Search - k.d. lang and The reclines :: Angel With a Lariat

K d kicked butt 12 years ago

G. Thornley | Bellevue, WA USA | 09/16/1999

(5 out of 5 stars)

"My how time flies. It's hard to believe that this recording is 12 years old now, but I just wore out my cassette and had to order the CD. These recordings come from a time when k d was much more country, but it's country that makes you want to move your feet! The voice is the same, strong, crystalline force of nature that we know and love. I highly recommend this CD for any fans of Ms. Lang's."

One toe-tappin' diddy!

Robby Varner | Atlanta,, Ga. USA | 04/30/2000

(4 out of 5 stars)

"It'd remarkable how JD has changed styles over the years. But this is still one of the best for her. Very energetic and diverse with the cajun sounds of "Got the bull by the horns", the danceable Lynn Anderson remake of "Rose Garden", the hip-country "Tune into my wave"and "High time...", the nostalgic country feel of "Diet of strange places", and the waltz-style of "Three cigarettes...". This would have made Patsy happy! Note: the Reclines are named after her! Unfortunately this style came 10 years too early. Given a gorgeous face and a bare belly button KD could have locked horns with Shania with this CD."

Square peg to 80s country's round hole

Greg Brady | Capital City | 03/18/2005

(3 out of 5 stars)

"It's immediately easy to see why Canadian K.D. Lang didn't "make it" with country radio in the States when this released.



As of 1987, country radio was predominantly a sort of acoustic based pop with some occasional banjo or steel guitar. "Turn Me Round" is a difficult to categorize stew of rock guitar, banjo and fiddle, with hillbilly whoops. The fact that it included a tribute to something as passe as square dancing was anathema to the "Urban Cowboy" attitude running country radio. This isn't to say there's anything WRONG with this CD: there was something wrong with radio.



Lang and her band the Reclines (named after her musical hero Patsy Cline) make music here that respects country's traditional sounds while simultaneously making ironic fun of them and folding in other influences from doo-wop to rock, coupling it with intelligently crafted lyrics. In fact, the writing is probably TOO intelligent for mass consumption: When's the last time you heard someone make a road song that used malnutrition as a metaphor for homesickness? ("Diet of Strange Places")



HIGHLIGHTS:

The kinetic "Turn Me Round" gets things off to a real bang. "Diet of Strange Places" is a clever road song (a country take on Bob Seger's "Turn the Page") and "Got the Bull by the Horns" is a zippy celebration of the Don Juanita life (Well, do YOU have a feminine expression for 'ladie's man'?) "Rose Garden" is a very modern sounding take on the Lynn Anderson smash. "Tune into my Wave" is a clever plea for some different driving music. She also turns in an impassioned cover of country classic "Three Cigarettes in an Ashtray".



LOW POINTS:

"Watch Your Step Polka" is probably an enjoyable live novelty about the difficulties inherent in two stepping in a cow pasture, but it doesn't bear repeat listening. "High Time for a Detour" isn't really memorable. "Angel with a Lariat" probably was NOT the one she should have named the album after. It's an odd combination of rockabilly guitar and 50s "Your Hit Parade" style harmony vocal that doesn't really work for me.



BOTTOM LINE:

Too many miscues to call it great, but sufficient notice that a great new artist was in the making.



3 1/2 stars"