Customer Reviews

Live By Request

5 star:		(22)
4 star:		(16)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

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!

I'm italian, I'm a musician and... I fell in love with katrin dawn. I have all her cds, but this one has a special meaning to me, because, just because of my nationality, I know that here in Italy she's not well known and she will never come to play... so this reconrd is the only possibility (added to the other two live records) to me to hear her and her fantastic voice.. live. Well the other possibility is a... ticket to U.S., but,... where are the money? Ok, let's talk about "Live by request".

Which is... simply brilliant. I like the selection of the songs and the way they have been rearranged, that they have been renovated but not changing their identity or their original sound.
Talking about k. d. lang... I don't know what to say: she's exciting, that's all. Her vibrato, the falsetto, the imperpretative malinchony or the pathos.. I really think she's one of the Voice that will be the story of these last decades..
Let's focus a while on each song.

Summerfling
Well, this is a fantastic start, also because it's one of my favourite song of her last albums.. the sound and the arrangements are less refined compared with the orioginal version, but this is not a bad thing. 8

Big Boned Gal
This is so funny, I have so much fun singin' it! And she's brilliant and vocally agile as in the orginal version.. I like so much the acoustic sound! 8+

Black Coffee
This is a jazz standard and has a special meaning to me, because I play it with my band as a tribute to this woman. And I love it. 8-

Trail Of Broken Hearts
Another Highlight, but even if it's well played, k. d. is more intense on the studio version.. Check it out. 7,5

Crying
I love this song, really. And it really seems she had wrote it, even if it's not true.. but she feel it, and that's great. 8+

Don't Smoke In Bed
This song has so much pathos.. and it's another old standard made famous by Peggy Lee. I love her rendition, mainly the piano & voice introduction.. unforgettable. 8+

The Consequences Of Falling
This song is so.. fresh, breezy.. I love it, even if it has a very simple structure and it's a little different (rythmically) from the original version.. relaxing. 8,5

Miss Chatelaine
I've understood the meaning of this song thanks to the explanation of a canadian reviewer somewhere in one of k. d.'s cd, and.. I think it's a funny song, very brazil-in-new-york! 7+

Three Cigarettes In An Ashtray
Another classic, taken from the country repertory of Patsy Cline.. which is a betutiful waltzer, but.. maybe is the only song that I would have not played for a live session that was going to be a record. It's just.. too "old-style". 6,5

Barefoot
Well this song could be the only reason to buy this cd. It has been a surprise, it's so.. catchy, frozen.. and so much better than the original and less-known version! I love this song, really.. so malinchonic. 9

Constant Craving
Here's the "Smash Hit", k. d. would have made a mistake to not sang it.. The live versione has lost a little talking about vocal rendition, but the arrangement is more acoustic and well-built, the song is a little faster and you won't be thinking about the difference with the "Ing?nue" version. 8+

Wash Me Clean
Another "Ing?nue" song. Lovely, so fragile.. written by lang, and you can feel it by her interpretation. 8

Pullin' Back The Reins
Another big suprise from the "so country" 80s, a big strong medium ballad from the awarded "Absolute Torch And Twang".. one of the best track of it. I love the lyrics. 8,5

Simple
This is a so.. simple, small and brilliant song, as a little gem it shines at the end of this live experience.. I love it, resumes with astonishing semplicity and effectivenes.. what love is. 8,5

I love this cd, if you're reading here maybe you'll have vaguely understood it.. But I ensure you it's one of the most beautiful live experience I've ever listened to. Your money won't be wasted at all.

Marco

Until Live By Request, I had never purchased a k.d. lang c.d.. Long a Tony Bennett fan, I had the pleasure of seeing Tony with k.d. in concert two weeks ago. k.d. lang could very well be THE best voice in pop today. Her quirkiness, I believe, is the only thing that has held her back from being bigger than she is. Sadly, some of her material is rather quixotic. On the right song, however, there's none any better than lang.

Live By Request opens with the upbeat, addictive tune "Summerfling," off lang's last c.d. "Invincible Summer." Among other highlights are her stunning versions of Roy Orbison's "Crying" and Peggy Lee's "Don't Smoke in Bed." Also included are her hits "Constant Craving" and "Black Coffee."

