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LANA LANE GREEN LIGHTS RED
PLANET BOULEVARD
New masterwork from the voice of symphonic rock weds past
legacy with new visions
(El Dorado Hills, 24 October 2007) Symphonic rock icon
Lana Lane proudly announces her new studio album, Red Planet
Boulevard. The new album follows Lana's 2005 art rock
masterpiece, Lady Macbeth, and her highly acclaimed 2006
classic rock covers album, Gemini. Red Planet Boulevard is a
melodic rock album that showcases Lana's legendary vocals
with timeless songwriting all produced in a modern symphonic
rock environment. The atmosphere of the album is both
spacious and grand, soaring melodies and intimate phrases
play against lush arrangements of guitar and keyboards, all
intertwining in a compelling tango of orchestration that is
pure Lana Lane.
Recorded in The Netherlands and in San Francisco,
California, Red Planet Boulevard combines the feeling of
European precision and old world mystery with the Bay Area's
legendary style and mood that is pure Northern California
magic. The melange of locations shows in the album's
production that is both bombastic and moody, clear and
heavy, intimate and extroverted. Producer / keyboardist Erik
Norlander took on bass guitar duties as well for this
release continuing in the role he played on the 2007 Lady
Macbeth tour. Long time collaborators, Dutchmen Peer
Verschuren (guitar) and Ernst Van Ee (drums), complete the
instrumental trio in what Norlander calls "a sort of 'Led
Zeppelin' instrumentation where we have guitar, drums and a
bass playing keyboardist."
The Red Planet Boulevard musician lineup is indeed the
most compact to appear on a Lana Lane album, but the trio
does not falter in creating the massive symphonic rock sound
for which Lana Lane is so well known. Walls of guitars,
landscapes of keyboards and tectonic plates of bass and
drums drive the arrangements with the energy and exuberance
of a band that indeed went straight from the road into the
studio. That touring seasoning shows in the subtle
complexities of Red Planet Boulevard. This is a band that is
experienced and skilled in their craft all supporting a
legendary vocalist who is at the top of her game.
Twelve all original songs compose Red Planet Boulevard.
The heavy rockers "Into the Fire", "Capture the Sun" and
"Angels and Magicians" along with the power ballad "Jessica"
harken back to Lana's 1995 debut release, Love is an
Illusion, while in contrast, the anthemic "Shine", "The
Frozen Sea" and "No Tears Left" have a distinctly 21st
century sound that fits perfectly with today's iPod
generation. The uptempo "Stepford, USA" re-tells the story
of the quiet rural town with a dark secret, while "The
Sheltering Sorrow" is a heart wrenching ballad that is epic
in scale with links back to the late 60s majesty of early
symphonic rock. The album concludes with the finale and
title track, "Red Planet Boulevard", where themes from each
of the album's songs is reprised in a grand orchestral rock
style.
Artwork is once again provided by Polish surrealist Jacek
Yerka who has painted the covers for Lana's many past
masterworks. Photos for the album were shot by noted San
Francisco photographer Mark Leialoha who brings his own
style and vision to the Lana Lane production team. Fans of
melodic rock, symphonic style and the amazing female rock
voice, your light is green: Make the turn onto Red Planet
Boulevard!
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Photo by Mark
Leialoha
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Lana Lane - Red
Planet Boulevard musicians:
LANA LANE - lead and
harmony vocals
ERIK NORLANDER -
keyboards, bass guitar
PEER VERSCHUREN -
guitars
ERNST VAN EE -
drums
Produced by Erik Norlander for Think Tank
Media, USA
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Lana Lane - Red Planet Boulevard track
list:
click on song titles for mp3
previews (only the first three songs have previews at the moment ...
more coming soon!)
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Release dates:
Japan - November 23, 2007 on the Avalon label
Europe - December 6, 2007 on Frontiers Records
North America - January 29, 2008 on Think Tank Media
distributed by ProgRock Records with advance sales beginning
December 1, 2007 (now
shipping!)
All versions contain the identical track listing - there
are no bonus tracks on any edition. :-)
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REVIEW EXCERPTS
YTSE
JAM
Reviewed by Tommy Hash
You can take Pat Benatar, Ann Wilson, and
Stevie Nicks; and all things considered, Lana Lane stands in line
with all of them as one of the most powerful female voices in rock,
if not one of the most powerful voices period. With her latest
release, Red Planet Boulevard, her reign as the 'queen of symphonic
rock' is expanded beyond the boundaries of progressive rock into
in-your-face melodic hard rock territories. Backed with a trio of
musicians, guitarist Peer Verschuren, drummer Ernst Van Ee, and of
course Erik Norlander on keys, bass guitar, & production; the
tight-knit amount of musicians is what makes this record such a great
rock and roll album, with no guests, orchestras, string sections, or
anything like that, you get what you get, and by no means is this a
minimalist approach......Floydian & Zeppelin-esque with a lot of
the late period Rush atmosphere mixed in, there also tends to be vibe
of highly melodic progressive metal bands such as Seven Tears and
Stride thrown in, but nevertheless, the record rocks out where the
riffs rule the instrumentation and Lane rules it all.
