LADY

After the disastrous, plain horrible JANE III, the band decided to go back to their roots with LADY. Even if it is a big improvemnet over its predecessor, LADY is not a complete return to form as writing inspiration doesn't run as high as it was on TOGETHER and HERE WE ARE. Once again for the fourth time in as many albums we have a new line-up. KLAUS HESS on guitar and PETER PANKA on drums are still present of course, but bassist MAULCHER left the band for the second time (he'll be back many years later) replaced by MARTIN HESSE and a new keyboardist GOTTFRIED JANKO has been brought on board who also will be the lead vocalist.

A new line -up with another new vocalist, what kind of JANE music are we getting this time? Well, LADY brings some part of the old JANE sound, thanks to return of the keyboards but nowhere we reach the heights of DAYTIME, HANGMAN and other OUT IN THE RAIN. You still have also sadly some remnants of americanised music, not in the form of blues but worse what we have is groovy funky almost soul-lish like in the track SILVER KNICKERS! Can you imagine a kraut band trying to sound like JAMES BROWN?? Just plain horrible! But thanks god, this is the only really disastrous track of the album.

Not that there are too many gems either as SO SO LONG sounds so corny as as JANE is trying to clone themselves by trying hard to go back to TOGETHER grandeur but to no success. Even the guitar solo from HESS is very tame and predictable.You will find a lot of straightforward rockers like the opener WAITING FOR THE SUNSHINE or SCRATCHES ON YOUR BACK with nothing memorable except some good guitar parts as usual, but they never get expanded like on the first 2 albums! Once again, the new vocalist is very average, i don't know what was their problem to find a decent singer.

This is with the next album that the quality of the vocals would improve when the band, mainly when HESS and PANKA decided for an in-house solution by covering the vocal parts themselves, and for the better,but we are digressing here now! The best songs of LADY can be found in the heart of the album with the beautiful ballad MAKE ME FEEL BETTER with its fantastic guitar solo or LORD LOVE another ballad with nice organ and vocals thet -finally- fit the music.

MUSIC MACHINE is JANE hard rocking but the good way like on TOGETHER with nice organ soundscapes and a fiery guitar never forgetting to be melodic at the same time. (WISHDREAM) LADY would become one of JANE staple in concert for years to come. This is a middle of the road album not bad, but not satisfying either as there are quite a few forgetable tracks. If only had been on the same level of MAKE ME FEEL BETTER or MUSIC MACHINE.

But great things are on their way as we are entering the ''classic period'' with their next 3 superb albums .

2.5 STARS,

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