Artist: Jorn
Label: Frontiers Records
Release: 2007
As the title says, this is a compilation, a retrospective grab-bag, from one of the finest vocalists of the younger generation, Jorn Lande, known for his tireless musical (hyper)activity. Over his career the guy has sung in The Snakes, where even the most diehard Whitesnake fans mistakenly thought the great Coverdale himself was behind the mic, then in the gloomy Danish progressive outfit Beyond Twilight, recorded two albums with the excellent but now defunct American-Norwegian art rock team Ark, two albums with power metallers Masterplan, one for the band Millenium, two for Vagabound, and he shows up on plenty of other records as a special guest or in projects (e.g. Allen/Lande). In short, the guy is welcome everywhere his musical path takes him, and the doors to all kinds of recording studios are wide open to him. Jorn is one of those singers who brings a qualitative change to every band, whatever the genre, and expresses things that weren’t there in the act’s sound before. He’s got the stature of those rare rock vocalists, Glenn Hughes being one example. Put him in metal, blues or pop, and his delivery is maxed out everywhere. And when he leaves a band (most recently he left power metallers Masterplan), he leaves a gap behind him that practically can’t be filled. A typical example is the new Beyond Twilight releases, and the new Masterplan won’t get off easy with a new album without Lande either (well, let’s hold off on the verdict until it’s actually out).
And yet Jorn Lande’s solo career is the chapter that makes this singer especially unique. At its core it’s classic melodic hard rock, with the occasional nod to the legacy of Black Sabbath (the Dio/Martin era, thanks to the riffs and vocals) and Whitesnake (mostly in the vocal approach), with progressive detours woven in. You could even slap the genre tag “art rock” on the whole picture. Let’s rather stick with hard rock, with its own recognizable melancholic atmosphere, which Jorn’s Scandinavian soul manages to conjure up!
What “The Gathering” serves up is sixteen tracks that you can’t really call a “best of”. It’s first and foremost a retrospective cross-section of Jorn Lande’s entire musical career (not just the solo one), as far as the songwriting goes (so including stuff under other artists’ names). So the album also includes, for example, the song My Own Way from the Allen/Lande project and the Millenium track Hourglass.
“The Gathering” is a great starting point for any music “nosy parker” who wants to start discovering this truly top-notch, highly regarded and sought-after singer, who has still never gotten the recognition he deserves from the music-loving masses. If I’m being nasty but realistic, Jorn will line his pockets, if not sooner, then definitely when the time comes to step into Coverdale’s shoes — Coverdale’s face is looking more and more like a withered autumn leaf with the years (and so is his throat) — and make Whitesnake after Whitesnake.
There isn’t a single miss on “The Gathering”! Historically, the tracks from position 1 to 16 follow each other in a sensible chronological order. Though to be honest, none of Jorn’s solo releases was ever marked by any production misstep, the guy still went out of his way so the thing wouldn’t come off as plucked-bare ordinary, patching it up by re-recording some of the songs and refreshing the production on others with a remix. And last but not least! This album is a mirror image of another Jorn release that came out on the same date as “The Gathering”, namely “Unlocking The Past” (Rockline review HERE). Only the two releases together round out the retrospective picture of Jorn Lande in any relevant, truly authoritative way. So buying both at once isn’t just sensible, it’s practically mandatory. This artist’s strengths are not to be overlooked, and they reward the listener at every step.
Produkcija
Jorn Lande
Seznam skladb
1. Something Real
2. Gonna Find The Sun
3. Bridges Will Burn
4. Young Forever
5. Tungur Knivur
6. One Day We Will Put Out The Sun
7. Sunset Station
8. Hourglass
9. Gate Of Tears
10. House Of Cards
11. My Own Way
12. Worldchanger
13. Abyss Of Evil
14. Where The Winds Blow
15. Christine
16. Big
Trajanje album: 77.47
