SIGN NO. 9

Jane 1979 - exit keys man Manfred Weiczorke, enter keys man Klaus Hess ?? What ? Yes, Jane lost their wonderful former-ELOY keyboardist, and lead-guitarist/founder Hess took on all keyboard duties for this 'Sign No. 9' release. And he is serviceable, to say the least. I think Manfred left all his gear behind because it sounds like the same set-up (Organ, String synth and Mini-Moog). Here we have a typical, melodic hard-rock album with the distinctive Jane sound, nicely done for sure - heavily riff-laden songs abound, but any progressive inventions are kept in check ; actually, a good game to play whilst listening to this is 'spot the prog bit' - ooh there's one, umm, there's another......but on the whole, it's far from a poor album, perhaps just undemanding. The production is very late-70's (duh), somewhat tinny and thin - the bass of Martin Hesse sounds crisp, Peter Panka's drums have a very natural quality to them, and Hess offers up generous doses of searing guitar solos (in his inimitable bluesy fashion) and crunching rhythmic chords. Also of note, the album's last few tracks become more acoustic guitar dominated. All three members sing, there are two good instrumental tracks ('Henry Goes Married' and 'Letter to Mariann') and it all comes wrapped up in this fetching Toucan artwork. Highlights are the songs Sign No. 9, Moonstone and Letter to Mariann. A fair 3 star effort.