Customer Reviews

Invincible Summer

5 star:		(90)
4 star:		(73)
3 star:		(14)
2 star:		(14)
1 star:		(9)

 

 

kd lang's new album, 'invincible summer', is a typical example of the lush, smooth, intelligent style that lang has made her own. the overall feel is one of sunshine and warmth, which is reflected in the rich hues of the cover and disc itself. the songs go through a range of styles, from 'Mamas and Papas' california to pulsating pop. it is clear from listening to the lyrics of this album that lang is happy with her life at the moment: the words are cleverly thought out, with abstract thoughts and ideas floating safely alongside the more traditional love theme that pervades the work. the song that stands out the most, on first listen, is 'summerfling', the first single. with it's witty lyrics, smooth melody and mellow harmonies it is the perfect accompaniment to sunshine. however, once you delve deeper into the body of the cd, more and more tracks demand further attention and interest. the melodies soar, the rhythms pulse, the harmonies twist and wind around the lyrics. this is perhaps lang's most highly produced album, and it shows. the smoothness that she was aiming for was achieved, yet it still retains the one thing that keeps us coming back for more - lang's voice. it is easy to forget, after such a long gap, what her voice can do. 'invincible summer' shows us that it is still as good as ever, and the songs provide an excellent opportunity for lang to remind us what she can do best. this album is definitely the best thing in the shops right now - the live shows should be an experience to savour.

After 1997's spectacular "Drag", "Invincible Summer" sounds at first to be a bit cold but warms up considerably with repeated listening. This is the only problem with Ms. Lang's new summer- and love-themed album -- it never quite gets hot, due to the chilly, squeaky-clean production values.

However, for classic, well-crafted pop music and beautiful vocals, it doesn't get any better than this. Ms. Lang remains one of the few living pop vocalists who truly understand the art of singing: her gorgeous, sublimely rich alto is perfectly controlled to convey the lyric, is effortless and natural with nary a hint of strain, and is never used to show off. While the Whitneys and Mariahs of the world dazzle with empty pyrotechnics that ultimately butcher any melody that crosses their paths, Ms. Lang gently caresses her tunes to deliver the melodies at their simplest, purest, and most beautiful.

An aerobicized and sometimes trippy mixture of lounge music and Beach Boys style pop, the 11 songs on "Summer" are for the most part peppy and unabashedly happy. As with past releases, Ms. Lang is particularly effective with the songs that have a touch of sadness or yearning (such as the insanely addictive "Curiosity") where she still conveys more ache than anyone since Karen Carpenter.

Stunning. Absolutely stunning. Mixing Beach Boys with William Orbit-esque computer bleeps with harmonies that are jaw-droppingly lovely, this album will (has to) bring kd lang the recognition that she deserves.

There is no better summer driving song than Summerfling and Extraordinary Things. And the subtle background harmonies on "The Consequences of Falling"...perfect.

I never say this about CD's except for a very few select artists, but I would have paid full price for this one, and still thought it was a bargain. My congratulations to the artist and her producer....

Those of you who live near the beach know that music somehow sounds different there. The music is inextricable from the sound of softly lapping blue-green water, the smell of soft drinks and sandwiches; the warm sand between your toes, the clink-clanking of ice cubes, the wafting of music from a thousand small speakers mixing into the fresh light-wind, and the promise of mystery women and men strolling, running, frisbeeing, seemingly floating along the dry/wet sand.

It's the feeling you'll get from kd lang's new CD, no matter what the season, or your proximity to a beach. kd's familiar brilliance envelops each song, her delivery is warm, strong, aching, and personal. Her voice is sometimes just a bit lighter here, and that fits the theme. But this is not lightweight fare: Her rich, nuanced voice conveys love-soaked emotion like no other.

I enjoyed every song, some more than others, but each jeweled by kd's honey-warm voice. The highlights are "extraordinary," a sweet uptempo song with highly effective overdubbing of kd, and an arrangement that nods discretely to the great pre-Beatles groups of the 60's (and a bit of the Lovin' Spoonful). It's just one of many many delights here. "Love's Great Ocean" reveals the CD as a paean to water--not summer--flowing, crashing water; seductive and merging boundaries: "Love's great ocean came crashing down on me, overflowing with possibility..."

The opening "Consequences" captures the rhythms of undulating seaweed, and "It's Happening With You" has a slightly psychedelic, Donavan feeling until it hits the bright bridge. The song moves and celebrates movement: Splashing, launching a frisbee, running with your dog, it leaves a stream of images like the best of summer days. "Every turn I take, becomes a piece of cake. No matter what I do, it's happening with you."

"Summerfling" has a great early 60's sound (complete with "ba-ba ba-ba-bahs," a bit of surf guitar, and organ-like sounds complementing and pushing the beat): "Early morning, mid- July, anticipation is making me high." It's a faster song that recalls the Beach Boys and the great grrl groups, but it remains wholly kd. There are hints of surf guitar and organ-like sounds here (and elsewhere on the CD), I wish there were more! This and "When We Collide" (the later with a convincing, happily vanquished, take-me-now hook and joyous guitar-work) should get plenty of airplay. In contrast, "Simple" is just that: A monastery of sound, a troubadour's gentle, prayerful, reflection on love. "What Better Love" is a shimmering trip under the water, beneath the selves we hide.

Above all, there is kd's magical voice. Beautiful as ever, it transports the listener simultaneously back and forth, up and down, both in time and in rhythm. We happily immerse ourselves in kd's ocean.

Ms.Lang once again ignites our imaginations. "Invincible Summer"'s tracks truly evoke all that is grand with the season. Images of laying back, watching the waves, tasting the sun.

