Ingénue |
|
Released: March 17, 1992 Peak: 18 US, 3 UK, 13 CN, 3 AU, 4 DF Sales (in millions): 2.0 US, 0.3 UK, 2.66 world (includes US and UK) Genre: country |
Tracks:Song Title (date of single release, chart peaks) Click for codes to charts.
Total Running Time: 41:47 |
Rating: 3.907 out of 5.00 (average of 16 ratings)
Quotable:-- “Few artists have reinvented themselves with as much poise and panache as lang did on Ingénue” – Mark Deming, AllMusic.comAwards:(Click on award to learn more).
|
About k.d. langCountry singer/songwriter Kathryn Dawn “k.d.” Lang was born in 1961 in Alberta, Canada. She went to Red Deer College, became fascinated with Patsy Cline, and decided to become a professional singer. After she graduated in 1982, she responded to an ad posted by Jim Alexander. He was looking for a singer for his country-swing band. WKIn 1984, she released her first album – A Truly Western Experience – with her band The Reclines. They released their second album, Angel with a Lariat, in 1987. Lang released her first solo album, Shadowland, the following year and reunited with the Reclines in 1989 for Absolute Torch and Twang. On these albums, lang “was a country traditionalist with a difference – while she had a glorious voice and could evoke the risen ghost of Patsy Cline when she was of a mind, there was an intelligence and sly humor in her work that occasionally betrayed her history as a performance artist who entered the musical mainstream through the side door.” AM A Change in SoundThe next three years “were full of controversy for lang.” AM She alienated many fans of mainstream country when came out as a lesbian and became an outspoken animal rights activist. AMThis may have played a part in her desire to “seek out new creative directions” AM as she may have felt that she “had already taken her interest in country music as far as it was likely to go.” AMFor her 1992 album Ingénue, lang “officially abandoned Nashville.” RD She transitioned from “a masterful and thoroughly enjoyable country singer” AM to “a far more introspective adult contemporary singer/songwriter.” AM She called her new sound “post-nuclear cabaret.” RD It was a mix of “category-defying pop, tango, swing, lounge, and…alternative country.” RD “Few artists have reinvented themselves with as much poise and panache as lang did on Ingénue.” AM Production“The production and arrangements by lang and her longtime collaborators Ben Mink and Greg Penny were at once simple and ambitious, creating a musical space that was different in form and effect than her previous albums but one where she sounded right at home.” AM Her group The Reclines are replaced by “Mink’s programmed rhythms and an assortment of session musicians playing everything from marimbas to tamboura.” TBHer “vocal style is noticeably more subtle…but her command of her instrument is still complete, and the cooler surroundings allowed her to emotionally accomplish more with less.” AM More Personal SongwritingHer “songwriting moved into a more impressionistic direction…and while the literal meanings of many of her tunes became less clear, she also brought a more personal stamp to her music.” AM On The Mind of Love, she sang, “Surely help will arrive soon and cure these self-induced wounds,” “revealing more about herself than on all of her previous country albums.” RDWash Me Clean and Miss Chatelaine “were fueled by the experience of longing for a married woman.” RD Instead of being taken aback by lang’s homosexuality, her new audience embraced her “honest portray of universal feelings.” RD “Constant Craving”The song that gained the most attention was Constant Craving. It became her sole top 40 hit on the Billboard pop charts, effectively completing her transition from country to pop star. The song won a Grammy for Best Female Pop Vocal Performance and landed nominations for Song and Record of the Year. It helped lift Ingénue to platinum status – lang’s only album to do so – and garnered it a Grammy nomination for Album of the Year.
|
Resources:
Related DMDB Links:
First posted 11/14/2008; last updated 12/3/2024. |
No comments:
Post a Comment