I would say that this, among any other, is the one k.d. lang c.d. you should buy. It's highlights her catalog and it's quite a performance.

Let's get this right from the start. I LOVE k.d. lang. Her voice gives me chills any time I hear her. She is unbelievably talented, a refreshing vocal delight in a sea of Britneys and Backstreet Boys.

With that said, this disc is a stunning live performance in its own right. For anyone who has never seen her live, this is a great introduction to the sheer power that she radiates from the stage. From a haunting rendition of "Wash Me Clean" to the my-ears-are-still-ringing-and-my-spine-is-tingling performance of the Patsy Cline standard "Three Cigarettes In An Ashtray," this CD mesmerizes you from first listen.

What kept it from getting five stars instead of four is, quite simply, that this is not her best performance. Having heard her live several times, I was a tiny bit disappointed here because I thought she was restrained on a couple of tracks. Her inherited-and-now-signature live song, Roy Orbison's "Crying," is almost always a show-stopper resulting in thunderous standing ovation. Here, it's still breathtaking, but you can almost hear her holding back, perhaps out of growing too familiar with the track...?

At any rate, I bought this the moment it came out, and once again, I am thoroughly impressed. It's a request I am glad I made.

Wow, was I impressed. I've heard songs by k d lang before and always appreciated her range and ability to get so deep into the emotions of her songs. I just spent an hour mezmerized by k d lang in her dvd "live by Request".
As a former performer I can appreciate the nuances her voice takes on, but watching her perform, (while she'll never be a great on stage "presence" as far as connecting with her audience in conversational aspects)like many other artists, she doesn't need to! She had the folks in the audience alternately jumping to their feet in standing ovations or absolutely silent in their respect for her voice and her style, which is the greatest applause an audience can give. She gave me chills.
There's a song from years ago something about artists want to sing and singers want to dance and dancers want to yak, yak, yak! The author says, don't talk, just sing!
That's more than enough for me. I am awed by her talent.
May she continue to "knock my socks off"!

Looking for a K.D. Lang introduction? This is a great start! K.D. Lang is amazing live. If you ever get a chance to see her, you will not regret it! She has such energy and gets so playful  she makes you feel like you are the only person in the room with her. This CD is pretty dang close to that experience! Crank it up on your walkman and dance around to Summerfling or Miss Chatelaine. And when you hear K.D. belt out Roy Orbinsons Crying youll fall in love.

If you dont own any KD music, or have only heard one or two songs, you should know that she is one of those people who likes to discover new styles of music and try new things. So if you dont like one song or even one album, try a different one! She is so immensely talented and has a voice that can sing anything. Her early stuff was very country or rock-a-billy. Then Shadownlands is some of her best vocal work ever. Ingenue was probably her biggest commercial success because it has a number of songs with good hooks. And her newer stuff is has a pop edge to it that is really fun. This CD is a good introduction because it has something from all of those eras of K.D.)

And obviously if you love k.d. then you should definitely own this CD!

The selection is wonderful and clean and makes you feel like you are a part of the concert. This is great for music lovers and kd fans. We try to feel her music and this just brings us one step closer. I recommend this album to everybody who has always wanted a bootleg copy and couldn't find one.

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.

Canadian born Kathryn Dawn Lang is "pure talent"...as this album gives you the insight of her many hit songs...having a purity tone in her voice, reminds me very much of the late Ella Fitzgerald and Patsy Cline...her style makes the difference as you listen to "CRYING", the big hit of Roy Orbison, who also composed the song (which was recorded in 1987 as a duet with Orbison)...we need to mention some stand outs ~ "BIG BONED GAL", ultimate country..."BLACK COFFEE", great jazz standard..."DON'T SMOKE IN BED", serving up a torch singers ballad...the list could go on...entire album is a WINNER!

Remember my album that I played over and over again ~ "Absolute Torch and Twang", just about wore that one out...if you're a fan this latest release from Lang is a must have

Total Time: 53:26 on 14 Tracks ~ Warner Bros. Records 9-48108-2 ~ (2001)

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.