LAKE -- Lake / Paradise Island (Renaissance)

Back in 1977, FM radio was in its heyday. Formats weren't as rigid. You could still turn on the radio and hear a 10-minute song. One of the best bands around at the time was a band out of Germany called Lake. Songs like "On the Run," "Key to the Rhyme," and the epic "Between the Lines" kept their debut album a mainstay on FM radio for months. Lake's albums didn't sell enough copies in the US to stay around long (they always had a bigger following in Europe) and eventually went out of print, quickly becoming collectors items.

Jump to 1997. Renaissance Records has made quite a name for themselves recently by releasing this type of material--most of it available on CD for the first time in the US. Now we can add Lake to the already impressive list of artists. Twenty years later, the songs on Lake's debut still sound fresh, and the sound quality is great. On its own, Lake's debut album is a must-have release. Adding Paradise Island (their third album) onto the same CD just makes it that much better. The fact that Paradise Island only had a couple good tracks on it doesn't matter. Just think of the Paradise Island songs as bonus tracks.

In case you have trouble finding Lake / Paradise Island in your local record store, you can order it direct from Renaissance through their web site. Point your browser here for more information on Lake or any of the other Renaissance artists