EL DORADO HOTEL

There is simply no such thing as a weak Lana Lane album, and this one, their most recent album to date, is no exception. El Doroado Hotel does, however, have a somewhat different "feel" compared to previous albums. Most Prog fans would probably agree that the best two tracks are the opener and the closer. A Dream Full Of Fire is a rather typical Lana Lane number; a hard edged, progressive rocker. But it also features some uncharacteristic Middle- Eastern sounds in the middle section, to great effect. Next up is Maybe We'll Meet Again, a track that instantly reminds of Asia (the band, not the continent!). The song begins with a keyboard "fanfare" very much in the style of Geoff Downes. Since Erik Norlander has been co-writing (with John Payne) the material for the upcoming Asia featuring John Payne album, it is perhaps not surprising that some of that mindset would influence Lane Lane as well. Several Asia members even appear as guests here, including John Payne himself (providing backing vocals and mandolin!), Guthrie Govan (on guitars), and Jay Schellen (on drums). The title track is another very good song, featuring some wonderful acoustic guitar parts. Darkness Falls is good enough too, and Hotels is a gorgeous little piano ballad, but after that the album does take a turn towards less interesting material. The album reaches its lowest points with the pure Pop song Believe and the throwaway "party rocker" Life Of The Party. Gone Are The Days and Moon God are typical Lana Lane numbers, but as such they are somewhat predictable and less interesting than the material on previous studio albums. Overall, there is more of a Pop feel to this album than we have heard from them in the past. Not until the final track does the album really pick up again. Prog fans will be delighted to see a nearly 12 minute long epic here. But even if In Exile is indeed a good one, it falls far behind such masterpieces as the Astrology Suite from the Secrets Of Astrology album, for example.

El Dorado Hotel is a good album - no more, no less. It is somewhat different from most other albums by the band, and as such it is not really representative. In my opinion, it is one of their least good albums.

Share this LANA LANE review

Social review comments () BETA

---

---

Review related links

• Send comments to SouthSideoftheSky
• Report this review (#893417)
• Buy LANA LANE music online with PA partners
• Show all LANA LANE MP3/Stream
• Go to LANA LANE page for videos, full discography with ratings, reviews and much more
• Go to El Dorado Hotel page for more details, where to buy and ratings/reviews
• Search the Forum for LANA LANE related discussions