Customer Reviews

Reintarnation (Dig)

5 star:		(5)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

Finally, k.d. put out a GOOD album! I was really missing her country side and this is a great collection of SOME of her old country stuff.

Missing is a few good ones from the Shadowland album, including the ONE song that got her a lot of radio play back in the late 80's, "Last Cigarette" - which was the song that got me hooked on her since it was played non-stop on the C/W music station!

Only the "hard-core" fan will notice the subtle "tweaking" to some of the songs on this CD. One of my favorites, "Diet of Strange Places" has even a more "twangier" sound, and "Nowhere to Stand" is the "demo" version, rather than the album one.

Two great "goodies" on this one is "Friday Dance Promenade" - which was ONLY found on a VERY hard-to-find 45 (only 500 were made!). I never found it - altho I saw them for sale on eBay, but for too much! And the other song is "Change my Mind" - which were both done in the mid-80's. A couple of great non-album tracks for the fan!

If you like your country music on the "twangy" side - this one is for you. I like my country music this way, since like I say, "I don't mean a thang - if it ain't got that twang!"

VERY HIGHLY RECOMMENDED CD!

"Reintarnation" is a long overdue look back at k. d. lang's early days, when she gave country and western music a good kick in the pants and produced some of the decade's (the 1980's) best records. The only thing that keeps "Reintarnation" from getting a well-deserved 5 stars is the lack of any songs from lang's ground-breaking "Shadowland" album (except for "Don't Let the Stars Get In Your Eyes"). Buy "Reintarnation" - but then buy "Shadowland" to supplement it (if you don't already own it).

How many times did you hear Jed Clampett exclaim "What in tarnation is that?" Or for that matter, how many times did you hear that word outside a country setting? If you have, you're one step ahead of me. k.d. lang has released an album with the title Reintarnation because it features her first decade of recording which consists of her well-known groundbreaking material of country fare. This collection contains some of her best tracks as well as rare singles from 1983 through 1989. As a bonus, there's one previously unreleased song, "Changed My Mind," that she and longtime collaborator Ben Mink wrote over twenty years ago and finally completed just in time for this release. In this collection, there are rarities such as the first single lang released, titled "Friday Dance Promenade," which was sold exclusively at her concerts when she had only a cult following. Her first album, A Truly Western Experience, arrived in 1984, and from that collection we receive two splendid tracks, "Pine And Stew" and "Hanky Panky." Later tracks from the 80's include "Diet of Strange Places" as well as "Turn Me Around." In 1988, lang recorded the album, Shadowland, and lifted the superb track "Don't Let The Stars Get In Your Eyes" for this set. 1989 was the year that would bring lang international attention and fame with her stunning album, Absolute Torch And Twang. The album also brought k.d. her first Grammy for Best Female Country Vocalist, and was so good that she decided to include seven of its tracks on this latest collection, including "Trail Of Broken Hearts," "Pullin' Back The Reins," and Big Big Love." The Gus Van Sant film Even Cowgirls Get The Blues hasn't been ignored - three of the soundtrack's songs made the cut; "Curious Soul Astray," Don't Be A Lemming Polka," and "Cowgirl Pride." All in all, there are twenty tracks that will easily explain to younger fans why k.d. lang mattered so much from the beginning of her career, as well as remind longtime fans of the love for this gal who "Got The Bull By The Horns" and never let go. By the way, I love the album cover homage to Elvis! Anybody else notice this discreet nod to the King?

