K.D. Lang is that rare performer who has matured before our very ears. The Western Canada native launched her career with a blend of country-rock stylings and playfully punk-like attitude, by turns whimsical and subversive. She practically put the alternative in alt-country. But from the very beginning, her bravura singing belied her kitschy cowgirl outfits and spiky hair.

After independently releasing A Truly Western Experience on a Canadian label in 1984, which generated serious major-label interest in the States, lang joined Sire/Warner Bros. for her 1987 U.S. debut, Angel With A Lariat, produced by one-time Rockpile guitarist Dave Edmunds and cut with her then-band the Reclines. 1988 follow-up Shadowland brought Lang right to the heart of Nashville for a countrypolitan-themed collaboration helmed by legendary producer Owen Bradley, mentor to Lang’s idol, Patsy Cline.

However, Lang wasn’t interested in being pigeonholed. Her 1989 Grammy Award-winning Absolute Torch and Twang (Best Female Country Vocal Performance) wonderfully combined her love of country with increasingly sophisticated, emotive torch singing typified by definitive numbers like “Pullin’ Back the Reins” and “Trail of Broken Hearts” plus charming covers of Willie Nelson (“Three Days”) and Wynn Stewart (“Big Big Love”). Despite its success it would serve as Lang’s last album in the country vein and a masterpiece at that!

Out of print on vinyl for over 25 years, this 2016 reissue from Warner Bros. Records comes complete with a bonus 45rpm 7-inch of “Our Day Will Come” (K.D. Lang with Take 6) b/w “Three Cigarettes In An Ashtray” (K.D. Lang Live from BBC).