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Several years ago, when my
wife and I were still dating (not that we don't date
anymore...you know what I mean) we went to see k.d. lang in
concert in Cincinnati. lang was riding the success of
"Constant Craving" and the place was sold out. The
pre-show lobby was full, thus giving me the opportunity to
demonstrate my unique sense of off-the-cuff humor and
simultaneously embarrass my wife ("Gee, honey, is there an
Indigo Girls lookalike contest here tonight?" "What
time does the play start? Oh, didn't you tell me that k.d. lang
was a thespian?" and, of course the immortal "Gee, if
one of these diesels jackknifes we'll never get out of
here!").
Despite the obnoxiousness on my part, it
was a good evening. I've wanted some sort of recorded memento of
it ever since, and with the release of LIVE BY REQUEST I've
pretty much got my wish. Lang started her career fronting a
western swing band; she gradually evolved into the pop cum torch
singer she is today. To her credit, she continues in concert to
acknowledge and embrace her background, including such blasts
from the past as "Big-Boned Gal" without gussying them
up for what her current audience undoubtedly expects. Actually,
none of LIVE BY REQUEST is cleaned up; this is a warts-and-all
recording, with lang's rare vocal clunkers included for all of
the world to hear, instead of being electronically erased and
fixed. The only thing edited out, and mercifully at that, is
lang's stage patter, which, at least at the point when I saw
her, needed
some work.
So what is included on LIVE BY REQUEST?
Everything that a music collection should have. The classics
("Constant Craving," "Miss Chatelaine,"
"Crying"); three
tracks from lang's artistically successful but commercially
disastrous DRAG CD ("Black Coffee," "Don't Smoke
In Bed," "Three Cigarettes In An Ashtray"); and a
smattering of great tracks from various CDs that weren't hits
but should have been ("The Consequences of Falling,"
"Wash Me Clean").
The arrangements are surprisingly spare;
lang does things
her way, and her voice is the feature attraction here. The
subtle message is that she can sing just about any damn thing
she wants to and make it her
own, but she's going to do it on her own terms. If those terms
mean doing an entire CD of songs about smoking (horrors! Lock up
the children!) so be it.
LIVE BY REQUEST is everything a concert CD
should be. Each track is just close enough to its studio version
to be familiar and recognizable, yet the arrangements vary
enough to give you a reason to go the concert, and buy the CD,
instead of staying at home and playing the CDs you have. Lang
accordingly demonstrates both commercial savvy and artistic
integrity. She accordingly should,
and will, endure.
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| Artist |
k.d. lang |
| Title |
Live By Request |
| Label |
Warner Bros.
Records |
| Reviewer |
Joe Hartlaub |
| Rating |
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| win stuff |
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