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Trollheart · 06-13-2011, 03:50 PM

Lady Macbeth --- Lana Lane --- 2005 (Think Thank)

Lana Lane is the wife of prog-rock supremo Erik Norlander, and he both produces and plays on her albums, as he does here. “Lady Macbeth” is her seventh studio album, and is loosely based around the concept of the Shakespeare saga, told from the point of view of the infamous Lady Macbeth. I have to say that although this was the first time I had ever heard of Lana Lane, let alone heard her music, the album absolutely blew me away. Sadly, her other material has not impressed me much at all, but this album stands out on its own.

Kicking off with essentially the title track, although it's actually called “The dream that never ends”, the album starts with a deceptively slow and gentle intro, until it kicks into high gear and gets going, metamorphing into a prog rock monster, thundering along with Lana's clear, distinctive voice introducing us to the lead character --- ”Lady Macbeth/Marked by death.” As mentioned, Erik Norlander plays on the album, taking keyboard duty, and he does a fine job as ever. The following track is a little slower, a little lighter, perhaps trying to paint Lady Macbeth in a more sympathetic light than she is normally seen. “Someone to believe” is a decent song, but it's really overshadowed by “Our time now”, the first of three excellent ballads on the album, with great guitar solos and a lovely piano line, echoes of Pink Floyd in the vocal harmonies.

Everything slips back into high gear then for “Summon the Devil”, a powerful, sharp rocker, containing the Shakespeare chant for the three witches: ”Bubble, bubble, toil and trouble/ Fire burn and cauldron bubble/ By the pricking of my thumbs/ Something wicked this way comes!” Great grinding guitars give this track a real bite, and they carry the track with a Whitesnake-like riff, circa “Love hunter”. A nice little acoustic guitar then slows everything down as “No tomorrow” begins, with a nice kind of Rush vibe to it, but it soon bares its fangs and proves to be no ballad, though the song alternates between slow and gentle for the verses and harsh and faster for the chorus. Perhaps a half-ballad? The lyric betrays it though: “Your castle will burn in the sun/ My will will not be undone.” The song ends suddenly, almost unexpectedly, and leads into another slow intro which again turns out to be far from a ballad.

“Shine on golden sun” is a good track, some really nice acoustic guitar married with some tough electric, Lana's voice clear and vibrant as ever: she really has a powerful voice, recalling the likes of Heart's Ann Wilson. Other comparisons I could make would be Sabine Edelsbacher of Edenbridge, with whom she sang on Gary Hughes's “Once and future king”, reviewed here earlier. “The vision” is a five-minute-plus instrumental, showcasing the talents of the no less than three guitarists who play on the album, then we're into “Keeper of the flame”, another fast rocker in the vein of the opening track, before things slow down as the album draws to a close with two lovely ballads, the first being the bittersweet “We had the world”, on which Lana sings her heart out, and you really feel for her in her role as the tragic figure. The curtain comes down with the simple but hauntingly beautiful “Dunsinane walls”.

I have to admit, I'm not that familiar with “The Scottish Play” (Oh, that would be Macbeth, would it?)

so I can't really comment on how well or otherwise Lana tells the story, or how the songs reflect that, but even putting the whole concept aside --- something I wasn't even aware of when I first heard the album --- it's still a great listen, and to date, for me, the creative peak for Lana Lane.

TRACKLISTING

1. The dream that never ends
2. Someone to believe
3. Our time now
4. Summon the Devil
5. No tomorrow
6. Shine on golden sun
7. The vision
8. Keeper of the flame
9. We had the world
10. Dunsinane walls

06-13-2011, 03:50 PM	#33 (permalink)
Trollheart Born to be mild Join Date: Oct 2008 Location: 404 Not Found Posts: 26,996	Lady Macbeth --- Lana Lane --- 2005 (Think Thank) Lana Lane is the wife of prog-rock supremo Erik Norlander, and he both produces and plays on her albums, as he does here. “Lady Macbeth” is her seventh studio album, and is loosely based around the concept of the Shakespeare saga, told from the point of view of the infamous Lady Macbeth. I have to say that although this was the first time I had ever heard of Lana Lane, let alone heard her music, the album absolutely blew me away. Sadly, her other material has not impressed me much at all, but this album stands out on its own. Kicking off with essentially the title track, although it's actually called “The dream that never ends”, the album starts with a deceptively slow and gentle intro, until it kicks into high gear and gets going, metamorphing into a prog rock monster, thundering along with Lana's clear, distinctive voice introducing us to the lead character --- ”Lady Macbeth/Marked by death.” As mentioned, Erik Norlander plays on the album, taking keyboard duty, and he does a fine job as ever. The following track is a little slower, a little lighter, perhaps trying to paint Lady Macbeth in a more sympathetic light than she is normally seen. “Someone to believe” is a decent song, but it's really overshadowed by “Our time now”, the first of three excellent ballads on the album, with great guitar solos and a lovely piano line, echoes of Pink Floyd in the vocal harmonies. Everything slips back into high gear then for “Summon the Devil”, a powerful, sharp rocker, containing the Shakespeare chant for the three witches: ”Bubble, bubble, toil and trouble/ Fire burn and cauldron bubble/ By the pricking of my thumbs/ Something wicked this way comes!” Great grinding guitars give this track a real bite, and they carry the track with a Whitesnake-like riff, circa “Love hunter”. A nice little acoustic guitar then slows everything down as “No tomorrow” begins, with a nice kind of Rush vibe to it, but it soon bares its fangs and proves to be no ballad, though the song alternates between slow and gentle for the verses and harsh and faster for the chorus. Perhaps a half-ballad? The lyric betrays it though: “Your castle will burn in the sun/ My will will not be undone.” The song ends suddenly, almost unexpectedly, and leads into another slow intro which again turns out to be far from a ballad. “Shine on golden sun” is a good track, some really nice acoustic guitar married with some tough electric, Lana's voice clear and vibrant as ever: she really has a powerful voice, recalling the likes of Heart's Ann Wilson. Other comparisons I could make would be Sabine Edelsbacher of Edenbridge, with whom she sang on Gary Hughes's “Once and future king”, reviewed here earlier. “The vision” is a five-minute-plus instrumental, showcasing the talents of the no less than three guitarists who play on the album, then we're into “Keeper of the flame”, another fast rocker in the vein of the opening track, before things slow down as the album draws to a close with two lovely ballads, the first being the bittersweet “We had the world”, on which Lana sings her heart out, and you really feel for her in her role as the tragic figure. The curtain comes down with the simple but hauntingly beautiful “Dunsinane walls”. I have to admit, I'm not that familiar with “The Scottish Play” (Oh, that would be Macbeth, would it?) so I can't really comment on how well or otherwise Lana tells the story, or how the songs reflect that, but even putting the whole concept aside --- something I wasn't even aware of when I first heard the album --- it's still a great listen, and to date, for me, the creative peak for Lana Lane. TRACKLISTING 1. The dream that never ends 2. Someone to believe 3. Our time now 4. Summon the Devil 5. No tomorrow 6. Shine on golden sun 7. The vision 8. Keeper of the flame 9. We had the world 10. Dunsinane walls __________________ Trollheart: Signature-free since April 2018 Last edited by Trollheart; 11-04-2011 at 09:13 AM.