Absolute Torch and Twang

Her last album with the Reclines, and the one that gave her a country hit in Full Moon Full of Love.
k.d. lang, 1989

Released: 1989
Studio: Vancouver Studios, Vancouver, British Columbia
Label: Sire, Warner Bros.
Producer: Greg Penny, k.d. lang and Ben Mink
Length: 41:31

Credited to k.d. lang and the Reclines, it was produced by Greg Penny, lang and Ben Mink. Lang and Mink wrote most of it, with Willie Nelson's Three Days, Wynn Stewart's Big, Big Love and Full Moon Full of Love among the songs by others. The Five Blind Boys of Alabama sang background vocals, Greg Leisz played steel guitar and Ed Thigpen was one of two drummers.

The album reached number 12 on Billboard's country albums chart and number 69 on the Billboard 200, and was certified platinum in Canada and gold in the US. It won lang the Grammy for Best Female Country Vocal Performance. Fred Dellar of Hi-Fi News and Record Review said it blended aspects of country music with the sounds of a late night, 40's jukebox. Mink later said that by this point he and lang were chasing the Nashville thing and working off formula, which led them to make Ingénue.

Track listing

Luck in My Eyes4:10
Three Days3:17
Trail of Broken Hearts3:24
Big Boned Gal3:08
Didn't I3:39
Wallflower Waltz4:22
Full Moon Full of Love2:49
Pullin' Back the Reins4:23
Big, Big Love2:29
It's Me2:20
Walkin' in and Out of Your Arms3:03
Nowhere to Stand4:27

Personnel

k.d. lang vocals, guitar
Ben Mink organ, guitar, mandolin, mandola, violin, strings, bowed bass
Greg Leisz steel guitar, slide guitar
Gordie Matthews guitar
Michael Creber piano
John Dymond bass
David Piltch fretless bass, bowed bass
Michel Pouliot drums
Ed Thigpen drums
Graham Boyle percussion
The Five Blind Boys of Alabama background vocals

More from k.d. lang

Shadowland (1988), Ingénue (1992), Drag (1997), Hymns of the 49th Parallel (2004)

Sources

Absolute Torch and Twang, Wikipedia
Classic Track: Constant Craving, k.d. lang, Mix (2013-08)