John Lane – “Gentle Mother”
Back when I first got into record collecting, I came across this one at Value Village (or perhaps Salvation Army) and I just never expected to see a cover like that, albeit, I was seventeen and not as deep into record collecting as I am now. So, I bought it. And it sat on my shelves, for about 14 years. I’m finally now putting it on the turntable, Newfoundland’s own, John Lane.
The album opens with the title track, “Gentle Mother” and we get a bit of organ and guitar, before John begins to sing, and I’m pretty sure that this song is describing the exact scene of the cover. It’s a nice relaxing song, but it is a sad one, because it is about how his mother is no longer alive. I suppose he had a strong relationship with his Mother. “Let the Lower Lights Be Burning” comes next, and it’s a slower song, and I feel like the song is done to a slow pace of a metronome, it just has that sound to it, but the steel guitar on it is great. “Last Night I Dreamed the Angels Came” comes next, and we continue with that slow country sound gospel sound, John does have a nice relaxing voice, and it has been a relaxing listen so far. Next up, we follow up with “Mansion Over the Hilltop” and it’s a classic Gospel track, and you know, it is a good one and John does a fantastic job delivering his rendition of this classic song. I’m still very much loving the use of the steel guitar on this album. We close out the A-Side with a rendition of another classic Gospel track, “I’ll Fly Away” comes in like a freight train, he does a fantastic rendition with a great guitar solo in it. His version is that upbeat country sound that this song needs to be delivered like. If anything, this album should be heard for this song alone.
The B-Side opens with the song “Across the Bridge” and we’re off to a strong start, the song has some great steel guitar and John’s vocals are on point, the harmony / backing vocals though really take the cake on this one. They make this song just that much more beautiful. “Take This Message to My Mother” comes next, and this song is a bit different, it’s more uptempo, but it has more of a bass and percussion to it, and I think that’s a tambourine going in the back. We still do get a bit of the steel guitar, which we all love. “In the Garden” continues the album, now we slow down the pace of the album with a slower Gospel song, and it’s delivered nicely, but it is a slow one. “Wing Train to Glory” continues the flow of the album, and we do pick up the pace some to deliver another nice country song, with a guitar solo in it. The solos on this album is where we get some heat. “Lily of the Valley” continues the album, and it’s a nice song and great way to close out the album.
From what I can tell, John Lane is still recording music to this day.
Catalog Number:
MMS 76021
Credits:
None listed.
Released:
1973
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