ERIK NORLANDER

Mildly progressive without being overly technical, "Surreal" is almost entirely instrumental. Lots of keyboards, as expected, and some fun guitar work. My biggest complaint is that it is mostly instrumental. The title track is the only one with any vocals, featuring, of course, Lana Lane. It's a good song, and at over ten minutes long, it's a long welcome break from the instrumental pieces. Even this song, though, has a long instrumental bit in the middle. Another favorite is "Unearthly," if only because it has some unusual instruments and some Asian-type influences. The last track, "El Gran Final," has more energy than the other tracks.

The album as a whole is a bit lighter than other Norlander projects. The album is pleasant to listen to, with some nice melodies. I'm not generally a huge fan of instrumental progressive rock, and there's nothing here that's particularly original or excellent. That being said, I do like this. 3 stars.

US composer and musician Erik NORLANDER is a well know name in the progressive rock scene, as a member of the US band Rocket Scientists, for his tenure in John Payne's Asia, to a lesser extent as being a part of the Roswell Six project, but perhaps most of all for a solo career that has been ongoing for more than 20 years. "Surreal" is his latest studio album, and was released through his and his wife Lana Lane's label Think Tank Media in the summer of 2016.

Instrumental progressive rock albums may not be a staple diet for all fans of progressive rock, but for those who enjoy such productions in general and the ones honing in on symphonic progressive rock in particular, Erik Norlander's most recent studio recording should be met with a statement of satisfactory by the greater majority of that crowd. A solid album through and through, perhaps a bit safe and sound in terms of style and performance, but it's still a pleasurable experience to encounter craftsmen using their expertise and experience in creating the kind of material they are best at producing.

The galaxy collectors

With Surreal Erik Norlander has clearly tried to make an album in the same style as 2010's The Galactic Collective. The main difference is that while The Galactic Collective was an album of re-recorded instrumentals from throughout Norlander's career (including some compositions he first developed with Rocket Scientists and Lana Lane), Surreal is an album of original material. Another notable difference between the two is that Surreal includes one vocal track (featuring Lane Lane on lead vocals) while The Galactic Collective was completely instrumental.

Though I find Surreal thoroughly enjoyable I do also think that it offers few surprises and feels a little bit like a more-of-the-same release in light of Norlander's past output. If, like me, you admire Norlander's great playing skills and amazing sounds then you will most probably enjoy this one as well, but in my opinion it does not quite reach the quality of his best efforts. In particular, Surreal is not as good as The Galactic Collective and my recommendation is therefore to start with that album and also the live companion, the stunning Live In Gettysburg DVD.

What I hope will follow now is another live release similar to the otherworldly Live In Gettysburg but including material from the present album as well as instrumental performances of further Lana Lane and Rocket Scientists tracks.

Among his usual obligations in Lana Lane's albums and after the fourth album of Rocket Scientists Norlander found time to write a second solo work, ''Into the sunset''.This was released in 2000 on the Dutch label Transmission Records and features an expanded line-up compared to the previous Norlander album, teammates Greg Ellis and Mark McCrite helped out on drums and vocals respectively, Tony Franklin is on bass, the experienced Arjen Anthony Lucassen is on guitars and Cameron Stone provides the cello parts.Lead and harmony vocals are sung by an impressive guest list, Lana Lane, Kayak's Edward Reekers, Glenn Hughes and Robert Soeterboek.With so many guest musicians and singers, the album was recorded at four fifferent studios worldwide.

Change of label and the singning with the more Metal-oriented Transmission Records along with the presence of Arjen Anthony Lucassen rises suspicions about the album's direction.Norlander makes it clear already from the first few pieces that this has nothing to do with the sound of ''Threshold''.The music is much heavier and bombastic compared to the previous album, a step away from Norlander's Prog Rock roots and towards a style between fiery Hard Rock and orchestral Prog Metal.Of course his keyboard work is so good to exhibit it in a seminar, full of cinematic flashes, 70's-styled organs and pompous synthesizers with a sound somewhere between the runs of Lord with DEEP PURPLE and the virtuosic parts of DREAM THEATER, but the addition of guitars along with the an obvious tendency towards Hard Rock rhythm and lead parts show a different side of Norlander.Touches of DEEP PURPLE, URIAH HEEP and RAINBOW combine with the modern sound of Prog Metal and Heavy Prog to offer music swirling around punchy riffs, extended keyboard solos but also some melodic content and atmospheric breaks.Despite the most straightforward direction the album sounds very tight and inspired with some great instrumental and vocal work, while the proggy vibes are not of course totally lost, there are lots of great tempo changes, instrumental variety and keyboard majesty in here, delivered via Norlander's love for an E.L.P.-like dense, symphonic sound.

