I’m trying to imagine a world in which creating an all-star act is actually as simple as one member (in this case, countrypolitan superstar k.d. lang) sending an email to the others (alt-country goddess Neko Case and folk heroine Laura Veirs) saying, “I think we should make a record together.” But that is, in fact, the backstory behind case/lang/veirs, perhaps as fine a record as you’re likely to hear in 2016. I cannot state this argument strongly enough—nobody saved their best stuff for themselves, their own solo releases, for future projects. Instead, they all brought their A-game material to the table and let the others do what came naturally: sing harmony, find ways to enhance them instrumentally and generally just “make some killin’ tunes together.”
It’s as unselfish and egoless a collaboration as I can recall hearing—something that a band full of dudes would have no doubt screwed up with credit-taking, territorial pissing and the like—and all that’s required is but a single spin through the record to fall head-over-heels for gems such as Veirs’ “Song For Judee” (Sill, the late, legendary, drug-addled ’70s folkie), Case’s jaw-droppingly beautiful “Atomic Number” and “Behind The Armory” or any number of future lang classics (vibe-laced “Honey And Smoke” and late-nightish/vampy “1000 Miles Away” certainly rate). Hearing records as effortlessly great as this one makes me laugh out loud at the entirety of the ELP catalog. Or the very thought of Asia. Long live c/l/v.
—Corey duBrowa
