Of Riffs And Symphonies (©1992 Essential Record Group)

Tracks: Kaleidescope / Armashreddin' / Play It Again Shem (That Funky Music) / Interlude / The Real Thing / Yv / Gettysburg / Won't Be Long Till Paradise / The Obstinate Toy Soldiers / Nan / The Revelation / For The Brothers / Donna Lee / Lo I Be With You Always

This is one of those "ooh" and "ah" albums. Lanny is a very good player, and on this 1992 release the general school of thought at the time was more notes were better and shreddin' rules. Now to be fair, Of Riffs And Symphonies is more than a blister fest of fret jumping gymnastics. There are some more than obvious nods to Joe Satriani here - be he covers a lot of musical ground. The acoustic "YV" is very good but suffers from acoustic guitar shred - which just doesn't work - but it does make you go "ooh". He even goes into smokey gospel blues on "Won't Be Long to Paradise". The other Satriani-ish song "The Obstinate Toy Soldiers" is truly outstanding.

Over the last little while I've accidentally stumbled across a lot of Lanny's work from Chaos is the Poetry to Symbiotica - he's a very talented guy. Although this album is not one of my favourites, it has a couple of killer tunes, and the guy truly is a monster player.

Reviewed October 25, 2002

Blues For The Child (©1993 Frontline)

1: Minuet 2: Silent Night 3: Still, Still, Still 4: Blues For The Child 5: Wexford Carol 6: What Child Is This 7: I Heard The Bells On Christmas Day 8: Angels We Have Heard On High 9: Christmas Lullaby 10: Away In A Manger 11: Christmas Song 12: We Wish You A Merry Christmas

Although not labeled a Lanny Cordola album, it's pretty obvious from the credits and the general feel of the arrangements that this was his baby.

The songs range from new arrangements of familiar carols, to a few new songs penned by Lanny. There were some nice surprises here, "Wexford Carol", and "Away In A Manger" would be at home on a Chieftains album. Many of the songs are in a jazz lounge lizard vein, and while there may be those who appreciate their carols with a martini, I didn't really care for them.

I have a weakness for Christmas albums (good ones) and while there are some arrangements I don't really care for, there are a few that really worked for me, particularly the folk flavoured songs.

Reviewed December 22, 2005

Salvation Medicine Show (©1998 KMG)

1: Last Call 2: If I Ever Needed Someone 3: Confessions 4: Salvation Medicine Show 5: Livin In Spin 6: Mrs. O'Neal 7: This Harsh Land 8: God's Trombone 9: Blue 10: Buckets Of Misery 11: Pathetic 12: Infirmary 13: Lowville 14: Your Quick Demise 15: Eulogy For A Friend

I really like this one. Lanny takes the vocal duties this time around, and his voice although limited it has an emotional strength to it which enhances rather than detracts from the songs here. Musically this is a real bag of treats. If you're expecting rock and blazing guitars this is not for you. However, if you're looking for a rather eclectic collection of songs using toy piano, dobro, and trombone this is for you.

The only song that doesn't work is the opening cut "Last Call" - musically this is a barn burner, but for some reason Lanny piles on an array of flanging and distortion effects that bury his voice and quite franky is irritating. Thankfully he only does that once (well, a little on "Eulogy", but it's more subtle and it works), and the rest of the album is full of wandering sparse music. I'm not sure what the genre is, roots? Folk, Americana? Doesn't really matter does it?

Standout tracks include: "Confession", the breezy "Mrs. O'Neal", "Buckets of Misery", and the haunting "Eulogy for a Friend".

It's been a long time since I've seen anything out there by Lanny - which is a shame. He's the real deal.

Reviewed January 16, 2005