Customer Reviews

Absolute Torch & Twang

5 star:		(21)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I've owned this album since back when it first came out. A co-worker lent it and after the first 30 seconds of the CD - Luck In My Eyes - I was hooked. After Pullin' Back The Reins, I knew I had to buy it. Immediately. What an amazingly sensuous song! I challenge you to not get lost in it. k.d. soars, snarls and struts from beginning to end. I'm not a big country fan, but then this isn't big country. This is Big Music. Thank You k.d. lang!

I don't know what to say about k.d. lang and this album. She has one of the purest voices in music today. Is her incredible voice wasted by singing a bunch of twangy country songs? Absolutely not. Although you might expect someone with such a remarkably pure and angelic voice to go the Whitney or Celine route, she can in fact get away with singing just about anything. She displays so much emotion and power in every song on this album, and she manages to take a cover track and make it her own (Three Days).

Trail of Broken Hearts and Pullin' Back The Reins are two songs I'm sure most people have heard, and these are both beautiful ballads. The faster songs on this album are just as pleasurable and will have you tapping your toes. When the CD is over, you'll be reaching for the remote to play the CD again. It's Me and Luck In My Eyes are definite highlights.

Out of the hundreds of CD's I own, this one ranks in my top 5 for sure. It is a true classic.

Ordinarily, I do not review CDs. God knows there are plenty of people out there to do that, and they don't need me adding my opinions of dubious value to the pile.

However. However, I cannot let this particular album go by without comment. Ingenue is a superior album; one of my very favorites. I also prefer Shadowland to this one. But it was lang singing "Pullin' Back the Reigns" on, I believe, Saturday Night Live that made me a fan for life. That voice; those gestures; the power of the performance. It reached through the T.V., grabbed me by the ears, and *forced* me to pay attention. Other than Peter Gabriel, I have never in my life seen a performer of such dynamic power as lang. And to this day, that comes through in that track, at least to me.

The remainder of the album is enjoyable, and often excellent (e.g., "Trial of Broken Hearts"). But I bought this album for that one song, and I have never regretted it.

... the brilliance, the je-ne-c'est-qua of k.d.lang might forever have escaped me...[until]... she performs "Pullin' Back the Reins" from this CD. What is apparent there is that when k.d. sings a song, she doesn't just perform it, she gives everything in her heart and soul to it.

I bought this CD based solely on that one song, which in my opinion is the torchiest, twangiest song on here and filled with absolutely beautiful imagery. This is infectious music. k.d. may opt for lowercase letters, but her Voice is going to get under your skin.

You can't have country without some heartbreak and blues influence, and those are included here, but the feeling you're left with overall is a very upbeat, stompin' good time --listen to "Luck in My Eyes", "Walkin' In and Out of your Arms" or "Big Boned Gal". The lady says it best of herself: "Hey, hey, the big boned gal...ain't no doubt she's a natural...shakin' and a-snakin' and a-breakin across the floor." I only wish k.d. could know the joy this CD brings to me.

It's an absolute shame that Canadian chanteuse k.d. lang abadoned her career as an alt-country artist to find mainstream success, her hauntingly beautiful voice on these tracks instantly transports the listener to the Patsy Kline era of country western music.
k.d. is one of the only singers capable of carrying on Kline's tradition of heartbreaking melodies. On the very first track LUCK IN MY EYES, lang sounds both vunerable and evocative and positively sexy. I am not a fan of the pop radio ready tripe that passes as country nowadays but as picky as I am, I was hooked from the very first listen. The relaxed lovliness of lang's voice as she glides effortlessly from slow tempo he-use-to-love-me tunes to celebratory tales of a BIG BONED GAL will make even the biggest skeptic a fan. If you loved Patsy Clines 12 Greatest Hits CD, you will absolutely love TORCH AND TWANG. Here's to hoping that k.d. will give country another chance.

For all the tripe that passes for country music these days and even back when this came out, "Absolute Torch And Twang" is a breath of fresh air. It's a throw back to the vocal power of Patsy Cline when country first crossed over into pop territory without losing it's roots. You won't find a weak track here. This was the completion of her country quartet and since then her work has been somewhat sporadic. It's the music that her voice is best suited for. I listen to this at least once a week and never tire of it. Lang, as well as Lyle Lovett just don't fit the mold of Nashville, but what they did was much more true to real country music than than the likes of a Shania Twain or a Garth Brooks. It's nice to see that KD still relies on her early work in concert as well as her more recent efforts.

This was my first kd lang CD, which I bought when it first came out. This is my second replacement, as the previous two were worn out from so much use. This cd shows off kd's voice. It has humor, and is deeply moving with a message (Nowhere To Stand), and has great songs about how people feel going in and out of love (Full Moon Full of Love and Pulling Back The Reigns). After a few plays, you have to sing along to it. If you want to really experience her voice, you should see her live. But this album is the next best thing.

This cd is close to sacred. It is almost too personal to review. If I were to listen to Pulling Back the Reins, Trail of Broken Hearts and anything from Ingenue, in succession, I may fall to pieces. Only purchase this cd if you are capable of the emotions that ensue.

Take Elvis and Judy Collins, stir together. Filter through Patsy Cline. Add generous amounts of God-given originality. Play loud, and enjoy.

This is my all-time favorite k.d.lang album. It's an album that you can sing to , dance with...it just picks me up to listen to it ! When I introduce people to this CD they always want a copy. I have bought several copies of this CD myself because it's one of those CD's that people borrow and enjoy so much that they just never get around to returning it ! This CD IS absolute torch and twang...fun songs with a country twang; songs that pull at your heart; and powerfully sung songs with all the grit and gusto of the torch song tradition. There are few singers that can deliver a song with the power and emotion that k.d. delivers. I have seen her on stage and know that she is an amazing peformer. Despite that, I have at times, been less than enthusiastic with some of her recordings...this one however,earns every one of those 5 stars !