Jane "Between Heaven And Hell" 1977***

For my part, I think of Rock music as an international musical language and I am always interested on how it is interpreted by bands throughout the world. Which is why I've tried to present music from all over the world in this blog. Up to now, in less than 200 reviews, I've reviewed CD's from 25 or so countries. By and large, though, important or successful rock groups are an Anglo-American affair. I can only think of one band from the continent that rivals them in success: Certain hard rockers from Hannover, Germany. I'm not talking of Jane, of course, but of fellow Hannoverites The Scorpions. Not that Jane have reason to complain: How many bands can boast of a career that has lasted 45 years during which they've released something like 20 records? Incidentally, Scorpions guitarist Matthias Jabs is one of many musicians that joined Jane's ranks, albeit for a short period. "Between Heaven And Hell" is their 6th LP and one of the relatively higher rated by the progheads at progarchives.com - no doubt thanks to the same-named track that takes up all of Side 1. Progheads are notoriously fond of long meandering song-suits. Though I also enjoy complex compositions and arrangements, I find it a hit-and-miss strategy. Sometimes, like in Pink Floyd's "Echoes", the various elements within the song flow naturally into each other, while other times, like in Jane's "Heaven And Hell", they seem disjointed. The said track opens up with washes of synthesizer effects and soundwaves reminiscent of Tangerine Dream. After the 4-minute mark the rest of the band introduce themselves with loud drumming and Gilmour-like guitar solos, Around the 6th minute appear the vocals, first disengaged and floating and then assertive, accompanied with hard rock guitar riffing and maniacal female laughter. This excerpt from the song makes for a successful Teutonic take on early Pink Floyd, but it's abruptly cut short by what sounds like monks singing Gregorian hymns before the return to a more electronic (again Floydian, circa "Meddle") section, ending with a short reprise of the monks and a verse of the more melodic vocals. I like all the ingredients used here, but object to the cooking. It doesn't quite end up as a complete failure, but neither does it amount to anything special. Second track "Twilight" is, to my ears, far better. A hard rocker halfway between Uriah Heep and Eloy, it starts sensibly with the harder stuff and spreads out with the spacier sounds later. "Voice in the wind" is a melodic ballad dominated by a lush keyboard sound and romantic singing. It's the album's second best song. The album closes in a completely different mood, with a hard rock boogie called "Your circle" and singer Klaus Hess seemingly emulating...Lou Reed? After 3'50'' the song comes to an abrupt stop. A nice album for fans of 70's progressive rock but not likely to appeal to many others...

**** for Twilight

*** for Between Heaven And Hell, Voices in the Wind, Your Circle