The album opens with a heartbeat rhythm, then a cello warms the tone to provide a base from which lang’s voice can rise as she sings Neil Young’s "After the Gold Rush." From the very introduction, this album engages the listener in a sectarian reverence reinforced by the simplicity of the piano and stringed instruments.

"Helpless," another haunting song by Young, had me humming all week. The lyrics lang is working with in this song are spare, but the emotion projected through her voice is amazing. Again there are no percussive instruments, just the gentle rhythm of the bass and a strummy, loose guitar.

Lang covers herself on "Simple," a song off of her 2000 album Invincible Summer. I loved that album because it had such an innocent pop sound to it, sort of a Beach Boys throwback. Very complex yet deceptively clean and easy to listen to. The 2000 version of "Simple" is a little sing-songy, like a children’s song. I like the newer version on hymns much better. It has a richer arrangement and more sophisticated sound thanks to the addition of more orchestration.

"The Valley," her Siberry cover, shows off what makes lang an amazing vocalist. Her voice nimbly dances through her range without hesitation, unimpeded by electronic syncopations or complex instrumental flourishes. Her version of this song makes singing seem effortless.

The highlight of hymns is Leonard Cohen’s "Hallelujah"--get the album for this song alone. My friend commented that it sounds like lying in bed on Sunday morning with the newspaper and talking to your girlfriend. This song of unvarnished examination of struggle in love is injected with intense sensuality and longing by lang. I would love to hear this with a gospel choir backing up k.d.

I didn’t care for "Jericho." It’s pitched a little high for my taste and it sounds like a schmaltzy hotel-lounge act. This song seems slightly out of place in this album except that it fits with the secondary motif, which is love, and k.d.’s voice is made for singing about love. Her voice shimmers in its pure intensity.

k.d. lang is currently on tour with her band, playing with local symphonies at each tour date. My neighbor, a not-easily-excited gay guy, saw her in San Francisco and swore he had goose bumps for an hour after the show. I asked him if that was from paying a hundred bucks for a 45-minute show, but he said no, it was her amazing voice live that set him aflutter. Check out kdlang.com for tour information.

Amazon.com: hymns of the 49th parallel