LANA LANE – Red Planet Boulevard

Lana Lane is a well-known – at least in Europe – and fairly prolific singer who has recorded a respectable amount of quality Symphonic-styled Hard Rock albums since starting her solo career in the mid-1990s. Lane also has had numerous cameos on other people’s albums, most notably those done by her husband, Erik Norlander. Lane and Norlander’s busy streak continues with the newest Lane solo album Red Planet Boulevard. Norlander produced the disc and also handles bass and keyboards on the 12-song opus, which has a playing time of a little under 70 minutes.

For the uninitiated, Lana Lane is a singer who could draw legitimate comparisons to someone like Ann Wilson: both possess distinctive, strong, and emotive voices that make pretty much any song they do stand out, just because they’re the ones singing it. Lane isn’t a clone by any means, though… she has her own identity and sound, and the songs she performs are usually fairly heavy.

Red Planet Boulevard sounds like most of Lane’s other albums, but that’s good; fans will be right at home with this one. There’s the usual assortment of hard-rocking tracks with lots of momentum and energy, a power ballad or two, a “throwback” song (“Lazy Summer Day”) that would sound right at home in the 1970s, and lots of atmospheric instrumentation and production. There are some nice riffs and guitar parts to keep things interesting too, and even though Red Planet Boulevard isn’t a crusher of an album, it’s heavy enough.

As usual, though, the focal point of the album is Lane’s voice and she doesn’t disappoint, sounding as good as ever, with plenty of – but not too much – power and energy on the faster songs, and subtlety and warm nuance on the slower ones. While not going over-the-top, Lane does show off just a little here and there, like on album-opener “Into The Fire,” where she impressively holds a certain note for a very long time; if you’ve got it, flaunt it. Lane’s singing on all the songs is very good, which will come as no surprise to her fans. The only song that doesn’t feature any vocals is the album-finishing title track, which is a well-done instrumental medley of all the songs that preceded it.

The better songs on Red Planet Boulevard would probably be the fast-moving “Into The Fire,” the darkly humorous “Stepford USA,” hard-hitters “The Frozen Sea” and “Capture The Sun,” and the ballad-esque duo of “Shine” and “No Tears Left.” The best song is probably “Save The World,” which is an atmospheric chugger with catchy vocals and strong riffs. All in all, though, there are no bad songs here.

For Lana Lane fans, Red Planet Boulevard is an automatic purchase. For those who like well-produced Symphonic Hard Rock with female vocals, it’s recommended.