Ingénue Music

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For kd lang, "Ingenue" represents that supreme moment in her illustrious recording career. All of her innate gifts as a true music artist - poetic lyric-writing , communicative ability to breathe life into any song, and above all, her glorious inimitable voice - are enshrined in this album. "Ingenue" is a flawless gem! Casual listeners who buy "Ingenue" solely for the reason that "Constant Craving" (kd's world-wide big hit) is in it, and then grumble that the rest of the CD does not measure up to this one song, are missing the point of the album BIG-TIME.

"Ingenue", like many of kd's other albums, should never be perceived as a Madonna-esque or Britney-esque album --- chockful of over-the-top boopy songs with calculated catchy hooks which ensnare your ears and attention very quickly before losing your interest just as quickly. No. It is far more subtle and rewarding than that... "Ingenue" is one of those works of music-art which seem "bland" and unprepossessing upon the first few listens, but which slowly and surely encroaches upon your inner world until that day comes when you fully recognize kd's genius in each and every song.

When that blessed day dawns on you, dear kd-initiate, you will cease to regard "Ingenue" as an album containing nine bland, uncatchy songs leading to "Constant Craving", you will come to regard it as a flawless ten-movement vocal symphony which expounds on the profoundity of Love in its varied manifestations. You will also discover that this beautiful musical expression is achieved with a peerless efficiency: there is not a single superfluous/extraneous note sung or play in the entire album, every silky note and nuance emanating from kd's lips has its own niche in "Ingenue's" entire musical structure. And the cumulative result of it all is an album which boasts a tight musical cogency, so unified that the ten songs flow irrevocably and smoothly into one another - like rivers merging into a great ocean of sonic splendour.

It is for this reason that I refuse to single out any particular track on Ingenue for special mention. That would be akin to ripping out a thread from a fine brocade tapestry. Learn to appreciate "Ingenue" in this manner; if this is beyond you, I'd say you should leave kd aside and return to the ephemeral musical world of the Britneys and what-have-yous.

In a nutshell, "Ingenue" is one of only two albums I recognize as flawless works of modern music-art, the other being Sade's "Love Deluxe" (coincidentally, also released in the same year as "Ingenue"). This piece de resistance from KD will endure forever in the hearts of all those who appreciate the craft of fine musicianship.