Gemini

Description

Symphonic rock vocalist Lana Lane has just completed a new, stylized covers albums for release this winter entitled Gemini. It has been a tradition in Japan for Lana to release a 'specialty album' every two years. Lana, along with producer / keyboardist / husband Erik Norlander, started with the Lana Lane Ballad Collection in 1998, then continued with Ballad Collection 2 (2000), Covers Collection (2002) and Winter Sessions (2004). Now for 2006, Lana continues this excellent tradition for the winter season with Gemini. Gemini is an album of classic rock covers from the 60s and 70s featuring the backing musicians Vinny Appice (d), Tony Franklin (b), George Lynch (g), Mark McCrite (g, v) and Erik Norlander (k) along with Kelly Keeling providing additional duet and harmony vocals. Gemini is the astrological symbol for twins, and since this is Lana's second album of all covers, the album carries the theme of 'two' throughout. Lana recorded two songs by each classic rock artist for this release: a pair of songs each originally recorded by Cream, Pink Floyd, The Moody Blues, Heart, Jefferson Airplane and Foreigner. Of particular note is Lana's 'Pink Moon Suite' that combines the song 'Johnny Moon' -- originally recorded by Heart -- with songs from most of 'side one' of Pink Floyd's landmark 'Dark Side of the Moon' album. Review: There are no words! - Since the Moody Blues came out with Nights in White Satin there have been so many renditions.With this one, Lana Lane's soars above all of them. The emotion that she renders this song is beyond words! It actually brings tears to my eyes because she is singing about the "truth", at least for me, a long ago experience which sadly, will never happen again! I wish I could give her a big hug and just say: The best! Song well song! Lastly, get this cd. It's the best! Review: another covers collection... good move! - As I already opined before, latest Lana's albums suffer from lack of melodic diversity. There is no problem like this when you issue a covers collection (her first, entitled just that - "Covers Collection", was a great album), and therefore you get something better (but perhaps less personal). Some of the songs are done very nicely and only profit from Lana's arrangement: "Breathe" suite is terrific, "White Rabbit" and both Cream tracks are performed very close to the original so it's kinda hard to say anything but good words about them. A couple of them I could easily live without... they are of course among the Heart and Foreigner tracks. If anybody asked me (nobody will, of course) I would say that Lana needs to take a long hard look at the state of her career and do something new and fresh... but then again, nobody is asking me and she probably will simply issue another lackluster studio album and a double-disc Best Of collection (which would be nice but won't solve the problem).