Recollection is a two-disc compilation of some of k.d. Lang’s most wonderful songs. Lang’s rich, smooth vocals and her seduction of the guitar are showcased only too well in this collection.
I remember hearing Miss Chatelaine as a child, and it was on the strength of that one song that k.d. Lang’s voice has been a part of my musical world ever since. Not only will one find Miss Chatelaine on Recollection, but Trail of Broken Hearts, Constant Craving, Crying (with Roy Orbison), and two exquisite versions (one old, one new) of Leonard Cohen’s Hallelujah, too.
It’s a pity that Lang doesn’t receive as much radio play in South Africa as she used to. I’m aware that tastes change, that styles come and go, and that her musical output can hardly be called prolific. However, I think that Lang’s music is timeless. She sings of age-old and universal themes, and she has never been one to pander to the popular styles of the day.
Stripped-down, almost unplugged, her songs are modern classics. They speak of love, of pain, of life. Some of her songs are at home in a smoky little club where the men puff away on cigars and the women sip delicately from their martini glasses. Other songs are the whispers of intimacy between lover and beloved, like the soft rustle of sheets in the morning.
I hope that the release of Recollection will gain k.d. Lang more fans, and that it will reintroduce those who appreciated her music but perhaps forgot about her or never got around to buying the albums to one of Canada’s greatest treasures. You won’t find a dance hit party in this collection. There’s nothing loud or avant garde here, either. What you will find, however, is an artist who has integrity, and who seems quite determined to bring just that much more beauty into this world.
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