The first minute
of k.d. lang's new disc, Watershed, feels like a
quick trip through her musical life. The song ''I
Dream of Spring'' features a Brazilian beat,
background strings, and that soaring voice. Then, almost
startlingly, comes the entrance of a pedal-steel
guitar -- an echo of the country music she was known
for at the beginning of her career. It wasn't
intentional, she said. But perhaps because it is the first
album she produced herself and wasn't answerable to
another person's vision, Watershed draws together the
styles she has touched on over the past 25 years.
''I shy away from
typecasting, whether it's lesbian icon or vegetarian or
country singer,'' she told the Associated Press. ''To me,
I'm just me and these are all aspects of my
personality. I don't like being called a country
singer. I'm just a vocalist. I don't fit into any genres
perfectly because I don't listen to any. I'm a musical
nomad, so that's the way I want to be seen.''
It's lang's first
album of her own songs in seven years. Don't blame
writer's block; she spent time on other projects including a
disc of songs by fellow Canadian songwriters.
Her new songs
feel halting, almost tentative. They reflect the lesson
that life has fewer absolutes the older you get (she's 46).
Her production credo was not to over-rehearse her
songs, to get as close to the moments of inspiration
as she could. ''Jealous Dog,'' for example, is a first
take and sounds almost incomplete.
The title
Watershed refers to some years of personal
soul-searching. ''Flame of the Uninspired'' is the most
direct.
''It's a song
about how I would wreak havoc on my personal life as a way
of finding fodder for my songwriting,'' she said. ''I saw
that as a pattern that was unnecessary. As an artist,
I'm probably more healthy and more legitimate if I can
produce art at any time.''
Hear, too, the
woman who wrote ''Constant Craving'' sing about how ''she
will drive you crazy, baby ... once in a while.''
The restraint is
audible in her voice. She may have the most powerful set
of pipes in the business, yet these songs rarely call for
her to show them off. It's like the race car driver
heading to the supermarket; you know he can go 150
mph, but this isn't the time or place.
Another big
change in lang's life was her need to find a new band. Some
of the players she's performed with for years now make too
much money as studio musicians to go out on the road
anymore.
''It's kind of
like putting a basketball team together,'' she said.
''It's personality and talent. There are all sorts of
aspects to putting together a band.''
Lang is now on
the smaller, more artist-oriented Nonesuch Records label.
She loves spending time on iTunes exploring new music and
doesn't exactly mourn the decline of the industry.
''I've been
making records for 25 years, which is a really, really long
time these days,'' she said. ''Now I've reached a place
where I feel like it's really just about making
records. I feel like the public attention is really
honest, where it's more about my music and less about my
personality.'' (David Bauder, AP)
