FIRE, WATER, EARTH & AIR

After flirting with blues rock, then straightforward rock including some ''soul'', JANE came back at doing what they are the best at: playing melodic prog rock played with emotions and big heart with some spacey athmosphere and majestuous guitar performances. So with their fifth studio album FIRE WATER EARTH & AIR we are sent back to the moods of TOGETHER full of organ tapestry, heart warming guitar sounds that move you deeply.

I am sure that the return of the original keyboardist WERNER NADOLNY helped the band to go back to their roots , find again this sound that made JANE a pleasure to listen to with their first 2 albums . FIRE WATER EARTH & AIR is not the definitive symphonic/space album, not even the best of the JANE catalogue but all the ingredients are present for us to enjoy this journey.

The title track is a 17mn ''epic'' with all the JANE characteristics we love: slow start, a great melody, the organ omnipresent, melancholic moody vocals and of course the moment of grandeur belong to the wonderful playing of guitarist klaus HESS who can play so melodic, so refined first then getting loose and bringing a lot of energy to the song with blistering riffs and great solos . The second side stays in the same spirit than the first one like on the great track AIR (SUPERMAN) with it's nice intro riff followed by this beautiful melancholic melody backed up by a haunting organ soundscape. JANE at its best!

The only probem with FIRE WATER EARTH & AIR is that it lasts only 33 mns even short by the standarts of the times (1976) when it was possible to put well 40mns of music on a LP. You are going to tell me, better 33mns of good music than 80 mns of fillers and that the way i think. Lets's enjoy this album as there is nothing to ''press forward'' as would put it our greatest reviewer ZOWIE ZIGGY!

Also the vocals are still not the best in the world as HESS and PANKA cannot be mistaken for G.LAKE or D.BYRON but they do a decent job, definitely not worst than their predecessors.FIRE WATER EARTH & AIR is good simple symphonic music played by skillfull musicians with no pretense, just having fun with what they are doing. If you are into ELOY or early PF, JANE is for you!I would have liked to give 3.5 stars so will be 3 stars: a good melodic prog album!

3.5 STARS.

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