Editor’s Note: The Albumism staff has selected what we believe to be 50 Essential Albums by LGBTQ Artists, representing a varied cross-section of genres, styles and time periods. Considering that the qualifier “LGBTQ” can often be open to various interpretations, for the purposes of this particular list, we have defined an artist as LGBTQ if he, she or they have ever publicly identified as lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and/or queer. Moreover, albums by groups have been included in the list if any of their members fit the aforementioned criteria, even if some members do not.
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K.D. LANG | Invincible Summer
Warner Bros. (2000)
Selected by Quentin Harrison
The commercial and critical triumph of Ingénue (1992) showed that k.d. lang’s exile from country music due to her coming out—she originated from this genre—was that movement’s loss. In the wake of Ingénue, lang stayed busy with her own studio affairs and assorted soundtracks assignments.
When Invincible Summer debuted in June 2000, it saw the Canadian chanteuse place her instrument in a gossamer spun collection of tracks worthy of her gift. The dual beauties of “The Consequences of Falling” and “Summerfling”—which pull the curtain back on the record—are enviously cinematic and the album carries on in this way up until its last, elegant breath with “Only Love.”
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