Recollection 2 CD Set

Almost every song on this double disc "Recollection" of k.d. lang's finest is a gem. I can't argue with any of them. Her voice is a treasure of emotional intensity and vulnerability, and her interpretive skills are with few rivals in modern music. So why not five stars?

Well, frankly, the collection is skimpy. There's easily another half hour's space available between the two discs, room enough for at least one song from "Angel With A Lariat" and "Live By Request" or a couple more songs from "All You Can Eat." Or a few more one-off singles, like her duet with Andy Bell on "No More Tears." At least they did us the favor of only repeating one song from the "Reintarnation" set ("Trail Of Broken Hearts"). Oh well.

However, the second CD of odds and ends totally justifies buying this set. It pulls a batch of songs out of soundtrack obscurity, like her original duet of "Cryin'" from the forgettable Jon Cryer movie "Hiding Out." Or her tear jerking rendition of "So In Love" from the "Red Hot and Blue" charity project. There's also a new song, the sweet "Beautifully Combined." And while I am not all that thrilled that two versions of "Hallelujah" are here, you have to admit, her version rivals the late Jeff Buckley's for goosebump inducement.

Overall, "Recollection" is far from a bad collection of k.d.'s work. It's just that there is so much more to hear that I kept waiting for more songs to come out of my stereo once the discs were inserted.

Great Cd but unfortunately the Cd will skip
and say error because of scatches on the lasy 2 songs
which one happens to be my favorite

I always find compilations a bit suspect, especially when they include "previously unreleased material". One can't help but wonder if there wasn't a perfectly fine reason these were never released, specifically because they simply aren't all that good; they didn't make the cut. This is not the case here, though, as lang lends her lovely voice and writing skills (she co-wrote three of the 11 previously unreleased songs) to this effort. I am left to wonder why some of these superb renditions were never put out there, and her version of Lennon and McCartney's "Golden Slumbers/The End" is particularly beautiful.

Of course, much of these are not in fact being heard here for the first time. I am not enough of an aficionado to know the entire history of these songs, but I know that Jane Siberry released this version of "Calling All Angels" years ago. I also believe the duet with Tony Bennett was released by him (I know I've heard it before), and I have heard her version of Cole Porter's "Love for Sale" prior to this. Still and all, it is great to have them all in one place, and to have an alternate version of her stupendous rendition of Leonard Cohen's "Hallelujah" is an added bonus.

The first disk of this set is not as inspiring, simply because it is something of a miniature Greatest Hits, and there is little need to release them here except to beef up what would otherwise have been a rather thin compilation. As with any such selection of 11 songs, there will be debate over which should have been included, but I think it would be indisputable that better choices may have been made.

All in all, though, buy this album for the second disk of "unreleased" songs and you will not be disappointed. A great overview of a splendid talent.

An amazing CD set. Love all of the music. A must for your music library.

What a pleasure listening to this CD, k. d. lang's voice is truly amazing! I still can not decide which version of "Hallelujah" I like better. she is a true artist!