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Think Tank Media
review by Craig Hartranft, 01.30.2012
It's good to welcome back Lana Lane, after a four year absence, and her fine new studio album, El Dorado Hotel. Once more Ms. Lane sounds incredible; she's one of the great pure melodic rock vocalists on the planet.
The genius of Lana Lane is her ability to move between smooth, sultry, and soaring vocals with effortless ease. Her voice is a convincing and entertaining instrument that equally surrounds and lifts any music to a higher plane. Yet, it's when her voice is the singular focus of the song that sends chills down your spine. Hotels is that song on El Dorado Hotel; a song that you could easily put on repeat as it is pure unadulterated bliss. But that's not to say Lane doesn't excel throughout this disc. Other notable performances are found on El Dorado, Believe, Gone Are The Days.
Of course when you come to a Lana Lane album, you must also recognize the music. Mostly developed by husband Erik Norlander, El Dorado Hotel straddles the fence of AOR melodic rock and prog rock, again, with same effortless ease as Lane's voice. A Dream Full of Fire and El Dorado offers some interesting guitar, nearly ethnic, Spanish, in character. Darkness Falls allows for that contrast of heaviness and lightness common in a Lane/Norlander arrangement. Believe, Life of the Party, and especially Gone Are The Days more rock romps, with that last one quite catchy radio-friendly inspiration. The depth of musicianship rises on the progressive closing tune, In Exile. Finally, and again, Hotels must be given kudos as the arrangement is so sublime and unassuming, given only to display Lana Lane's gift.
Lana Lane's El Dorado is pure musical magic, another wonderful display of her beautiful voice, and the music is damn fine too. Strongly recommended.
Lana Lane's El Dorado is pure musical magic, another wonderful display of her beautiful voice, and the music is darn fine too. Strongly recommended.
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