Live By Request

Which is... simply brilliant. I like the selection of the songs and the way they have been rearranged, that they have been renovated but not changing their identity or their original sound.
Talking about k. d. lang... I don't know what to say: she's exciting, that's all. Her vibrato, the falsetto, the imperpretative malinchony or the pathos.. I really think she's one of the Voice that will be the story of these last decades..
Let's focus a while on each song.

Summerfling
Well, this is a fantastic start, also because it's one of my favourite song of her last albums.. the sound and the arrangements are less refined compared with the orioginal version, but this is not a bad thing. 8

Big Boned Gal
This is so funny, I have so much fun singin' it! And she's brilliant and vocally agile as in the orginal version.. I like so much the acoustic sound! 8+

Black Coffee
This is a jazz standard and has a special meaning to me, because I play it with my band as a tribute to this woman. And I love it. 8-

Trail Of Broken Hearts
Another Highlight, but even if it's well played, k. d. is more intense on the studio version.. Check it out. 7,5

Crying
I love this song, really. And it really seems she had wrote it, even if it's not true.. but she feel it, and that's great. 8+

Don't Smoke In Bed
This song has so much pathos.. and it's another old standard made famous by Peggy Lee. I love her rendition, mainly the piano & voice introduction.. unforgettable. 8+

The Consequences Of Falling
This song is so.. fresh, breezy.. I love it, even if it has a very simple structure and it's a little different (rythmically) from the original version.. relaxing. 8,5

Miss Chatelaine
I've understood the meaning of this song thanks to the explanation of a canadian reviewer somewhere in one of k. d.'s cd, and.. I think it's a funny song, very brazil-in-new-york! 7+

Three Cigarettes In An Ashtray
Another classic, taken from the country repertory of Patsy Cline.. which is a betutiful waltzer, but.. maybe is the only song that I would have not played for a live session that was going to be a record. It's just.. too "old-style". 6,5

Barefoot
Well this song could be the only reason to buy this cd. It has been a surprise, it's so.. catchy, frozen.. and so much better than the original and less-known version! I love this song, really.. so malinchonic. 9

Constant Craving
Here's the "Smash Hit", k. d. would have made a mistake to not sang it.. The live versione has lost a little talking about vocal rendition, but the arrangement is more acoustic and well-built, the song is a little faster and you won't be thinking about the difference with the "Ingenue" version. 8+

Wash Me Clean
Another "Ingenue" song. Lovely, so fragile.. written by lang, and you can feel it by her interpretation. 8

Pullin' Back The Reins
Another big suprise from the "so country" 80s, a big strong medium ballad from the awarded "Absolute Torch And Twang".. one of the best track of it. I love the lyrics. 8,5

Simple
This is a so.. simple, small and brilliant song, as a little gem it shines at the end of this live experience.. I love it, resumes with astonishing semplicity and effectivenes.. what love is. 8,5

I love this cd, if you're reading here maybe you'll have vaguely understood it.. But I ensure you it's one of the most beautiful live experience I've ever listened to. Your money won't be wasted at all.

Marco


Real talent - Not so perfect occasion   December 11, 2003
I've been a devoted fan of kd for over 12 years - I absolutely love her for her talent - as a singer and a performer, she's everything she wants to be. It'd certainly help if you've watched the DVD of this Live by Request - but otherwise, I honestly find it hard to imagine the CD to be her best or anything near her best. Some of the stronger bits that were included in the DVD are unavailable here - while the band were at their best backing kd - and the music in some of the tracks on this CD is either a bit too loud or too soft. In a couple of tracks, like 'The Consequence of Falling', it does not back kd's vocal very well at certain moments and seems to slack of at some point. kd sounds as amazing as always on most tracks but if you have followed her recordings (including guest appearances in other concerts, etc.) you'd have to admit she's given better performance of some of these songs, such as 'Barefoot' or her classic, 'Constant Craving'. The editing is good and you dont get any abrupt or awkward bits, but on the other hand, there dont seem to be too many sparks in the interaction between kd and the audience. She moves them - as much as she wants to - there's no doubt about it, but I suggest those who're interested in kd check out her other live recordings, or mp3, where you hear her being slightly less reserved or subdued. One of the reasons could be it's not her own tour - that it's Live by Request by someone else's production and she is not doing some of the things she would do in her own concerts, which you'd have to see for yourself.

On the whole - I wouldnt recommend listening or buying this CD before you watch the DVD, or are already familiar with most of her other records. I dont want to undermine the opinions of those who love this record - it's good, it showcases kd's talent with a fairly good selection of songs, but the production doesnt present kd at her best, and she certainly has sounded even better in some of the tracks we love here.


