Singer/songwriter Laurie Horn was successful for several years impersonating Janis Joplin and Robert Plant, the Detroit-based musician recalls, but one night she went onstage with a bad case of laryngitis and blew out her vocal cords. "I was down to a whisper and had to take several years off," she explains.

 The damage cut short a career that began in the late '60s when, as a member of a traveling show band called the Way, Horn toured America's deep south, first as a costume designer and later as musical arranger and lead vocalist. 

A recent chance meeting with former band mates led to an unexpected opportunity for the retiree. Time was booked at a local recording studio, the catalyst reigniting Horn's passion for performing, gaining confidence back in her voice and, ultimately, leading her to songwriting.

After a series of gigs with marginally successful Detroit cover bands, Horn realized she had her own stories to tell. "I was frustrated putting one band together after another and going nowhere," she says. "I wanted to do my own thing."

 Her self-released debut Alive Again is a personal and provocative collection. On the acoustic ballad "Somewhere In Time," Horn sings, "Wherever you go, the winds will take you." On the country-laced blues of "Southwest of Goodbye," Horn brings the back porch to the bar. Her sexually-charged treatment of Led Zeppelin's "Whole Lotta Love," replete with a techno twist, proves her versatility.

 "I'm influenced by the spirit of musicians who believe in what they're doing," Horn says. "I'm into those who live, breathe and eat their art. They do it because they have no choice."

Laurie Horn has assembled  14  wonderfully produced, written, and performed tunes that land somewhere between Adult Contemporary, Pop, and Rock, in her CD “Alive Again”.  Horn’s vocal quality is sweet and strong.  The track “Somewhere in Time” showcases her deeper range as it moves into the brighter chorus. It chimes in like a road song – Strat/Tele guitar lines combine with upbeat Crowish movement – and Horn’s vocals and harmonies soar in the well written and performed tune. The title track is the anthem “Alive Again” – as Horn looks back on life and is reborn in some aspect – we assume in her music.  She sings, “I’m feeling stronger now, I’m alive again.. I can’t do that again..Isee some light ahead and it’s all right”. There are glimpses of Journey in there (really). The next tune in what sounds like a crossover pop-country effort, “No More Lonely Nights” features the most radio friendly hum along tune. Three part harmonies glisten. In “Overkill”, Horn sings the sad news to someone that their relationship dance is ‘overkill’ – pleading for a more spontaneous approach – ‘sometimes we go so far it tears us apart, our love’s always come so naturally straight from the heart’. The production of “Overkill” is anything but – and the work of Nick Dalbis is infectious with the perpetual acoustic guitar and chugging distorted wah-wah expressions. Mr. Dalbis, incidentally, plays all the instruments and does a world-class job of producing the tunes to make Laurie Horn shine. The final track on the CD is a remake of the Zep tune, “Whole Lotta  Love”. Dalbis and Horn save all the tricks and psychedelia for last as the arrangement and recording is sugar shock.. great stuff. Listen.