Since the release of her wildly successful INGENUE in 1989, k. d. lang has largely moved away from the kind of uptempo rockabilly-tinged country twang that marked her early albums, and for many lang fans (such as myself) this has been a tremedous shame. As pleasant as her crooning has been in the last 15+ years, there's nothing to get the heart going faster than those early albums. Now, at last, as her first compilation, lang has reissued these great songs from her early days in collaboration with her gifted longtime collaborator Ben Mink: they've greatly cleaned up the reverberation from many of the reocrdings so you hear them much differently than in the past. And the selection is terrific: though lang re-releases here some of her more beautiful early ballads (including "Pine and Stew" and my favorite of all her songs, "Diet of Strange Places," and songs from ABSOLUTE TORCH AND TWANG that showed the torchy direction her music would take in future albums, like "Pulling Back the Reins"), most of the songs are her quick tempoed dance numbers from the days when she'd spin around on stage like a dervish: "Pay Dirt," "Tune into My Wave," "It's Me," "Big, Big Love," and so on. These songs are wickedly fun to listen to, and remind us that lang used to have an absolutely killer sense of humor.

Now here's a collection of songs with some heft to it, musically. There are twenty great tunes from the early part of Ms. lang's career, when she was more of a straight-ahead country singer. The album cover with its London Calling homage made me wonder if this was gonna be "k.d. gone punk," and I was ready to go along with her. But these tunes are punk in their spirit rather than sound. (Still I couldn't help but think that London Calling - however great you think that album was - featured vocals by someone who couldn't sing worth a darn, and k.d. is one of the finest singers in popular music. So a big difference there.) The songs appear in an order selected by lang and her producer Ben Mink (not "ben mink"?), not chronological but more of a flow from song to song. These are all previously released songs except for one unearthed tune, "Changed My Mind," but I still felt like I was hearing some of them anew. Perhaps it's the excellent sound quality of the disc - I found myself freshly appreciating things like the mariachi guitar on "Don't Let the Stars Get In Your Eyes" and the subtle chorus vocals in the background on that song and "Big Boned Gal." All in all, listening to this CD was a pleasure. I recommend it!

K.D. Lang suffered the indignity of being totally snubbed by the Nashville establishment. She made three brilliant albums for Sire records that got buried at radio because of a homophobic whisper campaign. Even when the legendary Owen Bradley produced the beautiful "Shadowland," the same mentality that would ban artists in 2006 (we won't name those Chicks' names) throttled her highest charting single, "Down to My Last Cigarette," from a major breakthrough.

So for the most part, those three initial Sire offerings (and two independent releases) were big among critics and alternative radio crowds (go figure!). "Reintarnation" gets to the best of the retro-KD, from its Elvis Presley/Clash cover homage to finally including the rare "Friday Night Promenade" single for the first time on CD. There are also a couple of underheard treats here, particularly "Cowgirl Pride" from the soundtrack to "Even Cowgirls Get The Blues."

At twenty songs, it is hard to quibble with the song choices (although I might have argued for a couple more from "Shadowland"). There's also a good essay from Gil Kaufman detailing those early years. My advice is to go back for both "Shadowland" and "Absolute Torch and Twang," which showcased lang's incredible talents before she opted to become a troubadour for "Ingenue." I am certain we'll eventually see her catalogue remasterd, as well as a best of covering the pop years. Till then, "ReIntarnation" will suffice.

Nice compilation of her earlier songs. I also purchased "Live by Request" which I think I like a little better. Includes a wider range of songs by K.D. Lang.

Twenty ear-cuddling pearls that bring home the country-girl irony, the big-kick fun and the tingling inner gorgeousness of k d's pre-Ingenue period.
Just one omission has left me this side of breathlessly ecstatic: k d's startlingly piercing cover of Joanie Somer's 1962 top ten hit "Johnny Get Angry" is no where in sight. How could you bring me so close to ecstasy and leave without socking it to your weak-kneed lover?!

The driving sound never lets up! This album is an energetic showcase for KD Lang's fabulous voice (she could sing the telephone book and make it interesting) and song-writing talents. I cannot recommend it highly enough.

I'm always happy to review anything of kd lang's. Her voice is one for the generations. She is truly gifted and would appeal to anyone who appreciates a great voice. If you don't already own it, run - don't walk - and get her recent album "Hymns of the 49th Parallel". This effort was Grammy worthy in my opinion. Yes, I am a fan but I also know a great voice when I hear it.