On her first two albums,
k.d. lang
took a witty and playful approach to the sounds and traditions of classic
country
music, and while it was obvious she truly loved the music, she also seemed to be having a bit of fun at its expense at the same time. But in 1988,
lang
proved beyond a doubt that she was serious about
(as well as her own talent) with
Shadowland
, an homage to the polished
countrypolitan
sounds of the 1950s and '60s that was produced by
Owen Bradley
, the iconic Nashville producer who was behind the controls for many of
Patsy Cline
's most memorable recordings.
herself sought out
Bradley
to work on the album, and luring him out of retirement proved to be a masterstroke; rather than try to re-create the lush textures and deep atmosphere of
's sides for
Cline
or
Brenda Lee
herself,
went to the source, and
gave her studio settings that referenced his work during Nashville's golden era while adding an ever-so-slight contemporary sheen.
also brought aboard an all-star crew of legendary Nashville studio hands and invited
Loretta Lynn
,
, and
Kitty Wells
to sing with
on the closing
"Honky Tonk Angels' Medley."
In the hands of many artists, this sort of project might have been an exercise in misplaced, nostalgic fandom, but on
taps into the sound and style of her most vital musical influences while at the same time putting her stamp on the music -- this isn't
trying to be
, but rather
demonstrating what she learned from
and where those lessons took her.
's lush, expressive voice has rarely sounded better or more emotionally powerful than it does on
, and it presents her meeting the cream of Nashville's greatest era not as a wide-eyed acolyte, but as a gifted artist collaborating on equal terms. It's a magnificent achievement. ~ Mark Deming