LANG, KD

DRAG is one more inspired nail in the coffin of Lang's image as a neo-country singer. On the heels of 1995's electronic/dance-oriented ALL YOU CAN EAT, DRAG purports to be a concept album, with all the songs thematically linked by the common subject of cigarettes and smoking. While this link is tenous, uniting such tunes as the Hollies' "The Air That I Breathe" and an otherwise-inexplicable cover of Steve Miller's "The Joker," what really matters here is not the concept, but the music. With production aid from jazz-pop ace Craig Street (Cassandra Wilson, Jimmy Scott), Lang offers up a sumptuous collections of ballads, gorgeously arranged and beautifully sung. Despite her reputation as a belter, she approaches the songs on DRAG with grace and subtlety, making this lush collection a stirring, understated pleasure.

Estimated despatch 5-10 days after ordering.