- After the Gold Rush
- Simple
- Helpless
- A Case of You
- The Valley
- Hallelujah
- One Day I Walk
- Fallen
- Jericho
- Bird on a Wire
- Love Is Everything
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Overview
Blessed with one of the most beautiful voices in contemporary pop music -- is there really any competition? -- k. d. lang can turn any song into an emotional tour de force. Throughout her career, she's mixed collections of her own compositions with songbook-style albums of interpretations, from her forays into countrypolitan on 1988's Shadowland through 2002's collaboration with Tony Bennett on Louis Armstrongaffiliated standards. On Hymns of the 49th Parallel, lang mines her native Canada for source material and comes up with a stunning set of understated ballads. Opening with Neil Young's "After the Gold Rush," lang mixes establish masters such as Joni Mitchell and Leonard Cohen with younger upstarts like Ron Sexsmith, Bruce Cockburn, and Jane Siberry. Wisely, she lets her voice take center stage while still being a model of restraint; most arrangements build on a singular piano or acoustic guitar line bolstered by soft background strings and a delicate rhythm section, and there's none of the bombast here that lang occasionally indulges in. As a point of contrast, she reprises her own "Simple" from Invincible Summer and improves on the original by simplifying it even more, slowing it down and expanding its range of emotions. Whether the song is very familiar (Mitchell's "A Case of You," Cohen's "Bird on a Wire") or less so (Siberry's "Love Is Everything," Sexsmith's "Fallen") lang treats it with aching sensitivity.
Product Details
Release Date: | 07/27/2004 |
---|---|
Label: | Nonesuch |
UPC: | 0075597984729 |
catalogNumber: | 79847 |
Rank: | 6102 |
Tracks
Album Credits
Performance Credits
k.d. lang Primary Artist,VocalsDeodato Conductor
Teddy Borowiecki Piano,Accordion,Keyboards
Clayton Cameron Drums
Larry Corbett Cello
Brian Dembow Viola
Stephen Erdody Cello
Armen Ksadjikian Cello
Ben Mink Acoustic Guitar,Fiddle,Electric Guitar
David Piltch Electric Bass,Bass Guitar,Acoustic Bass
David Stenske Violin
Cecilia Tsan Cello
Tiffiany Yi Hu Violin
Cynthia Fogg Viola
Ralph Morrison Violin,Concert Master
Sarah Parkins Violin
Technical Credits
Leonard Cohen ComposerJane Siberry Composer
Bruce Cockburn Composer
Joni Mitchell Composer
Neil Young Composer
Deodato String Arrangements
k.d. lang Composer,Producer,Audio Production
David Leonard Engineer
Ben Mink Producer,Audio Production
David Piltch Composer
Ron Sexsmith Composer
Andy Goldsworthy Cover Photo
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