Customer Reviews

A Truly Western Experience

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

 

 

This album is kd at her most fun. "Bopolina" and "Hanky Panky" always gets me jumping. "Pine and Stew" - very creative lyrics with some wonderful instrumental accompanyment. This is without a doubt one of my most treasured albums in my collection. A fun, feisty and funky kd!

This album will be a shocker to kd fans used to Ingenue and Drag, but not at all to the fans who knew her when she was country. While not my favorite album by kd lang, it is an early look at her exuberant style of singing country and her love of polka. Personally I prefer Shadowland, but this is a fun album to have around.

If you're a true kd fan, then check out this cd! This cd features high energy songs with catchy melodies and lyrics like "Bopalena" and "Hanky Panky". Her ballads like "Pine and Stew" and "Busy Being Blue" showcase her awesome voice. Each song has a different feel and shows how diverse kd's styles have always been.

After her first single, 1983's "Friday dance promenade", "ATWE" proved to be K.D.'s debut album. It confirms that she really started out as an authentic country singer; "ATWE" is more or less a tribute to Patsy Cline (even the band is called 'Re-Clines'), and there are no surprises as the group plunges forth with the standard country arrangements. Fluctuating between tight, rocking numbers like "Bopalena" and typically romantic pieces, this album is quite entertaining but not very original or ambitious. However, The Reclines manage to tear through 9 songs in under 27 minutes, which lends a somewhat radical flavor to this disc when you regard it as pop music -- but I was told that this is the usual running time of Patsy Cline's '60s albums. There are certainly some engaging moments, but I think "ATWE" is more interesting for what it points towards than what it actually does; you feel what K.D.'s voice is capable of. The lyrics are simple and 'rural', you certainly shouldn't expect something like "Ingenue", but it's clear that intellectual ramblings would be out of place in these surroundings. Due to its running time, "ATWE" is no good value for money; it's unpardonable that her first single isn't featured, as well as there could be some live performances or studio outtakes on this disc. I don't think it's a good purchase for casual listeners of K.D.'s latter-day work, though it can be rewarding for those who are interested in her roots.