EL DORADO HOTEL

It took me a little time to get this album, Lana Lane´s previous CD Red Planet Boulevard showed some radical musical direction shift towards a much more AOR oriented stuff. Not that it was a bad move, but it did include some of the weakest stuff she ever recorded. And reading on the booklet that several members of John Payne´s Asia were playing on the record certainly didn´t dispel my fears she was even more deeply into that kind of music. Fortunatly, there was also the presence of her old Rocket Scientists colleages Mark McCrite, Don Schiff and Neil Citron to balance things. Besides, her husband, Erik Norlander, decided to stop playing to be John Paul Jones and concentrated in what he does best, meaning that his majestic and tasteful keyboards were on the forefront again.

Once I started to listen to the CD it was clear that the AOR tendencies are still around, of course, but with an edge and a much more inspired repertoire. In other words, those wonderful symphonic arrangements are present in force (the 11 minute In Exile being the best exemple, even if it is not exactly the best track). It seems that Lane had gathered the best of both worlds for a real strong and convincing album. It is ok that this is no Queen Of The Ocean, but still a real fine work that grows on you with every spin. There is great variety of styles and no fillers to be found here. As usual the performances are spotless: her voice is terrific but she is also a team player, giving the musicians plenty of room to contribute. The production is, as expected from anything Norlander produces, crystal clear.

It took Lana Lane five years to come up with a follow up to Red Planet Boulevard, against the usual 1 album per year during the mid 90´s to the early 2000s. But it was well worth the wait.

Rating: 4 strong stars.