$6.99

Lana Lane's 2nd studio album. Originally released in 1996 then remixed in 2002 with new overdubs and bonus tracks.

2002 press release to the Special Edition CD:

(Los Angeles, 17 May 2002) Think Tank Media proudly announces its release of the LANA LANE - CURIOUS GOODS SPECIAL EDITION, a re-issue of Lana's second album originally released in 1996 in Japan only. The album tracks have been thoroughly reworked for this new issue. Lana re-recorded ALL of her vocals on the album in early 2002 which allowed her to reinterpret the songs with the delivery a more mature artist. The vocal performances are hence much more remiscent of Lana's recent albums, 'Project Shangri-La' and 'Secrets of Astrology'. Producer Erik Norlander has also undertaken an extensive remix of the whole record using the most state-of-the-art modern hard disk recording tools. The album was also necessarily remastered by Norlander following the remix. The result is a much more crisp and precise sound, but Norlander was also very careful not to lose any of the warmth, lushness or character of the original release, learning from his experiences on the 1998 rework of the 'Love is an Illusion' album. The CURIOUS GOODS SPECIAL EDTION also contains a new bonus track, the James Bond theme "You Only Live Twice", recorded with Vinny Appice, Don Schiff and Mark McCrite during the 'Project Shangri-La' sessions.

original 1996 press release:

COLLABORATION AND VISION MARK NEW SYMPHONIC ROCK CD
(Los Angeles, 12 April 1996)

Following her acclaimed 1995 debut, LOVE IS AN ILLUSION, Los Angeles symphonic rock vocalist Lana Lane returns with a powerful artistic vision in her new album entitled CURIOUS GOODS.

Like its predecessor, CURIOUS GOODS features Lane's trademark soaring vocals which have been described as "clear, sweet and expressive", "sorrowful", "dramatic" and "angelic". Lane's influences combine 70's rock greats with Jazz and Big Band singers, resulting in a unique style rich from decades of musical adventure.

CURIOUS GOODS has a strong focus on melody and harmony without being blatantly commercial. Memorable choruses from tracks such as "Emerald City" and "Voices" are juxtaposed with aggressively symphonic passages such as the angular string fugue in "Symphony of Angels" or the vibrant guitar and keyboard interplay in "Escher's Staircase".

Lana Lane is a principal writer on many of the tracks that appear on CURIOUS GOODS. The album started from a series of successful collaborations between Lane and guitarist Neil Citron where the two would pass tapes back and forth, each time adding to the other's ideas. Citron, an accomplished musician and producer himself, was drawn to Lane's music after participating as a session player on Lane's debut, LOVE IS AN ILLUSION. Influenced by guitar greats such as Steve Vai and Jeff Beck, Citron is a master of both technique and timbre. Citron provided the strong musical foundation Lane was seeking for her follow up.

Citron brought friend and famed bassist Tony Franklin to the project, who had heard LOVE IS AN ILLUSION and was impressed by the depth and versatility of the music. Franklin hails from Darby, England and got his big break in music playing for folk / blues legend Roy Harper. It was with Roy Harper that Franklin began working with Led Zeppelin's Jimmy Page and ultimately started the band The Firm with Bad Company vocalist Paul Rodgers. After The Firm, Franklin joined former Whitesnake guitarist John Sykes in Blue Murder, which enjoyed huge international success. Franklin brings an undulating groove to the project with masterful prowess on both fretted and fretless basses.

Producer Erik Norlander had originally intended to be involved in only an advisory capacity, but after hearing the work that Citron and Lane had produced, he ultimately signed on as producer and keyboardist for the record, writing additional tracks with Lane and Citron to expand the scope of the record. Norlander had recently brought Lane in to sing on the bonus track "Stardust" for his band, Rocket Scientists, on their album, BRUTAL ARCHITECTURE. Norlander was enchanted with the warmth and presence of Lane's vocal on this track, and worked to expand this sound on the closing track of CURIOUS GOODS called "Clouds", which was written by David Gates from the band Bread. Lane had chosen this track for her record, which ironically (and unbeknownst to Norlander) had a very similar chord progression to "Stardust".

Norlander brought virtuoso drummer Tommy Amato to the project to complete the lineup for CURIOUS GOODS. Amato, also a member of Rocket Scientists, played on half of LOVE IS AN ILLUSION and became a fan of Lane's as a result. Amato has played for such artists as Warrant, Savoy Brown and Doro Pesch among others, and is a highly sought - after session commodity in Los Angeles. Like Rocket Scientists, Amato cleared his schedule for Lane Lane and joined the project as a full band member.

CURIOUS GOODS contains 13 dramatic tracks which Lane selected to define her sophomore entry into the rock n' roll foray. Of special note is the track "Take a Breath" written by longtime friend Tully Winfield and Rocket Scientists bassist Don Schiff. Winfield and Schiff wrote the track "Cold Outside" on LOVE IS AN ILLUSION and wanted to contribute to the follow album as well. The album is framed by the conceptual pieces "Curious Goods Part One" and "Curious Goods Part Two" which combine orchestral timbres and dynamics with Lane's rich vocals -- all without words. Cover art is again provided by Polish artists Jacek Yerka, who painted the incredible cover for LOVE IS AN ILLUSION.

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CURIOUS GOODS AND JAPAN

The original version of CURIOUS GOODS was released in Japan in 1996 on the Belle Antique label, a small independent progressive rock label. Prior to 2002, this was the only released version. On April 23, 2002, the larger Avalon label released a single CD of only the new version of the album called CURIOUS GOODS - 2002 VERSION. The original 1996 Belle Antique version continues to be available in Japan. The thinking behind this decision was that since so many copies of the 1996 version had already been sold in Japan, it was unfair to force the Japanese fans to purchase a double CD just to get the one CD of the new version when they already had the old version.

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NOTE FOR THE MINDAWN RELEASE:

This title was released on CD as a 2CD set. Disc One contains the 2002 remixed version along with a new bonus track, "You Only Live Twice", recorded during the 'Project Shangri-La' sessions. Disc Two contains the original mix of the album and the unique bonus track to that version, "Do It Again". The Mindawn release is the 2002 remixed version along with both bonus tracks ("You Only Live Twice" (2002) and "Do It Again" (1996)) plus a third bonus track, "Brahms' Lullabye", a new 2002 recording made specially for the Japanese edition.

ALSO NOTE: All of Lana's releases are produced by her husband, keyboardist ERIK NORLANDER. Click on the link to jump to Erik's Mindawn page, and also check out Erik's band, ROCKET SCIENTISTS.

Lana's official artist site: http://www.lanalane.com