Great concert performance by k. d. lang   June 16, 2003
David Kaminsky (Edmonton, Alberta Canada)
Kathryn Dawn Lang from Consort, Alberta, is a brave artist, a spokesperson for small-town lesbian dreams, a true triumph of talent over image and packaging, a cultural icon for our times. She is also a fantastic live performer, as this live work beautifully demonstrates. Recorded in New York in December of 2000, this CD features some of la lang's greatest hits and a few delightful surprises to showcase her vocal range and the vast variety of musical styles she has experimented with throughout her eventful career. The 40s-ish cover artwork suggests that she is content with being label "our generation's Rosemary Clooney"--a crooner and stylist extraordinaire. She's Rosemary Clooney, Patsy Cline, Peggy Lee, Tammy Wynette, and many others all rolled into one amazing, original superdiva. The CD opens with the breezy, bossa nova-inflected "Summerfling," from the underappreciated CD of the same name. In this performance, Ms. lang adds elements of rock and even reggae, showing off how comfortable and playful she can be in concert. The second track, "Big Boned Gal," is a fun rockabilly number with a playful lesbian sensibility. The third track, her cover of Sonny Burke and Paul Francis Webster's classic "Black Coffee," adds a twangy steel guitar to her languid, seductive vocal. Next is the lang/Ben Mink song "Trail of Broken Hearts," one of the most beautiful, haunting melodies Ms. lang has ever graced with her vocal. This version is even better than the original, although it remains very close to album version. The fifth track is her gorgeous cover of Roy Orbison's "Crying," and a fitting tribute to her famous duet partner. Her vocal is much stronger than in the original, and she illicits thrilled applause from her audience when she nails the tricky high notes. Back into Peggy Lee territory, with the sixth track, "Don't Smoke in Bed." The song was made famous by Peggy Lee, and lang's smokey, piano-kissed version would likely have delighted the legendary Miss Peggy Lee. Next is the wistful "The Consequences of Falling," from the "Summerfling" CD. Listening to the live version, we can't imagine her repertoire without this song, and it makes a great lead-in to the heady, swirling "Miss Chatelaine." The U.S. and European listeners didn't get the joke, but we Canadians know what a dubious honour it was for a "big-boned gal" from Consort to be graced with the title "Miss Chatelaine." Knowing that "Chatelaine" magazine is a somewhat kitschy, retrospective publication offering advice on how to beautify your kitchen, yard, and marriage, we Canadians smile at k. d.'s campy humour. The ninth song is the Miller/Stevenson torchy "Three Cigarettes in an Ashtray," a nod to one of Ms. lang's idols, Patsy Cline. There was something in Patsy Cline's music which perfectly captured the loneliness and isolation of life in small-town western Canada, which perhaps explain's lang's fascination with Cline. The tenth song is the most surprising inclusion, the forgotten gem "Barefoot," from the Percy Adlon film. The orchestration is spare and delicate, the vocal particularly poignant and haunting in this performance. There are few songs which capture the essence of a long, cold, prairie winter better than this one, especially for a young gay person, whose feelings increase the sense of isolation. This is followed by a rousing rendition of "Constant Craving," still probably Miss Chatelaine's--er, I mean, Ms. lang's biggest hit. The vocal is a little looser than in the original, but the emotion remains intact. The twelfth song is the slow, quiet "Wash me Clean," from her famous "Ingenue" CD. As in "Barefoot," the production is clean and spare, to keep the pure and delicate vocal unencumbered. Next is the lang/Ben Mink composition "Pullin' Back the Reins," a tip of the tattered felt hat to k. d.'s country past. It is testament to her talents as a songwriter that we can imagine someone like Patsy Cline or Peggy Lee covering this song and still making it sound great. The CD closes with the folksy, ethereal "Simple," which evokes the sound of her fellow Canadians Jane Siberry and Sarah McLachlan. Ms. lang ends a spectacular concert with a simple, understated "Thank you." We your loyal fans are the grateful ones, k. d.


Sweet, Sultry and Oh-So Seductive....   July 13, 2002
Christine Cunningham (USA)
That's K.D. Lang. The collection is a bit weak, especially "Big Boned Gal", but it works because K.D. knows how to woo an audience. As the track progresses you get a true feeling of Lang's range, and her dramatic abilities. She is simply electric. This may not be your choice as her best work, but it is a marvelous introduction to a very talented (albeit controversial) recording artist.

Blessings,
Cris


Great Voice, Weak Production   April 20, 2002
S. Foster (Moira, Co Armagh United Kingdom)
1 out of 1 found this review helpful

lang shall always be one of my fave ever singers & her albums All You Can Eat & Invincible Summer two of my fave ever albums; however this live showcase is not the best that I feel kd could have performed. A selection of greatest hits, they are all sung remarkably brilliantly (I couldn't expect anything else), however the production seems uneven, the instrumentation weak & the choice of songs feel as if they are obligatory performances rather than choosing songs which really would have fared better live! (Infinite & Unforeseen, When We Collide & Only Love for example). Maybe that's a selfish attitude, cos there are kd songs which I just love unconditionally. Nevertheless the songs her are brilliant (in particular Consequence of Falling, the aching Pullin Back The Reins, the dark Black Coffee), plus the obligatory sleeper-hit Constant Craving. The audience takes some time to warm up but lang commandes attention. With a voice of silk & heartfelt renditions of these classics, the album is a rarer example of a consistent live! album, although as I said before the sound & instrumentation lack that certain edge. Otherwise this would have been 5 stars.