Watershed, K.D. Lang's second Nonesuch album, indeed represents a significant juncture in her 25-year career as a recording artist-a collection of eleven new original songs produced, for the first time, by Lang herself. As with any challenge she's met in her unparalleled career, lang is a natural behind the boards in the studio. Watershed has an intimate feel and a sophisticated sound that highlights the warmth in Lang's voice, the maturity of her songwriting and the simple beauty of her arrangements. The Grammy Award-winning artist draws on her wealth of experience with an impressively wide range of genres to fashion a revealing portrait of the artist as she is right now. As Lang explains, "Watershed is like a culmination of everything I've done -- there's a little bit of jazz, a little country, a little of the Ingénue sound, a little Brazilian touch. It really feels like the way I hear music, this mash-up of genres, and I think it reflects all the styles that have preceded this in my catalogue."
K.D. Lang Photos
More from K.D. Lang
Watershed Deluxe Limited Edition
Hymns of the 49th Parallel
Ingénue
Shadowland
Live by Request (2001)
Absolute Torch and Twang
Drag
All You Can Eat
Reintarnation [ORIGINAL RECORDING REMASTERED]
Live by Request [LIVE]
Invincible Summer
A Truly Western Experience [EXTRA TRACKS]
Watershed is the first major project from celebrated Canadian chanteuse k.d. lang since 2004's Hymns of the 49th Parallel. Where Hymns explored the music of fellow Canadians such as Ron Sexsmith, Neil Young and Joni Mitchell, Watershed represents the first set of original songs from lang in around eight years. Self-produced and arranged by musicians she has worked with a lot in the past, the most striking aspect of the album is its intimate, homely feel. Adding to the cozy ambience is the fact that Watershed brings most of lang's musical passions and influences--jazz, country, folk, bossa nova--under one roof, lending the project a dreamy, mellifluous coherence. But if the musical landscape is mellow and easy to traverse, Lang's lyrics can be less comfortable. Using her laid-back, often ethereal arrangements as sugar-candied coating for thornier topics, the singer serenades with stories of broken love, occasionally harsh self-analysis and the obligatory forays into existential angst. These contrastive elements only serve to make the album stronger, adding emotional weight to the airless arrangements of "Once in a While," and the delicate "Close Your Eyes," and conjuring up images of beauty on the string-laden "I Dream of Spring," and the wonderfully lazy "Sunday". Intelligent, mature and sophisticated, Watershed is the kind of perfect pop album it's difficult not to fall in love with immediately and forever. --Paul Sullivan
Customer Reviews:
Avg. Customer Rating: 4.0 / 5.0
Fabulous, beautiful stuff!:
I hadn't listened to K.D. Lang in probably twenty years. I have her Shadowland and Torch & Twang albums on cassette - that's how long it's been. Found this CD in a Rite-Aid drugstore for a measly $4.99. What is wrong with this picture?! What is wrong with this country and the music industry? This is an absolutely beautiful album in every way - the arrangements, the multi-tracked vocal harmonies (all Lang), the ethereal lyrics and delivery. For $4.99??!! I mean, come on, people. How's a consumate artist... more info
still great!:
fans of kd lang know by now what they are getting when she puts out a new cd. This is no exception: great songs, great production, sweet harmonies, and that awesome voice. Buy this!!
k.d. Lang:
She has a wonderful voice but I do not like her songs. They seem outdated to me.
KD Lang's illumination shines:
I have been a long time follower and collector of KD's music,
Watershed is the album I find reaching for more than most
cds in my collection. I remember seeing KD sing live in San Diego
at an old ornate acoustical opera house. The range and quality of this soothing voice live
was even more smooth, sharp and resonate then on the album recordings. Watershed's content is mature, one of zenness, of a higher purpose, but still youthful with feminine
and haunting layerings of... more info
