David Honigmann
By David Honigmann
FT
January 26 2008 02:00
K.D. Lang
Watershed
Nonesuch ****
In the 1990s, Lang parlayed her combination of retro country swing and
swooning torch singing into the mainstream. Since Ingénue , however,
she has made quirkier concept records, celebrating vegetarianism,
smoking and Canadianism. Watershed revels in lush textures: vibes on
"Je Fais La Planche", piano on "Shadow And The Flame". Strings heighten
the drama, but there is also pedal steel guitar, banjo and trumpet from
Jon Hassell. Lang’s voice still swoops and plunges in paradoxically
reflective ecstasy.
Djivan Gasparyan
The Soul Of Armenia
Network (2 CDs) ****
One of the most distinctive sounds in the world of music is the duduk,
the twin-reeded flute of apricot wood that is recognised by UNESCO as a
"masterpiece of intangible cultural heritage". Its prime exponent is
the Armenian musician Djivan Gasparyan, whose melancholy folk melodies
won him admirers who stretched from Brian Eno to the Queen. This
compilation includes nine new recordings, and a range of Gasparyan’s
previous work, including collaborations with Michael Brook and Nusrat
Fateh Ali Khan.