'Garden of the Moon' more straight - ahead AOR sound and once again becomes somewhat more progressive and more playful. The strings here from Erik Norlander add a special touch to the song. Next is the title track lasting almost ten minutes, and the keys hold back here a bit on the longest piece of the CD. Also with "Let Heaven In", Lana and Co. leave the listener again with one really memorable chorus. Then "Frankenstein Unbound" follows with strong instrumental performances. Another success is also"Souls of the Mermaids", which moves between calm singing and then changes again for a catchy heavy refrain. "Rainbows End" is a speed number, and it's unnecessary to say something about the chorus! "Without You" finished up this worthy CD, a beautiful ballad. When we come to the finish of the album, there are significant differences between the two released version: The German version from LMP/SPV includes bonus tracks "Through the Rain" from the 1998 Version of the "Love is an Illusion" CD followed by live recordings of "Escher's Staircase" and "Symphony of Angels" from the "Live in Japan" release. Meanwhile, the Japanese version of "Queen of the Ocean" has a convincing cover version Marillion's "Seasons End" as a bonus track. It contains no drums, (not necessarily better than the original, but nevertheless wonderfully beautiful!). Thus the question, which version to orders? Because of the bonus tracks, you probably need both versions of this CD."

[Michael Wesche, Empire Magazine, Germany, March 1999 -- translated from German]

"Lana Lane has set the world record last year for the maximum number of publications in minimum time. Fans know it, less than one year has passed between the two last studio albums, and between those two there is still a Ballad Collection album, a Live CD and a EP offering. However, these latter three publications were primarily meant for the Japanese market, where they are obviously crazy about Americans.

Lana's gift as a singer is undisputed, she conjured the full range of emotion from gentle ballads through heavy rock. The compositions are classic, and the transitions from beginning to end are great making this a very complete album. Also to be credited beside Lana's voice are some great instrumenal passages, where the keyboards are used in good proportion. Three bonus tracks [European version] and altogether over seventy minutes of music along with another very successful piece of cover artwork which speaks for itself. Because of all this, "Queen Of the Ocean" is a yet another successful Lana Lane album."

[The Sacred Metal Page, Germany, August 1999 -- translated from German]

"Tina recently got interested in Lana Lane because of the track "Without You", a cover tune that originally appeared on one of her all time fave albums "No Respect" by Vain [webmaster's note: Davy Vain is Lana's cousin]. So, to start with that particular song here, Lana and her backing band (which, by the way, includes former The Firm/Blue Murder bass player Tony Franklin!) did a tremendous job with this version. I never really expected that, to be honest with you. Vain's material is so much based on Davy Vain's unique voice, that I thought anyone else who would try to re-record a Vain song (especially when it's a ballad) could only fail. But obviously I was wrong! Lana's voice is very good and clean and fits the song well, and the music has become even more emotional and dramatic. The remaining songs deliver melodic symphonic rock, with several hints of AOR and also Progressive music. If you should like what you hear, then try to locate one of her six other outputs as well".

[Take It Magazine, October 1999]

"The symphonic rock queen Lana Lane is releasing albums within a very short interval. The only band that I know that is surpasses her in that case is the Swedish progressive rock kings The Flower Kings with all their members. Another thing they have in common is that none of them is suffering in quality because of this. Long live the kings and the queen! This is her fourth studio album, but in-between them she has also released a live album, an EP and a ballad collection with some new material on. Beside that she has also done guest appearances together with the progressive rock band Rocket Scientists. The main part of the members of Rocket Scientists is also participating as musicians on all of Lana Lane's albums. As I was first impressed and later got used to the high quality of Lana Lane's songs, her strong crystal clear voice and the melodic memorable choruses, there was no surprise that this album followed the same line. Beside Lana's passionate and beautiful voice, I have to give credits to Erik Norlander, the great producer and keyboard wizard. He used a lot of old keyboards on this album: Mellotron, Mini-Moog and Hammond. This is advantageous to the album as a whole. I must also mention Neil Citron, the guitar virtuous and Tony Franklin (The Firm, Blue Murder etc.) the bass maestro. The best tracks are "Let Heaven In", "Without You" and "Through The Rain". The cover art is once again done by the Polish artist Jacek Yerka, who has done the art work for all Lana's releases up to date.

