Think Tank Media has been busy lately with releasing two Lana Lane dvds, now the third one is devoted to Erik Norlander. Joining Erik is Kelly Keeling and Lana Lane on vocals. Kelly doubled up on bass, and reminded me of Squire, Wetton and Lee, with the strength and the thunder. Also joining Norlander are guitarist Peer Verschuren and drummer Ernst Van Ee. Each time I see Peers and Ernst in these dvds, I see them getting more and more versatile. This DVD documents the three-month 2004 tour as they traveled east from California to the the concert in St. Petersburg, Russia.
After several listens, I noticed there was several styles of music all in this concert ranging from a progressive rock to progressive and power metal. I must admit the first few songs was my favorite to watch as it reminded me of ELP and UK. ELP with Fanfare for Absent Friends Part One, Neurosaur and Dreamcurrents. UK, mainly because of the addition of a guitarist in the for of Peer, with Mariner, A Salty Dog, Sky Full of Stars and Fanfare for Absent Friends Part Two. Not saying the rest of the music was bad, jsut that these songs had more of an impact on me more than anything. Maybe because I’m a big fan of all things progressive.
The remainder of the DVD is dedicated to songs by Lana Lane, Rocket Scientists and more of Erik’s solo work of his acclaimed Music Machine album As well as a 50 minute documentary called “The Road To Russia”, which includes interviews with Erik, Lana, Kelly, Peer and Ernst. There’s also footage of Erik’s performance at the inaugural CalProg festival in 2004 which showcased an amazing version "In the Court of the Crimson King" with vocals by Lana Lane.
There’s a companion audio cd with most of the songs on the dvd plus a new studio recording of From Russia With Love (the James Bond theme).
In closing, if you have or haven’t seen Erik live then this DVD needs to be in your collection ASAP! I would even say this is one of the best dvds to come out in 2006 thus getting a ‘very recommended’ endorsement from ProgNaut.com
Reviewed by Ron Fuchs on August 19th, 2006
