Laneslide
Flying High

A high flying band with members from different corners of our globe, that is Laneslide. I seem to recall that Laneslide is a song by Fleetwood Mac, not saying that the band has taken inspiration for their name from that but if they have I can imagine worse things to take that kind of inspiration from. Amongst these members from different parts of the world I suppose that keyboardist Alessandro Del Veccio is the most known as he seems to be participating everywhere. The singer Frank Vestry is probably also a name that some of you recall as he has done some acclaimed work as well and the press info states that this is one of the most exciting collaborations in recent years and discounting the collaboration that kicks the ass of any other collaboration they just might be. The do have a brilliant looking album cover at least and that should probably make some passers by stop and explore what hides behind that cover art, but will they discover one of the most exciting collaborations in recent years? that is the question.

When playing the disc you will discover that it is melodic rock or AOR as it is often called in this configuration, it is built around strong melodies and very strong catchy choruses. I would say that considering the Del Veccio-factor there aren’t really any surprises coming to what we get with this album, it sounds in line with anything he is part of drawing notes on a paper for. But singer Frank Vestry is a different story as there is no way around the fact that he is quite brilliant and can carry songs all on his own, and the production is unsurprisingly top notch with a soundscape that impress. The album may not be the most varied I have heard in my life but there is some variation with a pair of songs diverting slightly from the navigated route and there is a cover that also deviates slightly. So I would say that this album is well placed on most accounts, which means that the takeoff shouldn’t be too difficult.

And it isn’t as this is a high flying AOR-album, much thanks to the vocal skills of Vestry but the band has also provided him with some really high class hit songs that his vocals can take above the clouds. If you should have any reservations it has to be the common one, that this album does not divert much from the routes already chosen by many bands but they do it all so well that it doesn’t matter. And you could describe it a bit as an instruction of how to make a successful AOR-album because this is one of those.

Best on the album I think the opening title track along with the cover song Self Control is, the first track because it opens in such an upbeat and uplifting fashion that you cannot help liking the rest of the album. And the cover because it is a great track in this fashion and I did enjoy it in the past even though I have to say that the Laneslide version is better the Laura Branigan’s original which I found much less good today than I remembered it being when I heard it long ago. There are some more nice hit songs as well but there isn’t really any need to name tracks here, I think that the ending ballad becomes a bit tired towards the end which makes the ending somewhat disappointing (the last minute or so) but if you have the album on repeat that doesn’t matter either as the opening track will alter your mood immediately.

All in all I think this is a high flying band and I hope that their plans for a continuation are as much up in the air as this album is because I think this is an album that promises a lot. I think that if you are an AOR fan it would be wrong if you overlooked this album because it is hard to find AOR that are better made than this, a little minus though for the ending and that they sound a lot like the genre in general but it is still a great piece of musical entertainment that I can recommend to anyone. And if you were still wondering, the answer to the question is yes.

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