Songs from an English Garden

Return to the Heart	East of the Moon After releasing more than 15 recordings for his original record label (Narada), pianist David Lanz makes his debut on Decca Records with East of the Moon, a well-mannered blend of instrumental pop and orchestral pomp that occupies stylistic ground between John Tesh and Mannheim S...	Sacred Road	Convergence	Skyline Firedance
Natural States	Cristofori's Dream	The Good Life David Lanz built his reputation on sentimental solo piano themes, notably the title theme from 1988's New Age chart topping disc, Cristofori's Dream. He's expanded his repertoire over the years with various ensemble and orchestral recordings, but the core of his sound has always ...	Nightfall	Christmas Eve

Beautiful & energetic music
In addition to being an excellent composer of original music, I've always been impressed by David Lanz's skill in creating instrumental renditions of songs that are even more pleasant to listen to than the original. The "Songs from an English Garden" CD is a great example, as are his rendition of Procol Harum's "A Whiter Shader of Pale" in the "Cristofori's Dream" CD, and of the Moody Blues "Nights in White Satin" in the "Skyline Firedance" CD. The music in "Songs from an English Garden" has an energetic beat that makes you tap along when listening to it, mixed with beautiful melodies. I find that the tunes keep coming back to me later which makes me play the CD again and again.

An Englishman's Opinion
"Songs from an English Garden".Not one of Lanz's better offerings.I have been a big fan of David Lanz sinse I first heard him on"Art of Landscape" on British Television in the late Eighties,with Natural States and Desert Vision.Apart from the brilliant "Nights in White Satin" and "Whiter Shade of Pale" arrangments I think this album does not bring out the best of his own creative style which were so spellbinding in early works such as the album's he created with Paul Speer.This is by far the weakest album I have heard by David,but having said that It will appeal to those fans who like his arrangments of other artists masterpieces.If,as a previous reviewer mentioned he has left Narada for another record company,hopefully we may have more of his own compositions in the earlier style that is so familier to us all.

Fine tunes, rich chords, make pleasant trip down memory lane
While I will readily agree with the other reviewers that David Lanz has done better work--on solo recordings--than "English Garden," this album still works for me. Sure it borders on Muzak, but here David has proven that the music our parents complained about--in the 60s--really did have some fine melodies. Lanz builds on the foundation of these familiar tunes from the "British Invasion" with rich--dare I say jazzy?--chord structures and subtle rhythms.I frequently play "English Garden" in the background at the school library where I work, and more often than not some teacher or parent will comment on it or write down the title. For those of us who spent countless hours with our ears glued to the hi-fi speakers listening to Beatles, Stones, Hollies, Kinks, Moody Blues, Chad and Jeremy, or Gerry and the Pacemakers back then, Lanz has created a pleasant and relaxing instrumental journey down memory lane.By far my favorite cut--and the one truest to David Lanz's ethereal solo piano form--is his exquisite rendition of "Strawberry Fields Forever." While this album may not be for everyone, I think it hits the mark for aging Baby Boomers.

Songs From An English Garden
This is absolutely one of the best CD's I have ever listened to. He is truly one of the most talented people in New Age music. Hope he soon brings us more.

from Wind and Wire, Issue 8
Let me preface this by saying that I teach David Lanz's piano music more than that of any other composer, so I know most of his music inside and out. I have seen him in concert five or six times, have interviewed him by phone three times, and was acknowledged in the credits of his instructional video, so my deep love for David's music, performing style, and humanity has a long history. I was looking forward to the release of his new album with great anticipation until I learned it was going to be a compilation of 60's British hits. I love David's previous covers of "Nights In White Satin", "A Day in the Life", and "A Whiter Shade of Pale", but a whole album? This on the heels of the four quickly-released CDs of covers by another hero of mine, Wayne Gratz (also a Narada artist), left me feeling more than a little queasy. This definitely isn't David's best work, but I had the opportunity to talk to him about the album in the course of a recent interview. This was David's final album for Narada, and he wanted the album to be very light, commercially appealing for more radio play, and fun. It is getting more airplay than his previous albums (sad!), so this marketing plan is working. David wanted this album to be a tribute to some of his musical roots and to attract new fans with the use of familiar music. David has moved to the Philips label, and promises that his future releases will be original compositions with a lot more substance. The two original pieces on "Songs From an English Garden" are "Sitting in an English Garden" and "London Blue". Both are classic David Lanz, but "London Blue", a melancholy piano solo, is much truer to David's very personal piano style; I think it's the best cut on the album. "Sitting in an English Garden" is a little too pop - but then, this is a pop album, right? Accompanied by a varied assortment of musicians including Herb Alpert(!), Roy Bittan, and Matthew Fisher, some of these arrangements of 60's hits work better than others. "Conquistador", "Girl", "Strawberry Fields Forever", and the medley of "As Tears Go By" and "Ruby Tuesday" are the most memorable. I like the bouncy rhythm on "Bus Stop", and the bittersweet flavor comes through without any lyrics on "I'll Follow the Sun"; some of the others are just too light. The album as a whole is fun and entertaining, and it's a kick to hear David's take on some old moldy favorites, but .... I'm not sure how to finish that sentence, but maybe it's better to leave it hanging and see what's next!