Good work for fans of the harder side of Prog, which still retains some of Norlander's qualities towards keyboard-drenched Symphonic Rock.Extremely bombastic and pompous material with a rich sound and a good balance between instrumental and lyrical parts.Recommended.

Erik Norlander is a Progressive Rock keyboardist, composer and producer from California, the USA. He's quite prolific in his area of work and has over 30 albums recorded since 1993. He was involved in many different projects e.g. with Lana Lane (who is also his wife), his band Rocket Scientists, his own solo albums and numerous guest appearances.

Erik is an old-fashioned keyboard man with a passion for the Moog Synths. He has also personally led sound design efforts on several major brand synthesizers.

In the year 2010 he decided to take the best instrumental material he had written so far for all the albums he had made and re-recorded them in a great style. Then the original The Galactic Collective (2010) was born, but only a preview of the whole work was released in CD-R format. Erik was not that happy with that release and 2 years later, on August 6th, he decided to go full on that trip field again with The Galactic Collective: Definitive Edition (2012), a 2 CD/DVD box with all the material from the 2010 album but now with everything in video as well. He also released a live version called The Galactic Collective: Live in Gettysburg. Both releases came to life by Erik's own company, the Think Tank Media, with distribution of Gonzo Multimidia. Each box contains deluxe, full-color 5x7" booklets with extensive liner notes written by those directly involved with the project and 2CD/DVD combo.

In 2011 Erik took the base of musicians that recorded the original project and went on tour with them.

The show presented in the DVD and 2CD set was taken from the RoSFest concert that happened on May 21 and includes the complete studio album. So, if you have the Studio box, it is quite odd to have the live one as well. Unless you're a hardcore fan.

On the stage Erik Norlander (keyboards), Freddy DeMarco (guitars), Mark Matthews (bass) and Nick LePar (drums) are joined by Lana Lane in some tracks.

Here the DVD is the most interesting part, not the CD. The band is sharp and very good. The one thing is that I'm not a fan of live recordings, so in my opinion the studio one is more interesting. But I do like a lot of live concerts on video.

In general, both releases are worthy, a lot. There are some great moments with great musicianship and will be just right for an audience that like Emerson, Lake & Palmer or Rick Wakeman but with a modern approach. You just have to decide what's your favorite format: Studio or Live.

Erik Norlander is a Progressive Rock keyboardist, composer and producer from California, the USA. He's quite prolific in his area of work and has over 30 albums recorded since 1993. He was involved in many different projects e.g. with Lana Lane (who is also his wife), his band Rocket Scientists, his own solo albums and numerous guest appearances.

Erik is an old-fashioned keyboard man with a passion for the Moog Synths. He has also personally led sound design efforts on several major brand synthesizers.

In the year 2010 he decided to take the best instrumental material he had written so far for all the albums he had made and re-recorded them in a great style. Then the original The Galactic Collective (2010) was born, but only a preview of the whole work was released in CD-R format. Erik was not that happy with that release and 2 years later, on August 6th, he decided to go full on that trip field again with The Galactic Collective: Definitive Edition (2012), a 2 CD/DVD box with all the material from the 2010 album but now with everything in video as well. He also released a live version called The Galactic Collective: Live in Gettysburg. Both releases came to life by Erik's own company, the Think Tank Media, with distribution of Gonzo Multimidia. Each box contains deluxe, full-color 5x7" booklets with extensive liner notes written by those directly involved with the project and 2CD/DVD combo.

Back in the year of 2009 Erik entered the Studio to re-record some of his favorite instrumental compositions. He joined forces with Mark Matthews (bass), Nick LePar (drums and percussion) and Freddy DeMarco (guitars) and in 2010 he released a CD-R of this work. In 2011/2012 he tried again, this time with video and guest members in some tracks like John Payne (guitars and vocals), Mitch Perry (guitar), Ron Redfield (guitar), Mark McCrite (acoustic guitars) and his wife Lana Lane (vocals).

The Galactic Collective: Definitive Edition (2012), the audio, is a very polished work. Well played and with a very good production. Many good tracks are included in this Box. 'Arrival/Neurossaur', 'Sky Full Of Stars', 'Trantor Station', 'The Dark Water' (now transformed in one single epic track, more than 20 minutes long) are full of Erik's trade mark, his synths. And great heavy guitar-driven riffs.

