k.d. lang is one of those “are they or
aien’t they?" types that have popped up
recently (Tracy Chapman, Melissa Eth-
eridge, and, until just recently, Michelle
Shocked are other examples of this) about
whom the listener is left wondering if she is
someone who can be legitimately lusted
after without the fear of her coming out
straight. But aside from the obvious sex
appeal of k.d. lang and the question of
whether she is or isn’t, we cannot overlook
the spectacular talent she possesses.

No other performer in the past few
years can boast the range and control of
k.d.’s voice. But voice is not enough to
make a performer. She (or he) must be able
to be personable towards the audience,
almost to become an actor and comedian
rolled into one. k.d. lang is able to accom-
plish this quite naturally, and one is left to
believe that she truly loves to perform.

I was first introduced to k.d. lang by an
article in Rolling Stone about “cowpunk,”
a mixture of country/westem and roots
rock. Her band, the Reclines, was among
those mentioned. A picture of her accom-
panying the article showed that she was no
ordinary singer, what with the dress drip-
ping with plastic dime-store charms and her
outlandish cowboy boots. A year later, she
released her first album of foot-stomping
“cowpunk,” Angel with a Lariat, to rather
mixed critical reviews.

k.d.’s next album, Shadowland, was
her breakthrough. Produced by Owen Bra-
dley, whose has worked in the past with
Patsy Cline and Loretta Lynn, the album
was a throwback to the classic sound of
country/westem from the Fifties and Six-
ties, complete with an orchestra mixed in
with the wail of a steel guitar. Unlike her
debut, Shadowland gave k.d. an opportu-
nity to show off that incredible voice.

A k.d. lang Rundown

The first song, a cover ofChi1's Isaak’s
“Westem Skies,” is an exercise in control,
starting off softly and drawing toward the
crescendo in a high pitch that never wavers
but stays strong ‘til she begins the reprise
once more. The single from the album,
“I’m Down to My Last Cigarette,” is a song
of lost love and loneliness given the k.d.
treatment, where one actually believes she
really is sitting in an empty bar with an
ashtray nearby. (When she sang this song in
concert, she professed to never touch ciga-
rettes, even though “they make for great
country music.”)

Absolute Torch and Twang is the latest
release from k.d., and this time around she
is reunited with her band. Because of that,
Torch and Twang is similar in feel to her
firstalbum in that there are more “kick-ass”
songs, but the influence of Shadowland
remains in songs like “Pullin’ Back the‘
Reins” and “Nowhere to Stand,” the latter
being her “message” song. Each of. those
songs gives her a chance not only to sing as
strongly as she ever has, but to show how
her songwriting has come along way, from
polkas to songs about abuse.

But albums are only half the story as
far as k.d. lang is concerned. She must be
seen agqheard. Her concert is not so much
a rundown of songs pulled from her al-
bums, but an entertainment event. Each
song becomes a sort of mini-skit. If it’s one
of her songs about smoking cigarettes,
she’ll be sitting down at a table with an
ashtray full of them. Or, if the song is one of
those 60’s teenage laments a la Shelley
Fabares about a wimpy boyfriend, k.d. will
be all over screaming to the boyfriend in
question until he actually “socks” her one.

Concerts are also a wonderful oppor-
tunity to see k.d. lang up close because
heck, it does provide fodder for all sorts of
fantasies...

Vc/mo/If
Cr/Ia’/‘fir/’

I29/(110.9/rzzizrsis

Counseling and Education

Michael Gigante, Ph.D.

196 Battery Sfreef 0 Bur/ingfon, Vennonf 05401
802 0 862 I 8485

June-July 1990

 

Short,

Sharp,

Lesbian:

Michelle Shocked

Only a short time after performing an
energizing show to promote her Captain
Swing album at Middlebury College,
Michelle Shocked publicly leapt out of the
closet and further into the hearts of the gay
community by declaring herself a lesbianin
an interview with Chicago’s 0utLines
paper. Shocked, whose songs themselves
often defy the traditional categories of folk,
rock, or swing (a recent fixation of hers), is
best known for her breakthrough album
Short, Sharp, Shocked.

In the interview, Shocked bemoaned
the fact that she was 18 years old before she
“ever heard the ‘L’ word. It would have
made all the difference for me had I grown
up knowing that the reason I didn’t fit in
was because they hadn't told me there were
more categories to fit into.”

Chel, a.k.a. “Captain Swing,” deliv-
ered a powerful set of material from all
three of her releases at the recent Middle-
bury show. Backed by a strong band, she
playfully incited the crowd to move to the
music and invoked the revolutionary spirit
of Emma Goldman to do so.

The most intimate moments of the
show came when the band left the stage,
leaving Shocked to accompany herself on a
number of songs. Chel seemed somewhat
shocked herself as the crowd sang along to
“Memories of East Texas,” a delicate bal-
lad describing some of the singer’s child-
hood recollections. ,

With the recent news of her coming
out, Shocked has added new meaning to the
memories many of her fans will carry with
them of the Middlebury concert. We’re
already eagerly awaiting her return.

  

PEACE on EARTH STORE

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