kd lang
Hammersmith Apollo
k.d. lang kicked off a world tour to promote her new album Watershed with two nights at the Hammersmith Apollo. Watershed is lang’s first album of original material in 10 years. While 2004’s Hymns of the 49th Parallel (an homage to Canadian compatriots including Leonard Cohen, Neil Young, Jane Siberry and Joni Mitchell) is arguably one of her best crafted albums, Watershed sees a welcome return to the plaintive crooning style of Ingénue, performed last night with a hint of maverick country cheek which fans will remember from Absolute Torch And Twang and Shadowland.
Accompanied by a new five-piece backing band (who contributed some of the aforementioned county cheek by way of pedal steel, banjo and handmade organ), lang launched straight into the new material – for the most part a collection of thoughtful and self-reflective ballads – before turning her thrillingly measured vocal talent to some of my favourite songs from Hymns of the 49th Parallel including Neil Young’s Helpless, Jane Siberry’s The Valley and Leonard Cohen’s Hallelujah.
Although lang has proved her song writing ability in the past with the multi-million selling Constant Craving and Grammy award winning Miss Chatelaine, for me her voice as an instrument seems to find its fullest and most poignant expression when performing other people’s songs. A disappointment last night was not to hear her version of Roy Orbison’s Crying but on every other level lang delivered. A raft of old favourites earned her more than one standing ovation and a barrage of cheering and wolf whistling that brought her out for three encores. Thankfully I won’t have to wait too long to see her again as she’ll be back this summer.
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