What would the soundtrack for a lesbian series be without the requisite girl/acoustic guitar combos? The genre is well represented on this recording. Amy Cook contributes “A Million Holes in Heaven,” a sparse hummer-strummer number, and Frazey Ford of The Be Good Tanyas stands out with a rendition of a traditional folk song, “In My Time of Dying.” Her gorgeous and trembly vocals are accompanied solely by percussive, rhythm acoustic guitar on this L Word soundtrack exclusive.

Fans of Lilith Fair darling Tracy Bonham are treated to two tracks—“Naked” and “Whether You Fall”—both off of her 2005 album, Blink the Brightest. A classically trained violinist, Bonham lends her clear vocals and storytelling lyrics to both songs. On “Whether You Fall” she proves to be a virtuoso when it comes to humming, pulling off a series of remarkable arpeggios with equally impressive vibrato. She will be performing this song live on one of the new season's episodes.

“I Will Go Quietly” is another introspective track, this one featuring the elfish but sultry voice of Shivaree, who sounds a bit like Cyndi Lauper on slow speed. On the twangier side of things we get Eldorado's slide-guitared “Jaded Julie” and Neko Case's “Porchlight.” The latter sports near-yodely vocals layered over soaring, haunting reverb and pedal-steel.

As with previous L Word soundtracks, female vocalists dominate this compilation. And D'Angelo, the only male vocalist, has a voice almost high enough to be mistaken for the soothingly low-pitched voice of a woman. His version of the Roberta Flack classic “Feel Like Makin' Love” (not to be confused with the rock anthem made famous by Bad Company) stands out with its funk and wawa pedal, and is a welcome salve after Tegan and Sara's aural assault a few tracks earlier.

Other neo soul tracks include legendary Nona Hendryx teaming up with L Word's own Pam Grier and Betty (whose members perform, and simply show up, altogether too often on the show) for “Transformation.” It's a revamped version of Hendryx's disco-era mantra of inclusion, and kicks off with Grier intoning: “It's a sistah thing / It's a w-o-m-a-n thing / And we're coming together / We're pulling ourselves together / Sisters! / It's all about transformation.” In the '70s Hendryx was one third of Labelle, the pioneering trio of black female rockers famous for “Lady Marmalade.” Her bold low voice anchors this song, complementing Grier's spoken word and outshining Betty.

Page 1 / 2 - Next