I cannot say the same about the video. On the DVD we have a kind of documentary, where Erik himself presents all the songs with details, technical or not, including lots of stories about the tracks. If on the one hand it is very nice to see the band's recordings, on the other hand the quality of the interviews is kinda amateurish, with Erik always looking to anyplace, except for the camera, which is very weird.

In general, both releases are worthy, a lot. There are some great moments with great musicianship and will be just right for an audience that like Emerson, Lake & Palmer or Rick Wakeman but with a modern approach. You just have to decide what's your favorite format: Studio or Live.

Leading figure of US Progsters Rocket Scientists and one of the most prolific figures in the modern Progressive Rock scene.Erik Norlander was inronically born in 1967 in Hollywood, as his music has nothing to do with the Hollywood blockbusters, and started a very productive career in early-90's with Rocket Scientists.His collaborations though include artists like David Ragsdale, Keith Emerson, Joe Lynn Turner, Glenn Hughes, Arjen Anthony Lucassen, James Labrie, Virgil Donati and many others.His is married to female singer Lana Lane, while since 1997 he produces also solo works under his own name, the first one being ''Threshold'' from June 1997 on Kinesis label, where he is helped by Rocket Scientists bandmate Don Schiff on bass and Greg Ellis on drums.

The album was intented to be recorded just for fun according to Norlander and some of this energy is reflected on the first few tracks, which contain plenty of EMERSON-ian bits in a light Symphonic/Fusion style with good use of organ and synthesizers, interesting grooves, solid rhythm parts and a fair amount of virtuosity.''No Cross to Carry'' even contains some great GETLE GIANT-like funky grooves on what I suppose is a sampled clavinet.''Neuro Boogie'' is the most consistent track though with a memorable keyboard performance in E.L.P. vein and nice changing themes.The closing ''Critical Mass'' is another good attempt by Norlander to mic Symphonic Rock with Electronic Music with dramatic synth textures in the vein of NUOVA ERA and some fine piano interludes, minus is the sometimes cheap keyboard sounds.However the rest of the tracks,suprisingly two of them happen to be the longest ones, are consumed in a boring New Age/Electronic style with fake sampled instruments, spacey vibes and annoying plastic drumming.No sign of melody, no sign of harmonic parts, no sign of life.Repetitive and hypnotic stuff all the way, makin' ''Threshold'' much of an uneven album.

I hate to say that ''Threshold'' is totally ruined by these hypnotic and monotonous New Age compositions.The rest of the album is decent with some good keyboard ideas, worthy of Norlander's talent, but it is recommended to stick with his most solid solo efforts or with his better albums with Rocket Scientists...2.5 stars.

Erik Norlander's biography on his website starts by saying he is a progressive rock keyboardist, composer and producer from California that has written and produced over 30 albums since 1993 with his chanteuse spouse Lana Lane and his band Rocket Scientists. Is that enough to impress? I would think so if you have never heard of the artist or any of his work. Erik's band consists of Freddy DeMarco (guitars), Mark Matthews (bass), Nick LePar (drums) and his lovely spouse Lana Lane (vocals). I can you tell you he does back up that initial statement with a solid back log of recordings and most recently this 2CD/1 DVD collection Live In Gettysburg distributed by the folks at Gonzo Multimedia. This is a beautiful set that gives you the option of popping the CDs in your stereo or iTunes or kicking back and watching the entire concert and listening in surround sound. I enjoyed both experiences completely. The thing about a guy like Norlander is that he does not stand out in the hall of legendary ivory ticklers such as a Wakeman, Emerson or Rudess. After listening to all of his music I think it may be time to look a little harder at this great musician and all of the tremendous contributions made to the development of keyboard advancements and the great progressive rock he has produced. It takes a set like this for it all to sink in entirely. I found Norlander's music moving, majestic and powerful. It makes you feel like you are getting ready to go into battle with King Arthur and his court at times or at the other end of the spectrum with the thought of the 'Galactic Collective' term in mind, you have visions of deep space exploration or floating amongst the stars via the spacey notes emanating from his very large keyboard set. He has that monstrous wall of equipment similar to what Keith Emerson used when he was with ELP. I find it difficult to single out any one track as being a stand out from the rest as the entire collection is outstanding. Visually there is not a lot going on with the DVD, it is just the band and Erik talking about the songs, the equipment and how the band came together. Things like that can be of interest to a listener. If you looking for a visual presentation you will not find it here, however if your only concern is what you are hearing then it takes no more than shutting your eyes and letting Erik and his band take you wherever you please. I also enjoyed the vocals of Lana Lane. She has very powerful set of pipes and a good stage presence. By the time this entire experience was complete I found myself looking at all the releases Norlander and Lane have available. Everything is listed right on his website so it is worth exploring if you are interested. Live In Gettysburg is a must have collection if you enjoy keyboard music and or progressive rock. Don't miss out on this release.

