I had the good fortune to see kd lang last night. My expectations for her concert were high and she exceeded them. What an incredible, powerful, versatile singing voice she has. She was backed up by the Florida symphony, they were also above par.
kd’s great with the audience too, lots of laughs and personal banter with her fans. Like I said, I had great expectations before I went to the show, when I left I was more than satisfied.
Funniest part of the show: She asks the audience, “So, what do all of you plan to do in November?”. One audience member shouted out, “Move to Canada”.
Her new album will be released in July. I believe all of the songs on the new album were written by Canadians (that seems to be the album’s theme). In concert she performed Helpless by Neil Young, and two other songs off the new album.
I think the highlights of the show were Crying by Roy Orbison, the song-and-dance Miss Chatelaine, and the encore Patsy Cline’s Three Cigarettes in an Ashtray. Those three stick out in my mind as the most powerful / entertaining songs of the night. Although, there really wasn’t a single song in the show that you wished would end.
She has the most amazing voice of anyone since Ella Fitzgerald. The first time I saw her was on the Carson show circa 1986; I thought she was comedian Kate Clinton, goofing on Patsy Cline. A minute into the song and it was clear that she wasn’t Kate and she was dead serious. I’ve been a fan ever since.
I’ve always been surprised that Angel with a Lariat wasn’t more popular. Dave Edmunds producing? What an amazing combination! Unfortunately, every subsequent producer and combination was even moreso.
Did she sing “Johnny Get Angry” ? I know she used to sing it (saw her on Saturday Night Live) - she does a tremendous rendition of it. I always wondered why she chose to sing it. It is not what anyone would consider a masterpiece of pop music, but as I said she makes it sound great.
I’m not a fan of country music, but I really liked k.d.lang’s albums. There was one, and I don’t remember which one it was now, that was great for jogging. I went to her concert at the Universal Amphitheatre about ten years ago. She has a phenomenal voice.
*Little k, little d
Little l - a - n - g
Her name was just plain
k.d. lang
But she sang
With a twang
As she came on the stage
And jumped around like a “'rang-e-tang”
Lady k.d. lang…*
Like she said in during her concert, “Things have changed a lot in the last 12 years” (tongue-in-cheek referring to the acceptance of her sexual persuasion).
** wolf_meister ** Nope, she didn’t do “Johnny” or “Big Boned Girl”. She’s a lot more of a Tony Bennett kind of singer these days.
It’s really hard to explain the range and power of her voice without seeing her live. I should have timed how long she carried some of those difficult notes, it was most definitely an incredibly long time.
I’d give the nod to several other female vocalists, starting with Carmen McRae and possibly ending with Dianna Reeves. Sarah Vaughan fits in there somewhere, as does Bartolli and Fleming. YMMV, natch.
Among singers who primarily sing popular music (I hate when opera divas try to sing pop standards, but in their own element they’re part of a different discussion), k.d. lang has few peers. Howzat?