Artists might write songs for very personal and individual reasons, as a way of sharing experiences and thoughts or perhaps to exorcise demons or give thanks for good fortune or great people in their lives. But what those songs then might mean to other people is something beyond their control. What an artist says and how it is interpreted by the listener are two very different things. Just as every person walks their own path, how songs speak to them is just as personal; the meanings change to echo our own experiences. And that is what is at the heart of Lurleen Ladd’s fourth album, Reclaimation.
As the title suggests, this is the sound of her giving us her own take on well-known songs, songs that have spoken deeply to her and songs which are now reimagined in new ways to capture something that reflects the effect that these 80s stalwarts and standards have had on her throughout her life. It is a way of “looking back in order to move forward.”
The album opens with the recent single, ‘Walk of Life,’ the Dire Straits classic here heading into more spacious, rootsy territory; guitars now growl, the beat rolls rather than rocks, Hammonds haunt the background, and light streams through this more poised piece.
Springsteen’s ‘Dancing in the Dark,’ an upbeat and contagious song, becomes a seductive ballad built on ephemeral sonics and a Latin sway; ‘Love is a Battlefield’ moves from powerhouse anthem to seductive torch song, which frames the emotive lyrics more clearly and the unrequited love of ‘Jessie’s Girl’ is even more palpable as understatement replaces pop-rock anthemics. Talking Heads ‘Road to Nowhere’ rounds the album off, now dark and mysterious, almost apocalyptic and laying bare the sense of loss and hopelessness.
This is more than an album of covers. Well, obviously it is, but it is an album where songs are transformed into a soundtrack for Lurleen Ladd’s own life. The additional sparse deliveries, the often rootsy darkness and raw emotion draw out additional meaning and emotion. It is also a reminder that the story of any song is never truly finished, that all are open to interpretation and reimagining, reworking and rejuvenation and that for all the original artist’s intent, they can become personalised, not for better or worse, merely to reflect someone else’s life experiences. The results, as they are here, can be astonishing.
