k.d. lang ~ Watershed

In her first quarter-century in the music business, Canadian k.d. lang has gone from straight-up country artist to iconic pop songstress, with many side-steps into pop, jazz, and show tunes along the way. An eight-year break since her last record of originals (2000s Invincible Summer) has re-channeled and recharged both the songwriter and that brightly toned voice that lies within. In assembling this intimate 11-song album, which features many of her enduring collaborators but is defined by her powerhouse vocals, lang drew inspiration from all her favorite musical styles. The bass- and string-driven Coming Home and I Dream of Spring--a Spanish-style pop dream accented with Greg Leiszs signature steel guitar--are easy picks for Constant Craving-like success, yet Watersheds magnetism is captured in the expansion of lang's songwriting palette: the hushed jazz of Flame of the Uninspired," the Brazilian jolts of Upstream, and the absolute rawness of Jealous Dog, which strips away any studio veneer, leaving that voice as pure and bewitching as ever.

1 I Dream of Spring

2 Je Fais La Planche

3 Coming Home

4 Once in a While

5 Thread

6 Close Your Eyes

7 Sunday

8 Flame of the Uninspired

9 Upstream

10 Shadow and the Frame

11 Jealous Dog