I saw this album in the record store earlier this year and there were two versions: the normal one (pictured above) which I purchased, and a deluxe edition with a DVD of bonus features and videos. At the time I was like "Oh cool, 2-disc k.d. lang collection.", and what I realized about an hour later was "Holy crap!! k.d. lang collection!!". I had honestly forgotten what a master vocalist she is. For all those people who complain that true talent is absent from modern music, I point you to k.d. lang. I should have picked up the deluxe set.
There are many reasons I like k.d, not least of which being the fact that she is a jaw-dropping singing talent. She is also from my home city of Edmonton, she is influenced by Patsy Cline (who I am also a huge fan of), she is a vegetarian (like me!) and animal rights activist (a cause I am sympathetic towards!), a gay rights activist (also a very good cause), she is probably the only person ever to have Roy Orbison as a BACK-UP SINGER (Seriously! Roy-freaking-Orbison!), and she is an officer of the order of Canada.
Oddly enough, the country music scene seemed to have no problem with k.d. being a lesbian, but as soon as she started speaking out for vegetarianism they started to get annoyed. I would have thought it would be the other way around. Go figure!
As it is, Recollection is a compilation (from Nonesuch and not Bumstead, sadly) of some of k.d's biggest hits and most amazing duets and performances. It starts off with "Trail of Broken Hearts" and "Constant Craving" and goes all the way through to 2 different versions of "Hallelujah". This is one of those compilation sets that I can play over and over and over and it just does not get old.
I snagged this quote from Wikipedia, because I think it puts it really well:
In 2004, Stephen Holden of The New York Times wrote: "Few singers command such perfection of pitch. Her voice, at once beautiful and unadorned and softened with a veil of smoke, invariably hits the middle of a note and remains there. She discreetly flaunted her technique, drawing out notes and shading them from sustained cries into softer, vibrato-laden murmurs. She balanced her commitment to the material with humor, projecting a twinkling merriment behind it all."
k.d. sings Neil Young's "Helpless" and it's absolutely beautiful:
k.d. sings "Crying" with Roy Orbison. SO! GOOD!
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