Sea
of Tranquility
Reviewed by Pete Pardo
Epic, melodic, grandiose, symphonic, and
heavy...characteristics that normally describe just about any release
involving Lana Lane and Erik Norlander, and Red Planet Boulevard is
certainly no exception........The real star of the show though is of
course Lana, whose rich & dramatic vocals have long been one of
the best of the hard rock genre......there's less reliance on flash
or solos, more on the songs, melodies, and Lana's vocals....... the
end result is still a batch of memorable songs with plenty of hooks
and muscle.
Sea
of Tranquility
Reviewed by Duncan
Glenday
Lana Lane's music is heavier than most
progressive-oriented rock, and although there are metallic overtones,
it isn't metal. There are powerful rhythms, excellent guitar solos
courtesy of Peer Verschuren, and rich keyboard tones provided by Erik
Norlander. So it has broad appeal and much to attract listeners from
the progressive, the hard rock, and the metal fanbases....With its
the bombastic and moody ... grand, soaring melodies, so eloquently
described by the presskit, this is a high-quality release and should
be heard.
Metal
Temple
Reviewed by Yiannis Z
When you are a female musician and singer on
the Rock and Metal business, it may be difficult to survive. It is
the strong hand of time that leaves its mark, and - on a beautiful
woman's face and body - it is hard to be ignored. On the other hand,
women put aside their career for family so rock n' roll is not a
priority. Lana Lane has a different story, with more than 10 years on
the symphonic rock scene....Lana Lane gives her voice and talent in a
Hard Rock album with heavy sound and great melodic lines that may be
simple, but music sometimes is like football; if you play it simple
you can achieve your goal...... Go out and get it!
Hard
Rock Haven
Reviewed by John Kindred
After releasing Gemini in '06, a compilation of
cover songs, Lana Lane returns on '07 with a new studio album titled
Red Planet Boulevard......Red Planet Boulevard contains 12-songs and
pushes towards symphonic rock while subtly representing melodic hard
rock...Red Planet Boulevard is encapsulated with sonic tapestries of
sound and never falters in pushing the symphonic envelope. Lane's
voice glides above the music with a majestic quality lending to the
appeal of the overall presentation of songs.....The music features
soaring and defined instrumentation that you would expect to find on
a Lane/Norlander collaboration.
Jerry
Lucky Reviews
Reviewed by Jerry Lucky
Lana Lane's new disc has a ready and waiting
fan base, and it's a large one. And I'm sure the music of Red Planet
Boulevard will add a few more to the ranks. While not in any way a
progressive rock recording, there are proggy elements incorporated
into a few of the tracks that provide for some interesting musical
change-ups which will appeal to more than a few in the prog world. My
guess is the cross-over quality of Red Planet Boulevard will be
received quite well by new and old fans alike.delivered a large and
loyal fan base...... As far as how the songs sound, well, while there
is a distinct nostalgic vibe happening you don't get the feeling the
music is in any way dated. It does sound very modern and up-to-date.
Escher's
Staircase (also to be published at
Progressive World and New
Horizons)
Reviewed by Marcel
Haster
A very back-to-basics album, that sounds
incredible! ....Red Planet Boulevard is one highlight. Excellent
songs, fantastic vocals, amazing guitars, strong rhythm section,
beautiful artwork. Each song is a jewel on this album. And everytime
again Lana brings you to unparalleled musical heights with her
beautiful voice.... Lana Lane has proven to be the Queen of Symphonic
Rock and I think Red Planet Boulevard is definitely an excellent
statement that this reign is not over...
HardRockHouse
Reviewed by Dougie
Indeed Lane's vocals are very much the whole
focal point of the album and what a voice the girl has, a magnificent
amalgam of Heart's Ann Wilson and Doro Pesch ...
Marty's
Music
Meltdown
Reviewed by Marty
Dodge
Ms. Lane delivers quality heavy rock ala Dio
with class and talent. Think of Ann Wilson fronting Dio and you are
somewhere near the mark.
© 2008 Think Tank
Media