I have taken this melodic treasure to the beach with me & have had many comments from passers by. They seem surprised when I tell them it is k.d. lang. I smile....and so do they. So will you.

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"This infatuation's getting out of hand," sings kd lang on "Curiosity." And considering the album it comes from, "Invincible Summer," that's not at all a bad thing. When lang decides to retro, she goes WAY back...no memories of 80's dance or 70's rock for her; she goes all the way to the 60's, when pop was full of lush strings, psychedelic organs, and vibrato electric guitars. And when she gets romantic she pulls out all the stops, too, serving in "Invincible Summer" no less than eleven lovestruck odes to affairs of the heart. The approach suits her well, leaving us with one of her strongest and most consistent albums to date.

The set opens with "The Consequences of Falling," a bright and promising opener with an enticing vocal, but the record truly finds it groove on "Summerfling," a lush piece of pop that sounds like it was lifted straight out of a beach party movie: swirling strings, organ accents and tight background vocals over slick chord progressions all flow over a danceable beat with such ease it's nothing short of intoxicating. Another eyebrow-raiser is "It's Happening With You," a bubbly marriage of funk and disco that proudly boasts the corny-but-perfect line "in this crazy world of lemons/baby you're lemonade."

A tasteful cornet accents the already-bright ballad "Suddenly," which coasts along smoothly over a jazzy, distorted drum line, and when lang croons "you got me thinking I might have been here before," you'll claim a case of deja vu too, so warmly familiar (yet unique) is the song's retro feel and unabashed infatuation. "What Better Said" is musically the opposite, however, with decidely modern keyboard bleeps and drum machines underlining an acoustic piano and haunting vocal melody. Then again, not all of "Invincible Summer" works at breaking new ground. The aptly-titled "Simple" is an elegant, Joni Mitchell-esque folk ballad, while "Extraordinary Thing" proves that now and again everybody wants to just rock and roll. But the album's finest moment is a melding of all things classic and modern, as the drop-dead-gorgeous ballad "Love's Great Ocean" is awash in a gently shuffling rhythm, ethereal keyboards, hypnotic steel guitar, and beautiful vocal harmonies for a seamless blend of pop and jazz with just a touch of country.

A closer look at the credits shows lang surrounded herself with strong company: as a collaborator of William Orbit's, producer Damian Legassick would obviously know how to balance retro stylings and sounds of the future, and recruiting Holly Cole's bassist, David Piltch, to co-write four songs and play throughout certainly guaranteed a healthy share of tasteful quirks. And then having Prince alumni Wendy Melvoin lay guitar over an entire project certainly never hurt anyone, either. Still, the listener is left with the distinct impression that the only way a singer can lay down vocals this expressive, heartfelt, and romantic is if the project had more to do with her emotions that anything or anyone else. And there's no arguing that with "Invincible Summer," kd lang has found her place in the sun.

k.d. lang's grown-up response to the Beach Boys' Endless Summer. An elegant and sensous album. In a day when the pop music ghetto is littered with so-called divas competing to see who can go farthest over the top, here she is--with the pipes to blow them all out of the water, if she wanted to--showing that you have to know how to sing too.

Graced with one of the richest, most expressive voices in music, k.d. lang brings a special flair to love songs. And so when she takes on a gossamer tune like "Summerfling," the first single on her new album, she gives the melody all the warmth and languor of a sweet summer breeze.

It's the perfect sound for an album about falling in love. Writing and recording in her new hometown of Los Angeles, lang takes the local influences -- Bacharach, the Beach Boys, techno -- and melds them into her own kind of majestic pop. And while producer Damian le Gassick adds some sleek textures to the songs, he's smart enough to keep lang's voice prominent in the mix.

So if lang acknowledges the risks of romance in "Curiosity" (". . . basking in the sun/ seems dangerous and fun"), the joy in her voice is infectious. And inspiring.

Invincible Summer ignites and infuses us with well seasoned love.

kd lang returns after three years with the summer album of all summer albums. Sweet, mellow, and beautifully full of love. Happy love, the kind of love so rarly harnessed well by todays artists.(and most of yesterdays) The album has a classic pop, such as the mamas and the papas, sound to it, as well as a light, very seventies taste going on. But never sounding like forced retro. For anyone who is a fan of the band Air, kd manages to invoke a similar spiritual subtlty throughout, as well.

Summerfling and Loves great Ocean stand out very much for me for sentimental reasons. All in all, this is as refreshing an album as it is a memory sponge. Years from now we shall all be able to put Invincible Summer on the player and instantly be swept back to all the sights, sounds, smells and most of all, the Love of the summer of 2000. Exquisetly produced, smooth guitars, easy percusion you will be carried over the edge... again.

For anyone who has ever been in love, you cannot help but smile at some of the songs on k.d. lang's new CD. The sentiments expressed and her charming way of singing them just makes you warm inside and bring you back to those precious moment you have spent with a loved one, laughing, playing, talking, etc. I am so happy k.d. is finally back. I had been disappointed with every album since "Ingenue", but "Invincible Summer" brings out, again, k.d. lang's humour, joy of life and mild character. Her cute sense of humour is what was mising the most from her last 2 recordings. Another winning point for "Invincible Summer" is the fullness of its music. So much thought and effort has been put into getting that perfect sound, and there is not one second which is not filled with the most wonderful combination of instruments. I do have to admit that not all the songs are equal, but that can be easily overlooked when k.d. lang has such a pleasant voice and witty delivery. I strongly recommend this CD.