Lane Steinberg

Latest solo album from LANE STEINBERG, ex-mid-80s power pop trio THE WIND. One can say that "Passion & Faith", Lane's third solo album, gives schizophrenia a good name. How else to describe music of such unique and bewitching eclecticism, where the ghosts of Noel Coward, Tom Jobim, Jerry Garcia, and John Lennon appear in a juxtaposition that, through Lane's vision, seem completely complimentary? As per usual, his psychedelic, anything-goes, everything-in-the-blender approach to music making creates an aural smoothie heretofore unthinkable. And in addition to the extensive anglophile influences, thrown into the mix for good measure are four covers of songs by the Clube da Esquina cadre of songwriters from 70's era Minas Gerais, Brazil, all sung by Lane in their native Portugese. The centerpiece of the album, however, is a 21-minute personal take on the Grateful Dead's "Dark Star" with Lane adapting the band's unique form of modal interplay into a solitary exploration where he plays all the instruments himself, recreating the Dead's golden era with uncanny accuracy, yet with his own personal stamp. Besides this, there is a collaboration with the legendary R. Stevie Moore, a Christmas song that takes place in Peru, an acid-drenched version of Jobim's "How Insensitive", a completely unironic calypso about bananas, and an adaptation of a gavotte for string quartet by Zoltan Kodaly that sounds like Van Dyke Parks and Brian Wilson taking a cue from "Eleanor Rigby". The one constant throughout is Lane's clear tenor and his dexterous guitar work. If you like homogenous albums, this may not be your cup of broth, but if you like to be challenged and are open to the possibilities of where pop could go, by virtue of where it's been, you might do yourself well to have a little "Passion & Faith".