k.d. lang and The Reclines "Angel With A Lariat" LP (1987)

Details: k.d. lang's 1987 record with her band The Reclines! Angel With a Lariat was released on Sire Records, and at the time of its release, was the first record released outside of Canada for lang. This is her second studio album and has a distinguishing mix of cow-punk, new wave, rocksteady, rockabilly, and alt-country. The record was produced by Dave Edmunds (Rockpile, Ringo Starr) so it has a big pop sound! Great album artwork--some light ring wear, but overall a glossy fun cover. Very slight shelf wear on the edges and small amount of bend on top left and bottom right of cover. Inner sleeve is intact, but has some tearing where the record has come through, so the record is now stored outside of the original inner to protect and keep that as it is (see images for more). Record media is super clean and has been play-tested--it sounds great! Fun LP!

Description: "Angel With A Lariat is the major label debut album from k.d. lang and The Reclines, released by Sire Records in 1987. With Dave Edmunds in the producer's chair, the album often sounds more like rockabilly record than classic Country & Western. Featuring a big, snappy drum sound, with plenty of guitars mixed upfront, and lots of slap-back of lang's impeccable vocals.

The album spawned several memorable singles like "Turn Me Round", "Pay Dirt" and "Rose Garden". However, the biggest moment in her career at this point was fuelled by her cover of "Three Cigarettes In An Ashtray", the album's closer. She performed the song on the Johnny Carson Show that year, and it's regarded as the breakout performance in k.d.'s legacy. It was this moment that caught the attention of  Roy Orbison, which led to their duet on "Crying"."

"k.d. lang’s first independent album — her second with the reclines, who started as a Patsy Cline tribute band — is a fun and rollicking throwback to 1950s country music. Shifting between upbeat honky tonk numbers and melancholy weepies, the 25th anniversary re-issue of A Truly Western Experience is an album that devout k.d. fans should own, as it suggests some of the singer’s early ironic turns, which would later come to play in releases such as Drag.

The record begins with the kicking “Friday Night Promenade”, an enthusiastic number about “L.O.V.E” naturally. As she “shuffles her heels” and “dippity-do’s” her hairstyle, her band chime in with harmonica, violin, and steel guitar before launching into the soaring “Damned Old Dog”, where the most profound instrument that is Miss Lang’s voice lingers, swoops, and drawls. But this sombre mood quickly returns to dizzying heights with the twang-induced “Bopalena”, a cover song perhaps more synonymous with Webb Pierce or Ronnie Self.

As k.d. works her way through the number forcefully asserting that “she’s my gal”, one starts to catch a glimpse of what would soon become part of Lang’s sardonic flare. Listening to this now, these words seem like a tongue-in-cheek nudge from a performer who would become the most widely accepted LGBT figure in the world of country music. Since its release, Lang has managed to build a niche for herself by adopting various identities and personas within the traditionally conservative canon of country, and indeed within the easy listening genre generally.

Yet, beyond the subtext there are meaty numbers like “Pine and Stew”, and the alliterative, “Busy Being Blue” — a downhearted piece that bristles with longing and self-pity. This reissue by Bumstead Records also includes a number of live recordings counting the energetic “Johnny Get Angry” and “Mercy”, which finds k.d. squealing and shrieking a little like a restrained Janis Joplin. There is also a bonus DVD that holds the videos for “Hanky Panky”, “Bopalena”, and “Pollyann” with the set. ..." - Pop Matters

Grade: VG+ (Cover) / NM (Record)

TRACK LISTING SIDE A:

A1. Turn Me Round
A2. High Time For A Detour
A3. Diet Of Strange Places
A4. Got The Bull By The Horns
A5. Watch Your Step Polka

TRACK LISTING SIDE B:

B1. Rose Garden
B2. Turn Into My Wave
B3. Angel With A Lariat
B4. Pay Dirt
B5. Three Cigarettes In An Ashtray