Shadowland (k.d. lang album)

Shadowland
Studio album by k.d. lang
Released	1988 (1988)
Studio	Bradley's Barn, Mount Juliet, Tennessee
Genre	Country, pop
Length	35:17
Label	Sire, Warner Bros.
Producer	Owen Bradley
k.d. lang chronology
Angel with a Lariat (1987) Shadowland (1988) Absolute Torch and Twang (1989)

Shadowland is the debut solo album by k.d. lang, released in 1988 (see 1988 in music). The album included her collaboration with Kitty Wells, Loretta Lynn and Brenda Lee on "Honky Tonk Angels' Medley" and was produced by Owen Bradley, who produced Patsy Cline's best-known work.

Critical reception

Professional ratings

Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	[1]
Los Angeles Times	[2]
Record Mirror	4+1⁄2/5 [3]
Rolling Stone	[4]
The Rolling Stone Album Guide	[5]
The Village Voice	B [6]

The Toronto Star determined that "Shadowland is a self-conscious anachronism, haunted by vague, 25-year-old memories... It's as purely retrogressive and deferential as the Dave Edmunds-produced Angel with a Lariat, which came mighty close to re-defining country music, was radical and innovative." ^[7]

Track listing

Side one

1. "Western Stars" (Chris Isaak) – 3:12
2. "Lock, Stock and Teardrops" (Roger Miller) – 3:28
3. "Sugar Moon" (Cindy Walker, Bob Wills) – 2:26
4. "I Wish I Didn't Love You So" (Frank Loesser) – 3:07
5. "(Waltz Me) Once Again Around the Dance Floor" (Don Goodman, Sara Johns, Jack Rowland) – 2:35
6. "Black Coffee" (Sonny Burke, Paul Francis Webster) – 3:17

Side two

1. "Shadowland" (Dick Hyman, Charles Tobias) – 2:28
2. "Don't Let the Stars Get in Your Eyes" (Slim Willet) – 2:20
3. "Tears Don't Care Who Cries Them" (Fred Tobias, Charles Tobias) – 3:03
4. "I'm Down to My Last Cigarette" (Harlan Howard, Billy Walker) – 2:46
5. "Busy Being Blue" (Stewart MacDougall) – 3:40
6. "Honky Tonk Angels' Medley" – 2:55
   • "In the Evening (When the Sun Goes Down)" (Leroy Carr, Don Raye)
   • "You Nearly Lose Your Mind" (Ernest Tubb)
   • "Blues Stay Away from Me" (Alton Delmore, Rabon Delmore, Wayne Raney, Henry Glover)

Personnel

• k.d.lang - vocals
• Harold Bradley - banjo, bass, ukulele, gut string guitar
• Jimmy Capps - rhythm guitar
• Buddy Emmons - pedal steel guitar
• Greg Leisz - lap steel guitar
• Tony Migliore - piano, accordion
• Roger Morris - piano
• Hargus "Pig" Robbins - piano
• Hal Rugg - pedal steel guitar
• Buddy Spicher - fiddle
• Henry Strzelecki - bass
• Pete Wade - electric guitar
• Rob Hajacos - fiddle
• Buddy Harman - drums
• Jim Horn - saxophone
• The Nashville String Machine
  • Bill McElhiney - arrangements
  • David Angell - violin
  • Roy Christensen - cello
  • Connie Ellisor - violin
  • Ted Madsen - violin
  • Bob Mason - cello
  • Pamela Sixfin - violin
  • Carl Gorodetzky - violin
  • Dennis Molchan - violin
  • George Binkley III - violin
  • John Borg - viola
  • Gary VanOsdale - viola
  • Anthony LaMarchina - cello
  • Lee Larrison - violin
• The Jordanaires - vocals on "Western Stars", "I Wish I Didn't Love You So" & "Tears Don't Care Who Cries Them"
  • Gordon Stoker
  • Louis Dean Nunley
  • Neal Matthews, Jr.
  • Duane West
• Tennessee - vocals on "Lock, Stock and Teardrops", "Sugar Moon", "Don't Let the Stars Get in Your Eyes" & "I'm Down to My Last Cigarette"
  • Hurshel Wiginton
  • Doug Clements
  • Louis Dean Nunley
  • Jim Ferguson
• The Honky Tonk Angels - vocals on "Honky Tonk Angels' Medley"
  • Brenda Lee
  • Loretta Lynn
  • Kitty Wells

Production

• Producer: Owen Bradley
• Engineer: Bobby Bradley

Chart performance

Weekly charts Chart (1988) Peak position Canadian Country Albums ( RPM ) 23 Canadian Albums ( RPM ) 9 US Billboard 200 [8] 73 US Top Country Albums (Billboard) [9] 9 Chart (1994) Peak position Australian Album (ARIA) [10] 164

Year-end charts Chart (1988) Position US Top Country Albums (Billboard) [11] 32 Chart (1990) Position US Top Country Albums (Billboard) [12] 67

Certifications

Region	Certification	Certified units/sales
Australia (ARIA) [13]	Gold	35,000^
Canada (Music Canada) [14]	Platinum	100,000^
United States (RIAA) [15]	Gold	500,000^
^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.

References

1. Deming, Mark. "Shadowland – k.d. lang / k.d. lang and the Reclines". AllMusic . Retrieved May 24, 2022.
2. McKenna, Kristine (May 29, 1988). "Lang Clones Cline". Los Angeles Times . Retrieved May 24, 2022.
3. Zeppelin, Geoff (July 9, 1988). "K D Lang: Shadowland". Record Mirror . London. p. 32.
4. Guterman, Jimmy (June 16, 1988). "k.d. lang: Shadowland". Rolling Stone . New York. Archived from the original on January 16, 2008. Retrieved May 24, 2022.
5. Considine, J. D. (2004). "k.d. lang". In Brackett, Nathan; Hoard, Christian (eds.). The New Rolling Stone Album Guide (4th ed.). Simon & Schuster. pp.  474–475. ISBN   0-7432-0169-8.
6. Christgau, Robert (March 14, 1989). "Christgau's Consumer Guide". The Village Voice . New York. Retrieved April 29, 2013.
7. Quill, Greg (April 29, 1988). "K. D. Lang's Shadowland a classic heartbreaker". Toronto Star . p. F7.
8. "k.d. lang Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved December 26, 2020.
9. "k.d. lang Chart History (Top Country Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved December 26, 2020.
10. "k.d. lang chart history, received from ARIA on May 10, 2024". Imgur.com. Retrieved June 16, 2024. N.B. The High Point number in the NAT column indicates the release's peak on the national chart.
11. "Top Country Albums – Year-End 1988". Billboard. Retrieved December 26, 2020.
12. "Top Country Albums – Year-End 1990". Billboard. Retrieved December 26, 2020.
13. "ARIA Charts – Accreditations – 1996 Albums" (PDF). Australian Recording Industry Association . Retrieved November 28, 2021.
14. "Canadian album certifications – k.d. lang – Shadowland". Music Canada . Retrieved November 28, 2021.
15. "American album certifications – k.d. lang – Shadowland". Recording Industry Association of America . Retrieved November 28, 2021.