K.D. Lang - Live By Request
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Free Music Notes for Live By Request
Free Music Review: Great as usual
Hit: 5 Stars
I really enjoy this CD. The choice of songs is wonderful and very typical k d lang. I highly recommend it.Free Music Review: Great concert performance by k. d. lang
Hit: 4 Stars
Kathryn Dawn Lang from Consort, Alberta, is a brave artist, a spokesperson for small-town lesbian dreams, a true triumph of talent over image and packaging, a cultural icon for our times. She is also a fantastic live performer, as this live work beautifully demonstrates. Recorded in New York in December of 2000, this CD features some of la lang's greatest hits and a few delightful surprises to showcase her vocal range and the vast variety of musical styles she has experimented with throughout her eventful career. The 40s-ish cover artwork suggests that she is content with being label "our generation's Rosemary Clooney"--a crooner and stylist extraordinaire. She's Rosemary Clooney, Patsy Cline, Peggy Lee, Tammy Wynette, and many others all rolled into one amazing, original superdiva. The CD opens with the breezy, bossa nova-inflected "Summerfling," from the underappreciated CD of the same name. In this performance, Ms. lang adds elements of rock and even reggae, showing off how comfortable and playful she can be in concert. The second track, "Big Boned Gal," is a fun rockabilly number with a playful lesbian sensibility. The third track, her cover of Sonny Burke and Paul Francis Webster's classic "Black Coffee," adds a twangy steel guitar to her languid, seductive vocal. Next is the lang/Ben Mink song "Trail of Broken Hearts," one of the most beautiful, haunting melodies Ms. lang has ever graced with her vocal. This version is even better than the original, although it remains very close to album version. The fifth track is her gorgeous cover of Roy Orbison's "Crying," and a fitting tribute to her famous duet partner. Her vocal is much stronger than in the original, and she illicits thrilled applause from her audience when she nails the tricky high notes. Back into Peggy Lee territory, with the sixth track, "Don't Smoke in Bed." The song was made famous by Peggy Lee, and lang's smokey, piano-kissed version would likely have delighted the legendary Miss Peggy Lee. Next is the wistful "The Consequences of Falling," from the "Summerfling" CD. Listening to the live version, we can't imagine her repertoire without this song, and it makes a great lead-in to the heady, swirling "Miss Chatelaine." The U.S. and European listeners didn't get the joke, but we Canadians know what a dubious honour it was for a "big-boned gal" from Consort to be graced with the title "Miss Chatelaine." Knowing that "Chatelaine" magazine is a somewhat kitschy, retrospective publication offering advice on how to beautify your kitchen, yard, and marriage, we Canadians smile at k. d.'s campy humour. The ninth song is the Miller/Stevenson torchy "Three Cigarettes in an Ashtray," a nod to one of Ms. lang's idols, Patsy Cline. There was something in Patsy Cline's music which perfectly captured the loneliness and isolation of life in small-town western Canada, which perhaps explain's lang's fascination with Cline. The tenth song is the most surprising inclusion, the forgotten gem "Barefoot," from the Percy Adlon film. The orchestration is spare and delicate, the vocal particularly poignant and haunting in this performance. There are few songs which capture the essence of a long, cold, prairie winter better than this one, especially for a young gay person, whose feelings increase the sense of isolation. This is followed by a rousing rendition of "Constant Craving," still probably Miss Chatelaine's--er, I mean, Ms. lang's biggest hit. The vocal is a little looser than in the original, but the emotion remains intact. The twelfth song is the slow, quiet "Wash me Clean," from her famous "Ingenue" CD. As in "Barefoot," the production is clean and spare, to keep the pure and delicate vocal unencumbered. Next is the lang/Ben Mink composition "Pullin' Back the Reins," a tip of the tattered felt hat to k. d.'s country past. It is testament to her talents as a songwriter that we can imagine someone like Patsy Cline or Peggy Lee covering this song and still making it sound great. The CD closes with the folksy, ethereal "Simple," which evokes the sound of her fellow Canadians Jane Siberry and Sarah McLachlan. Ms. lang ends a spectacular concert with a simple, understated "Thank you." We your loyal fans are the grateful ones, k. d.Free Music Review: k.d. lang for the masses
Hit: 4 Stars
