Absolute Torch & Twang

The first time I saw k.d. lang (on "Hee Haw," no less), I thought I was seeing my boyhood friend Woody Meeks again. But when k.d. opened her mouth and that big, big voice washed over me like warm honey, I was 95% certain Woody never could have learned to sing like that.

Needless to say, k.d. didn't exactly fit the mold of a "Hee Haw" honey. Visually and vocally, k.d. was a brash breath of fresh Canadian air, a big-boned gal on a mission to teach the big-haired country music queens of the day how to sing it right.

On "Absolute," she does just that. This is a bold album, nearly perfect, that sounds as good today as it did in 1989. Better, even, if you put it up against the dross that passes for country music nowadays.

k.d. holds her own, whether it's Western swing ("Three Days"), lush ballad ("Trail of Broken Hearts") or high octane hybrid ("Big Big Love"). On "Big Boned Gal" and "It's Me," she has great fun celebrating her, shall we say, differentness, with a hearty nudge-nudge,...Read more

Bassist Ray Brown once said of Ella Fitzgerald, "it's not what she did, it's what she didn't do; she never did anything wrong". I believe this can also be said of k.d. lang (and The Reclines). If you want middle-of-the-road pap you can always listen to Shania Twain, Faith Hill or a vast number of similar beauty queens who fill up the air waves today. If you're in search of a thrillingly fabulous country influenced album with a standout singer/songwriter/interpreter and downright brilliant instrumentation, "Absolute Torch and Twang" is nonpareil.

Ordinarily, I do not review CDs. God knows there are plenty of people out there to do that, and they don't need me adding my opinions of dubious value to the pile.

However. However, I cannot let this particular album go by without comment. Ingenue is a superior album; one of my very favorites. I also prefer Shadowland to this one. But it was lang singing "Pullin' Back the Reigns" on, I believe, Saturday Night Live that made me a fan for life. That voice; those gestures; the power of the performance. It reached through the T.V., grabbed me by the ears, and *forced* me to pay attention. Other than Peter Gabriel, I have never in my life seen a performer of such dynamic power as lang. And to this day, that comes through in that track, at least to me.

The remainder of the album is enjoyable, and often excellent (e.g., "Trial of Broken Hearts"). But I bought this album for that one song, and I have never regretted it.