Live By Request

Why kd lang is not one of the most popular female vocalists in the world is beyond me. She has a vocal range that most of her peers would trade their silicon breasts for and a voice that could melt platinum at fifty paces.

Live By Request, as the name suggests, was recorded last December at a gig in the City University of New York and it captures kd and her band on pristine form, whether they are working through ‘The Consequences Of Falling’ from last year’s Invincible Summer album or the old-style country hoedown (with a wry twist) of ‘Big Boned Girl’ from Absolute Turch And Twang.

As with most of lang’s work, there are elements of country winding their way through the songs, and this could be part of the reason why she is not hugely successful. There’s not a pure enough strain to send the Nashville set into orgasm, not enough vacuous platitudes to sate the masses a la Shania Twain, nor enough of a twisted take to conquer the alt. country domain. What there is, though, is top class.

Ingénue, arguably her finest album, is well represented: the elegant swing of ‘Miss Chatelaine’ and the wonderful ‘Constant Craving’ are among the highlights here. Also notable are the smoky, late night jazz of ‘Black Coffee’, the bittersweet ‘Simple’ and the magnificent ‘Barefoot’, while her take on Roy Orbison’s ‘Crying’ remains almost as impressive as The Big O’s.

Sadly, this is unlikely to trouble the Britneys and Celines of this world too much in terms of chart positioning, but in terms of quality, kd is always pushing for the top spot.