quintessentially k.d.

By Derek Paiva
Advertiser Entertainment Writer

Vocalist k.d. lang makes her Hawai'i concert debut Monday night at the Waikiki Shell, joined by the Honolulu Symphony. Jeri Heiden k.d. lang with the Honolulu Symphony Orchestra 7 p.m. Monday Waikiki Shell $45, $55 (877) 750-4400

The gifted Canadian-born vocalist has fronted a different symphony orchestra at each stop for the past year in support of the 2004 CD, and will perform the tour's final show with our own Honolulu Symphony next week.

But ask lang to cover "Summer of '69" or, say, anything from "South Park: Bigger, Longer, Uncut" on Monday night and you'll likely get a look from the otherwise easygoing singer that's chillier than a Great White North winter.

"Hymns," you see, finds lang honoring the more musically and lyrically spare, geographically-inspired side of Canadian songwriting. Released in July, "Hymns" is an album of intimate, low-key interpretations of songs that have inspired lang as far back as her teenage years growing up in Consort, Alberta, population 650.

Recorded mainly with a piano, guitar and bass trio (with an occasional hint of drums and strings) over the sparest of arrangements, "Hymns" features lang taking on compositions by Neil Young, Joni Mitchell, Leonard Cohen, Bruce Cockburn, Ron Sexsmith and Jane Siberry.

Phoning from an Adelaide, Australia, tour stop, lang was an intelligent, direct conversationalist. When discussing her craft she was thoughtful and serious — rarely padding an already concise thought with unnecessary verbiage. Pleasant and humble, she laughed most often at her own expense or when pleased with a turn of conversation.

"I had been thinking about this one for a while," lang said of "Hymns." "But it was working with Tony on the 'American Songbook' and hearing Tony talk about the 'American Songbook' that really put things into focus for me."

Tony was Tony Bennett, a legendary interpreter of American standards and a longtime collaborator and friend of lang's. In 2002, the pair completed work on the duet CD "A Wonderful World," a collection of standards popularized by Louis Armstrong.

"That started me thinking that there was a great Canadian songbook that people knew about ... but hadn't been done as a collective or a compilation," said lang. "And I really wanted to celebrate the great songwriters that we have."

The singer dug deep into her own music collection for potential songs. Bandmates and friends fed her a diet of songs to consider and scoured Canadian music encyclopedias and song lists. With lang angling for more than songs simply written or recorded by fellow Canadians, this took some time.

"The selection of songs was based on two criteria," said lang. "One, that I had a personal connection to it and that it really had helped develop me as a singer. Also, I wanted to illuminate the concept I have that Canadian songwriters rely heavily on the geography and the landscape of Canada to express themselves spiritually and emotionally.

"The title 'Hymns of the 49th Parallel' — the spirituality of the geography and the environment of Canada — was really where I wanted to put my attention. Certainly, there's a lot more great songs. But I wanted there to be some coherent feel to the songs."

Among lang's selections were Young's "Helpless," which illustrates a town's fading glory with ragged clarity, and his "After the Gold Rush," addressing environmental turmoil. Another obvious choice was Sexsmith's "Fallen," a composition rich with solemn seasonal imagery.

In the end, lang entered the studio with the same 11-song list she'd initially jotted down and a mission to do right by her heroes' original works.

"It was a bit ominous," said lang. "Unlike the 'American Songbook,' which comes from an era of songwriters writing for singers, the Canadian songbook — or the one I did — came from singer/songwriters who had already, quintessentially, recorded the songs. Joni Mitchell, Neil Young and Leonard Cohen just happen to be some of the finest musicians in popular music."

In the studio with veteran arranger Eumir Deodato, who had worked with musicians ranging from Earth, Wind & Fire to Astrud Gilberto, "I kept the arrangements very simple so that the song was in the forefront and even me, as the singer, was behind that," said lang. "The arrangements were structured to celebrate the song."

The result is a record full of wonderfully subtle discoveries for longtime lang fans who have happily followed the 43-year-old Grammy winner's muse from the kitschy cowpoke country of her mid-'80s output to '90s dabblings in adult contemporary pop and lush standards.

Told that her Siberry interpretations on "Hymns" inspired her inquisitor to finally purchase two CDs by the musician after years of putting it off, lang was elated.

"Good!" she said, laughing heartily. "Actually, I should ask Jane if she's seen an increase in sales. I'd like to hope so because I really think Jane Siberry is just an amazing songwriter.

"She's kind of like Bjork — a very creative person, very unrestrained and not really restricted to the ideals of the record business. And I think she gets overlooked ... even in Canada."

The singer's take on Siberry's "The Valley" — a secular interpretation of the 23rd Psalm — is one of "Hymns' " highlights.

" 'The Valley' is my favorite song of all time," said lang, quietly. "The lyrics express a type of passion and equanimity that I really personally believe and adhere to."

Leonard Cohen's "Hallelujah" — currently experiencing a resurgence of interest thanks to increased usage of Jeff Buckley's 1994 version in film and television soundtracks — was another obvious choice for lang.

"(Buckley's) is really the most beautiful version of all," said lang. "It probably resonates with the irony of the age of society right now. And it just goes to show how prophetic Leonard Cohen is, and how he really understands the human condition. His songs have lasted a really long time."

Told that "Hymns" was reminiscent of a mix-CD of love songs to Canada, lang downplayed reading even that much into the collection.

"It's simpler than that," said lang. "What I wanted to do was celebrate the sort of songs that I think really capture the essence of my Canada ... of my upbringing. I could've gotten really really clever or really intellectual or really obscure with the selections. But to me, it wasn't about that."

Lang circled back to the record's titular theme of songs of joy and praise for her native country.

"I really think they're spiritual. That's why I called these songs 'Hymns of the 49th Parallel.' I think of them as songs that express a type of spirituality that is very rooted in nature ... that nature plays a huge role in."

Reach Derek Paiva at dpaiva@honoluluadvertiser.com or 525-8005.

Lang's lastest CD, titled "Hymns of the 49th Parallel," was released in July. She plans to share many of the songs from that release at Monday night's Waikiki concert. Caroline McNamara

... her Waikiki Shell show — the last of her one-year symphony tour — being at its peak of perfection:

"Maybe a little past perfection ... if it ever got to be there. (Laughs heartily.) Maybe we're a little past ripeness now."

... the current set list:

"About two-thirds of 'Hymns' ... (and) my favorite songs that would work with a symphony ... round off the show. It really kind of goes all the way back to the beginning."

... post-show time off in Hawai'i:

"No, I'm goin' home! I'm goin' home. I'm tired. We get a couple of days in Hawai'i, so I'll definitely be jumping in the ocean. But I've been gone awhile, so I really want to just get home to my dogs, you know?"

... the best new musician she's been listening to:

"I really like Madeleine Peyroux. That's kind of the youngster I'm into right now."

... which of her 13 CDs she'll never listen to again:

"All of 'em. I never listen to my own music."

... the best words of career advice she's ever received:

"It's common advice, and something you never get tired of hearing or practicing: Just follow your instincts. I've always heard it and continue to hear it."

... how often a Los Angelino still visits Canada:

"Oh, quite a bit. My mom still lives there. My family still lives there. I still own a house in Vancouver."

... where a Honolulu-based writer who's never been to Canada should 1) visit first, and 2) visit before he dies:

"Vancouver! Vancouver! Vancouver! (Laughs.) It's just a beautiful city. It really gives you everything you could want — forests, mountains, skiing, beaches. It's very cosmopolitan. There's good restaurants."