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Watershed is the first major project from celebrated Canadian chanteuse k.d. lang since 2004's Hymns of the 49th Parallel. Where Hymns explored the music of fellow Canadians such as Ron Sexsmith, Neil Young and Joni Mitchell, Watershed represents the first set of original songs from lang in around eight years. Self-produced and arranged by musicians she has worked with a lot in the past, the most striking aspect of the album is its intimate, homely feel. Adding to the cozy ambience is the fact that Watershed brings most of lang's musical passions and influences--jazz, country, folk, bossa nova--under one roof, lending the project a dreamy, mellifluous coherence. But if the musical landscape is mellow and easy to traverse, Lang's lyrics can be less comfortable. Using her laid-back, often ethereal arrangements as sugar-candied coating for thornier topics, the singer serenades with stories of broken love, occasionally harsh self-analysis and the obligatory forays into existential angst. These contrastive elements only serve to make the album stronger, adding emotional weight to the airless arrangements of "Once in a While," and the delicate "Close Your Eyes," and conjuring up images of beauty on the string-laden "I Dream of Spring," and the wonderfully lazy "Sunday". Intelligent, mature and sophisticated, Watershed is the kind of perfect pop album it's difficult not to fall in love with immediately and forever. --Paul Sullivan
Watershed, K.D. Lang's second Nonesuch album, indeed represents a significant juncture in her 25-year career as a recording artist-a collection of eleven new original songs produced, for the first time, by Lang herself. As with any challenge she's met in her unparalleled career, lang is a natural behind the boards in the studio. Watershed has an intimate feel and a sophisticated sound that highlights the warmth in Lang's voice, the maturity of her songwriting and the simple beauty of her arrangements. The Grammy Award-winning artist draws on her wealth of experience with an impressively wide range of genres to fashion a revealing portrait of the artist as she is right now. As Lang explains, "Watershed is like a culmination of everything I've done — there's a little bit of jazz, a little country, a little of the Ingénue sound, a little Brazilian touch. It really feels like the way I hear music, this mash-up of genres, and I think it reflects all the styles that have preceded this in my catalogue."
K.D. Lang Photos
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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] |
Limited edition enhanced two CD pressing of this 2008 release, k.d. lang's second Nonesuch album, comes housed in a unibox with cloth wrap and embossed foil stamp plus three photo insert cards. Watershed is a collection of eleven new original songs produced, for the first time, by lang herself. As with any challenge she's met in her unparalleled career, lang is a natural behind the boards in the studio. Watershed has an intimate feel and a sophisticated sound that highlights the warmth in lang's voice, the maturity of her songwriting and the simple beauty of her arrangements. The Grammy Award-winning artist draws on her wealth of experience with an impressively wide range of genres to fashion a revealing portrait of the artist as she is right now. 11 tracks. Nonesuch Records.
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| First of all, let me say I have never heard a CD by K.D. Lang that
I did not like. She has the most beautiful voice I've ever heard. I'm not particularly a country music fan, but the way she sings it, I really enjoy it. Her style, and the amazing range of her voice make her a true artist. |
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| am a new kd lang fan and am trying to assemble a collection. I am very pleased |
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| Watershed by K.D.Lang is a shining showcase for her beautiful voice. Rich harmonies and heartfelt lyrics throughout. Excellent C.D. |
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| Let's face it: One is tempted to give KD Lang beaucoup stars every time she opens her mouth to sing. Is there anything she can't deliver on? One of the most gifted pop singers of our time, Lang is extraordinary even when the CD doesn't represent her best efforts. "Watershed" is a good album but it's not great, it's not iconic. It's like one long song with various tendrils and so all the songs have a tendency to blur together. And while it's difficult to critique someone as talented and pleasurable as Lang, her melted-chocolate-all-over-your-psyche approach is a tad forgettable here. I guess I want a hint of angst, some kind of psychological counterpoint, a sense that her perfect voice isn't just an end in itself, that there is some kind of message in a bottle that will wash up any minute. This is very pretty music, but it washes over you a little too easily. |
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| I LOVE this new CD---been a while, k.d. ---the deluxe WATERSHED set? I would recommend, too, for the live performances---esp "The Valley" (on the bonus CD). About WATERSHED: There is orchestral composition that we know is her mark---k.d. does something no one else does that is very special. Her voice and diction are perfect as always. Her work is monumental and singular: no one can do what she does.
k.d. Lang creates Beauty for the ear ---she crosses all boundaries with her plaintive and lovely phrasing. ---I think that is what I love about her Magic: k.d.'s music is more than hearing. Thank You, Mary Helen Madrid-Null, author NAVAJO HEAT |
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