[Gregor Rönnqvist, Through Different Eyes, Sweden, 1999]

"Queen of the Ocean" is the title of Lana Lane's follow-up to her 1998 opus "Garden of the Moon". It continues even further in the direction set by its predecessor and should please fans of symphonic, progressive & melodic rock. Lane continues her evolution as a singer and quite possibly has released her finest work to date. The instrumental intro, "In The Hall Of The Ocean Queen" sets the mood as the first track "Night Falls" kicks in. Immediately, the listener is swept away on a musical journey that doesn't end until the final note is played. "Queen Of The Ocean" is next and at almost ten minutes long it is a powerful epic. On "Let Heaven In" Lane leans more towards the realm of AOR. This is a likable song with a catchy chorus and melody that will stay in your head long after you've heard it for the first time...possibly my favorite track. Don't get too comfortable with the AOR flavor of the previous tune, because next is "Frankenstein Unbound". A very heavy track that was written by Erik Norlander about the fictional evil genius, Dr. Frankenstein. But as with the book by Mary Shelley, this song is a cautionary tale about how power can corrupt. Other highlights include "Souls of the Mermaids" and "Rainbows End". "Without You" is an emotional ballad that brings this great collection to a close. The European version includes three bonus tracks. As always, Mr. Norlander is there to provide strong production and the musicianship is quite involved and breathtaking. Lane has surrounded herself with an impressive array of music veterans like guitarist Neil Citron and ex-Blue Murder and Firm bassist, Tony Franklin. "QOTO" is another giant step forward for Lana Lane. It has plenty of variety, big arrangements, excellent musicianship and soaring vocals ... it's all there, and most importantly great songs. One listen and you'll be hooked. Check it out!"

[Tony Cannella, Metal Maidens Magazine, Holland, June 1999, Score 4.5 out of 5]

"Now this is seriously amazing ... we're talking hot stuff. Many of you will remember Heart from their extraordinary run in the mid-'80's when hit singles flowed like wine and two fantastic albums emerged in the shape of "Heart" and "Bad Animals". When they rocked, it was hot, and even the ballads were great, but there was still that bit of commercialism, overly polished production, etc. Then they completely lost it and that was the end of that. Meanwhile, in the '90's, Lana Lane has been steadily working from relatively faceless roots through ever more assured live and studio work, immensely popular in Japan, much less so elsewhere in the world. Last year's album "Garden Of The Moon" was a piece of excellence, but this new one hits the word 'perfection' straight in the eye and no messing. This is AOR, rock, prog-rock and sheer unadulterated quality songs in one magnificent, mighty potent brew with an absolutely vast sound, vast production, playing to take your breath away, vocals that make you go weak at the knees and compositions that are just immense. Just witness track three for proof of this, with a power and passion as though Heart were playing "Rainbow Rising" but with a mix of finesse, dynamics, power and emotion that far outshines either of those, and they were classics to start with. No, this is an album of solid, flowing, QUALITY songs, incendiary guitar work, synths that form tower blocks of backdrops, a crisp and rock hard yet fluid rhythm section, tracks that build and develop into high-flying AOR-intensity with choruses to die for and fantastic harmony vocals amid the soaring solo vocal of the voice that IS Lana Lane. All that, and tracks that barnstormers whose strength and feel you just won't believe until you've heard them, makes this one of the very special albums in the rock/AOR/prog crossover fields for a long, long time, but THAT voice must be THE finest female voice in rock for 15 years at least. Essential? - you'd better believe it".

[Andrew Garibaldi, CD Services, Scotland, 1999]