Fire, Water, Earth & Air

Hannover-based rock band Jane has a long history, dating back to the late 60s and a group called the J.P.'s (Justice of Peace). By 1971, the band centered around the heavy drums of Peter Panka, the swirling organ of Werner Nadolny and the solid tone of Klaus Hess's Gibson guitar. Their debut album Together was the second release on Bruno Wendel and Günter Körber's Brain Records, and carried a catalog number of 1002 (another Hanoverian recording, The Scorpions' Lonesome Crow, was 1001). While they had developed a signature sound, personnel changes with each subsequent release dogged the band, and it would take a few years for Jane to reach their high-water mark. And while it's easy to write them off as a kind of poor man's Pink Floyd, that would be a complete injustice to the band. Jane's formula is distinct: simple, stately themes delivered over a sluggish beat, with melodic lead guitar and very Floydian vocals. Then there were the lyrics. Between their non-native accents and unique "command" of English prose, Jane could be a little flustering for the native English speaker. However, the band redressed any misconstruction with their most cohesive and epic statement: Fire, Water, Earth & Air, recorded in late 1975. As the title track unfolds, Hess's lead guitar ramps up and lets out a flurry of melodic runs, before the band breaks to the hard-rocking groove of "Fire (You Give Me Some Sweet Lovin')." "Water (Keep On Rollin')" flows to Panka's rock-steady beat, which also is lock-grooved with Martin Hesse's bass. With washes of keyboards and Hess's growling guitar, the music produces a hypnotic, head-nodding vibe. The second side begins with the slow grind of the "Earth (Angel)," awash in Moog synthesizer. "Air (Superman)" contains a typical refrain and a classic lyric that sums up the entire album: "Superman cool again easy."