Watershed
by: k.d. lang
List Price: $18.98
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Sales Rank: 766
Sales Rank: 766
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Music : Watershed |
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 Watershed Deluxe Limited Edition |  Hymns of the 49th Parallel |  Ingénue |
 Shadowland |  Live by Request (2001) |  Absolute Torch and Twang |
 Drag |  All You Can Eat |  Reintarnation [ORIGINAL RECORDING REMASTERED] |
 Live by Request [LIVE] |  Invincible Summer |  A Truly Western Experience [EXTRA TRACKS] |
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Rating:  - * still great! ... fans of kd lang know by now what they are getting when she puts out a new cd. This is no exception: great songs, great production, sweet harmonies, and that awesome voice. Buy this!! Rating:  - * k.d. Lang ... She has a wonderful voice but I do not like her songs. They seem outdated to me. Rating: - * KD Lang's illumination shines ... I have been a long time follower and collector of KD's music, Watershed is the album I find reaching for more than most cds in my collection. I remember seeing KD sing live in San Diego at an old ornate acoustical opera house. The range and quality of this soothing voice live was even more smooth, sharp and resonate then on the album recordings. Watershed's content is mature, one of zenness, of a higher purpose, but still youthful with feminine and haunting layerings of magnetic sounds.There is a great use of instruments like the violin throughout. For the individuals who gave this masterpiece five stars, they get this cattle dog artist. Lastly, I was in San Francisco visiting on asignment as a photographer and the taxi driver who picked me up said KD was remarkable and kind and down to earth because he drove KD around the previous day. This seeps through in watershed. I sure wish that our paths would cross some other day. Maybe I'll just have to see KD again in concert! Rating: - * Another wonderful offering ... Not much that this woman does is mediocre. This is another great album and she makes you think she's singing all about you. Rating:  - * Pouring it all out ... For her first album of originals since 2000's Invincible Summer, kd lang hearkens back to all the music she's made in the last 25 years. There are touches of her Absolute Torch and Twang country brilliance, the snazzy chanteuse who blossomed on Ingénue and the lush, smokey voice that has carried across all her work from the beginning. It also marks her transition to a mature singer/songwriter. "Watershed" may be comprised mostly of love songs, but they are subtle takes on the gift. "Coming Home" (the best song here) is exquisitely written; can you name any songwriters of late who can work a word like 'minutiae' into their lyrics? Didn't think so. The heavy handed Moon/June type of love songs are 100% absent from "Watershed," replaced by such delights as "Flame of The Uninspired" or "I Dream Of Spring." The songs are often underscored with gorgeous string charts. It's Lang's first attempt at self-production, and she acquits herself nicely. Unfortunately, what keeps this album from a more inspiring rating is the fact that it never perks up past low-to-mid tempo. The biggest kicks come from the clever "Upstream," and the country growler that closes the CD, "Jealous Dog." "Dog" is the only song that breaks from the immaculate middle of the road sound. By just setting itself around Lang and her piano/banjo playing, it breaks the mold enough to be a standout. It's an issue that also haunted her prior Nonesuch CD, Hymns of the 49th Parallel, which bogged down under too many low-key songs. While "Watershed" doesn't fail in its mission to soothe and relax, kd lang has shown multiple times that she is capable of delivering far more. This album is a pleasant, immaculately crafted work, but in the end, it's just immaculate craft. Lang has, in the past, produced art...and "Watershed" falls short of that mark. |
It's three movies in one, beginning when punctuality-obsessed Federal Express systems engineer Chuck Noland (Tom Hanks) departs on Christmas Eve to escort an ill-fated flight of FedEx packages. Following a mid-Pacific plane crash, movie number two chronicles Chuck's four-year survival on a remote island, totally alone save for a Wilson volleyball (aptly named "Wilson") that becomes Chuck's closest "friend." Movie number three leads up to Chuck's rescue and an awkward encounter with his ex-girlfriend Kelly (Helen Hunt, in a thankless role), for whom Chuck has seemingly risen from the grave.
It's fascinating to witness Chuck's emerging survival skills, and Hanks's remarkable physical transformation is matched by his finely tuned performance. With slow, rhythmic camera moves and brilliant use of sound, Zemeckis wisely avoids the postcard prettiness of The Black Stallion and The Blue Lagoon to emphasize the harshness of Chuck's ascetic solitude, and this stylistic restraint allows Cast Away to resonate more than one might expect. Even the final scene--which feels like a crowd-pleasing compromise--offers hope without shoving it down our throats. You may not feel the emotional rush that you're meant to feel, but Cast Away remains a respectable effort. --Jeff Shannon
It's three movies in one, beginning when punctuality-obsessed Federal Express systems engineer Chuck Noland (Tom Hanks) departs on Christmas Eve to escort an ill-fated flight of FedEx packages. Following a mid-Pacific plane crash, movie number two chronicles Chuck's four-year survival on a remote island, totally alone save for a Wilson volleyball (aptly named "Wilson") that becomes Chuck's closest "friend." Movie number three leads up to Chuck's rescue and an awkward encounter with his ex-girlfriend Kelly (Helen Hunt, in a thankless role), for whom Chuck has seemingly risen from the grave.
It's fascinating to witness Chuck's emerging survival skills, and Hanks's remarkable physical transformation is matched by his finely tuned performance. With slow, rhythmic camera moves and brilliant use of sound, Zemeckis wisely avoids the postcard prettiness of The Black Stallion and The Blue Lagoon to emphasize the harshness of Chuck's ascetic solitude, and this stylistic restraint allows Cast Away to resonate more than one might expect. Even the final scene--which feels like a crowd-pleasing compromise--offers hope without shoving it down our throats. You may not feel the emotional rush that you're meant to feel, but Cast Away remains a respectable effort. --Jeff Shannon