k.d. lang has such a powerful and commanding voice that, in the short span of six months, I have gone from owning 0 of her cd's to owning every one of them (10 altogether), and have thrilled at the prospect of her each new interpretation. Having lost all objectivity for a woman who can very nearly do no wrong, I will attempt to describe the things that LIVE BY REQUEST does and doesn't achieve. Without question, the combination of k.d.'s Live By Request show, its subsequent release in 3 formats (this cd, VHS and DVD) and her current tour with Tony Bennett have brought her to a wider audience than ever before. Know that this cd is VERY GOOD. But is it As Good As She Gets? Not Even! What this cd offers is the broadest slice of k.d.'s musical repertoire and a handful of songs that could easily qualify as her "Greatest Hits" if radio had afforded her the airplay she deserves. If forced to pick from her top 10 best songs, I could acquiesce to "Pullin' Back the Reins", "Big-boned Gal", "Crying", and "Trail of Broken Hearts", all included here to no measure of disappointment. They aptly represent her virtuoso at heartache and high energy. For those new to k.d.'s career, this will serve as a satisfying introduction to the wonder of her voice. Be sure to go beyond the opening track, Summerfling, which is from Invincible Summer, her last release and, I hesitate to add, the least indicative of her awesome potential. For the already-converted k.d. fans, this is indeed her long-awaited first live release and, as always, her voice is in beautiful form. Still, this point in her career finds her renditions understated compared to earlier performances. If you're looking for THE definitive live performance by k.d., it is available only on VHS in the unsurpassable "Live in Sydney". While her voice astounds, little can compare to both hearing and seeing her work her magic. Hopefully this cd will give new fans enough of a taste of k.d.'s material to seek out her earlier gems, most notably ABSOLUTE TORCH AND TWANG, SHADOWLAND and ALL YOU CAN EAT. By my standard, whenever k.d. sings, she's preaching to the choir! And I say AMEN!Free Music Review: Real talent - Not so perfect occasion
Hit: 4 Stars
I've been a devoted fan of kd for over 12 years - I absolutely love her for her talent - as a singer and a performer, she's everything she wants to be. It'd certainly help if you've watched the DVD of this Live by Request - but otherwise, I honestly find it hard to imagine the CD to be her best or anything near her best. Some of the stronger bits that were included in the DVD are unavailable here - while the band were at their best backing kd - and the music in some of the tracks on this CD is either a bit too loud or too soft. In a couple of tracks, like 'The Consequence of Falling', it does not back kd's vocal very well at certain moments and seems to slack of at some point. kd sounds as amazing as always on most tracks but if you have followed her recordings (including guest appearances in other concerts, etc.) you'd have to admit she's given better performance of some of these songs, such as 'Barefoot' or her classic, 'Constant Craving'. The editing is good and you dont get any abrupt or awkward bits, but on the other hand, there dont seem to be too many sparks in the interaction between kd and the audience. She moves them - as much as she wants to - there's no doubt about it, but I suggest those who're interested in kd check out her other live recordings, or mp3, where you hear her being slightly less reserved or subdued. One of the reasons could be it's not her own tour - that it's Live by Request by someone else's production and she is not doing some of the things she would do in her own concerts, which you'd have to see for yourself. On the whole - I wouldnt recommend listening or buying this CD before you watch the DVD, or are already familiar with most of her other records. I dont want to undermine the opinions of those who love this record - it's good, it showcases kd's talent with a fairly good selection of songs, but the production doesnt present kd at her best, and she certainly has sounded even better in some of the tracks we love here.
Free Music Review: Love is Simple
Hit: 4 Stars
As part of the A&E Network's "Live By Request" series, KD Lang did a standout show shortly after the "Invincible Summer" album was released. In contrast the that album's fussy electronic music, "Live By Request" shows Lang in her element, live and surrounded by a competent ensemble. Opening with an energetic "Summerfling" from the "Invincible Summer" CD, the tightly played version here shows why the studio album sounded congested and compressed. There's a more human element here, and it absolutely sparkles in comparison.
"Live By Request" is filled with such musically joyous moments. Lang veers from the playful "Big Boned Gal" of her earlier country days to the eventual chanteuse of the terrific "Constant Craving." But nothing here beats her stunning interpretive chops of Roy Orbison's "Crying" and Peggy Lee's "Don't Smoke In Bed." The torchiness of Lang's voice in transcendental on these songs, and carries into the better of the originals, as well.
Those moments are best represented by "Barefoot" and "Simple," which take on life that they didn't previously have on their studio versions. (Lang even conceded the point by re-recording simple for "Hymns of the 49th Parallel,") Her voice remains a wonder to listen to, be it the teasing of "Miss Chatelaine" or the belting of "Trail of Broken Hearts." She has always managed to surround herself with strong material, and this live album of greatest hits (in a sense) is a showcase for her vocal prowess. As such, there are few others out there that match the talent of KD Lang.