Key Tracks: Secrets of Astrology, Trantor Station, Sky Full of Stars

Space: 1999

If you already have the original 2010 studio release of The Galactic Collective as well as the excellent The Galactic Collective Live In Gettysburg concert DVD and 2CD set, this "definitive edition" DVD and 2CD set is really only a valuable addition if you are a fan or collector. What you get here that the original studio album did not already include is a new audio-only cover version of Space: 1999 (a tune that Norlander first recorded for Rocket Scientists' Oblivion Days album), a couple of alternate versions of tracks appearing on the main album, and lots of video interviews. Also on the DVD we can see Norlander and his band performing the songs in the studio. While this is interesting, it is not nearly as interesting as it was seeing them perform live on the Live In Gettysburg DVD. The interviews and studio performances are good, but not something that I will watch more than once or twice.

Get either the original single CD studio album or this new definitive edition set. The album is fantastic, but only hard core fans need both versions.

Fanfare for Erik Norlander

This brand new live concert DVD and two CD set features a full show recorded at The Rites of Spring Festival in 2011. The amazing set list consists of the very best of Erik Norlander's instrumental works that originally appeared on his solo albums, his works with Rocket Scientists, and his works with Lana Lane. As such, this brilliant performance sums up Norlander's whole career as a keyboard player, composer, and producer; long may it continue. These compositions were first re-recorded live-in-the-studio in 2010 resulting in The Galactic Collective studio album. That album gave a very convincing snapshot of Norlander's immense talents as a composer and instrumentalist, but it is on this excellent live recording that these tunes really come to life. In addition, this live performance offers more great content as well as a visual element. Fans of people like Rick Wakeman, Keith Emerson, and Patrick Moraz should sit up and take note. Norlander will blow you away!

The concert opens with Arrival and Neurosaur that originally opened Norlander's first solo album, Threshold from 1997. This number has since become something of a signature tune for Norlander and it fits perfectly as a show opener. Next up is Fanfare For Absent Friends that originally was on Erik's Progressive Electronic solo album Seas Of Orion from 2004. This live version is clearly more rocking than the original version and an improvement on an already great tune. They carry on with Sky Full Of Stars, originally from the conceptual Music Machine album from 2003. This symphonic instrumental is creatively merged with the Lana Lane song Capture The Sun which features Lana Lane herself on lead vocals. This is the first out of four vocal numbers in this otherwise entirely instrumental show. Lana Lane is an amazing singer and adds great value to this performance and the presence of a few vocal numbers among the instrumental ones brings a very nice variation to the whole.

Lana Lane appears on lead vocals again on the next number, the superb Secrets Of Astrology. While on the studio version of The Galactic Collective only the instrumental introduction Astrology Prelude was recreated which felt a little truncated without its natural companion in Secrets Of Astrology. On this live performance, the whole Astrology Suite is restored the way it should be and the way it was on the excellent Lana Lane album of that same name.

Another tune from Threshold follows in Trantor Station, another wonderful, spacy instrumental. After The Revolution is the first out of two Rocket Scientists numbers, this one originally appearing on the 2006 Revolution Road album. Like almost every track here, this is the ultimate version. The 20 minute plus The Dark Water was originally split up into shorter introductions and interludes on the Rocket Scientists albums Brutal Architecture and Oblivion Days, but here they are presented as one long piece as on the studio version of The Galactic Collective. While on the latter I felt that it was a bit too long for its own good, this live version justifies the great length of the song.

In addition to all of the tunes from The Galactic Collective, Norlander also treats us to an extended suite from his very good solo album Into The Sunset containing two vocal numbers again performed by the wonderful Lana Lane. This amazing suite constitutes a very valuable addition to the set. However, the piano-driven Dreamcurrents is the only tune that I think is better on the studio version of The Galactic Collective (due to the middle section on that extended version being present neither here nor on the original Into The Sunset version). Still, this truncated version is not bad at all and contains simply brilliant piano playing.

For some reason, the recording of Garden Of The Moon is taken from a different show and is a bonus track on the DVD but part of the main set on the accompanying CDs. Another difference between the DVD and the CDs is that some of the in-between-song-banter has been appropriately edited out on the CDs. This is I think a very good idea and justifies the addition of the two CDs in the package. The CDs are preferable for repeated listening.

In conclusion, this is nothing short of a live masterpiece and there is no doubt about the rating here. Very highly recommended!