A Greatest Hits package or an excuse to rerecord and fluff up a collection of songs that perhaps didn't quite get the exposure warranted the first time around?
"The Gathering" is a little bit of both.
Jorn enlisted the help of Tommy Hansen to beef up the production on some of his earlier solo works that needed a boost and the others were rerecorded or remixed for a total "updating". Truthfully, the meat of the songs stick to their original counterparts and not alot has been changed here. Its more of a glossing over, but with a running time this extensive and a CD packed with only the best of grade A material from one of the most memorable and powerful voices in rock today...well who am I to say not to buy it?
Jorn rose to notable glory after joining some ex-Helloween'ers in
Masterplan and wailing through two fantastic discs under their name before departing due to "creative differences". Lande was already much adored through other, more obscure outlets such as the progfests of Ark, the
AOR of Vagabond, the Whitesnaker cloners The Snakes and a host of other projects. Yet it was not until he teamed up for the
Masterplan outings that his name was really put out there and much deserved recognition quickly gained. If you are unfamiliar with a good chunk of pre-
Masterplan solo
Jorn Lande, then this disc is just begging to be added to your collection since some of those earlier albums are either out of print currently or atleast not so easy to find.
There's alot of tracks here to sink your teeth into including darker Coverdale-like cuts such as
"Gonna Find the Sun" and
"House of Cards", the power pumped hard rock of
"Sunset Station" with its instantly infectious hookline and the growling claws and fang beared metal of
"Tungur Knivur".
"Bridges Will Burn" summons smoother melodic rock sounds and from the "Starfire" release comes
"Abyss of Evil" which is simply hefty and thumping. Conjuring the dark demonic fantasies of a crunchy
Black Sabbath like track and lyrics that echo the mysticism of those penned by both
Dio and Tony Martin, this one kicks you in the gut like a lead, spiked boot of steel.
"Where the Winds Blow" haunts David Coverdale's
Deep Purple past and raises a fiery torch to the sexiness of the soul from the Coverdale/Page project. Bluesy, rough edged and gorgeous. Guitar rain down like serrated razors cutting generous chunks out of the bloody pumping flesh of your heart. Hansen's fresh production leaves a glittering shine over each song and makes them sound one hundred per cent better, especially since a couple of his solo albums did suffer a bit productionwise.
Its appreciated that he left off "Starfire" since it just reappeared on his latest solo album, "The Duke" in a reworked fashion. As fantastic as it is, we didn't need it a third time. A spectacular and surprise inclusion is
"Hourglass" from the Millenium recordings. A massive, epic slab of melodic rock that is dominated by both vocals and waves of metallic melody that competes with and compliments the lead.
"Christine" is another instant favorite with a simple but catchy chorus and crackling musicianship all around.
There really isn't a "bad" song out of the bunch, quite the feat for a CD that runs 16 tracks long. The only complaints have to do with what was left off. With such a wealth of fabulous music to pick and choose from, a few songs are not going to be issued invitations to join the party. And those left out of the festivities might be some of your favorites. Notably missing is "When Angels Wings Were White" which would have been absolute heaven to hear rerecorded or at the very least, remastered.
If you already own everything, there's not a real definite reason to trick you into picking this up too. Everything on
"The Gathering" has been, ahem, gathered elsewhere and are all fine tunes in their first incarnations. Those that haven't tasted this side of Lande before will find this to be a delectable collection of fantastically fine, musical metallic fare. Having the songs upgraded is also a nice bonus. Its not essential for the ones that own it all already, but worth a look nontheless. A superb collection from a great vocalist, and the perfect sister disc to the conjointly published "Unlocking the Past".
Written by
Alanna Sunday, January 7, 2007
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