LANA LANE - SECRETS OF ASTROLOGY (LIMB)

 

I suspect Lana Lane concerts are very much like Michael Bolton concerts. I suspect there are lots of "oohs" and "aahs" when she demonstrates a particularly fine vibrato in her voice, or reaches a soaringly high note, or generally sings ecstatically.

Let me tell you, you will never find me at a Michael Bolton concert, though I heard that in fact some of his earlier albums are pretty heavy.

In an earlier review of a Lana Lane CD, modestly entitled "Queen of the Ocean", I found it necessary to put into perspective the overtly positive adjectives flaunted about by the press release. This time there's a sticker on the cover, "The American Queen of Progressive and Symphonic Rock". Puh-leeze.

I gave the CD to my brother in law. He's into AOR music big-time, and I reckoned he would be able to write a review with a decent angle because he's into what I derogatorily describe as 'pretty rock' (his CD collection is any decent woman's dream). No luck there, though. So it's up to me.

Really, I try to be objective!

There must be a market for this pretty rock kind of music, in fact this is her seventh album I think. "Astrology Prelude" kicks off the album in more of a positive way than I had expected, similar in theme and quality to the "Astrology Postlude" that wraps the proceedings up. Between these actually pretty good tracks there's melody ("Raining"), wimpishness ("Alexandria"), an orchestral ballad ("The Bell"), pretty pop ("Under the Sun"), good guitars and good synth work. When Lana starts to sing, though, the musician flicks the switch from 'quite interesting' to 'boring'. And because it is, after all, Lana Lane's band, and she is a vocalist, there is enough boredom to go around for all. At times it reminded me of Sinergy a bit, but in general it just reminded me of music I don't like. In general, I say, because the 2 out of 5 rating is justified by the rather OK "Speed of Sound" and the nice mediaeval influences in "Tarot".

When weighing the pros and cons of this album, what you have under the bottom line is the usual AOR with lyrics about rain and stars and such.

When the heck is Doro touring the Netherlands?!

RK

 

Written November 2000

 

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