Lurleen Ladd Revisits the ’80s Through a Life Lived on Reclamation

Reclamation is Lurleen Ladd's way of returning to the songs she grew up listening to and recording them from the perspective she has now, decades after they once became a core part of her life. The album features renditions of well-known songs from artists like the Dire Straits, John Mellencamp and INXS with each song being reworked according to Lurleen's pacing, vocal delivery and instrumentation choice, making each track come across sounding noticeably different to their original counterpart while still maintaining some sense of the character and familiarity that made the songs memorable in the first place. What makes Reclamation come across as interesting is how those differences are not the same across each track since songs like "Walk of Life" take on a more upbeat, funky and retro feel while "Pink Houses" slows things down with a softer and more reflective arrangement and "Mystify" is a balance between the two with calmer vocals and a slightly funkier sound. By doing this, Lurleen is able to approach each song with more room to showcase differences and how her own experiences now affect the way she sings songs that first meant something to her when she was younger.

"Walk Of Life" starts out sounding more upbeat with a slight funky feel to it and some lighter vocals before Lurleen's voice comes in and gives the song this country-retro character. Since the song follows a quicker pace, this helps keep things feeling lively while still also having this slightly mysterious quality layered underneath. In doing so, this separates it from the more playful character of the Dire Straits original while also ensuring that listeners can feel a sense of familiarity to the song. Lurleen Ladd also brings in more bluesy and psychedelic touches through the production, which gives her version a rougher and more spacious sound without taking away from the country-retro elements present in her vocal delivery.

"Pink Houses" on the other hand slows things down considerably, focusing on delivering a more mellow feel that allows Lurleen Ladd's vocals and the meaning behind the lyrics to come through more prominently. The piano here plays a central role across the whole song with the strings and the St. James Episcopal Church choir being incorporated to give the song a fuller feel without making it feel busy. Since Lurleen's vocal delivery is softer and takes on a more reflective tone here, it works well with the poetic quality of the lyrics and also gives the song this soothing feel even though the subject matter is heavy as it focuses on inequality and the problems surrounding the American Dream. Lurleen also makes a small change to the opening lyric by shifting the perspective away from the man deciding he "has it good" and instead places the judgement on the people looking at his life from the outside which makes the social commentary behind her attention feel more impactful and direct.

"Mystify" brings back some of the funkier and retro qualities heard earlier on the record, but the overall pace of this song feels more restrained in comparison to "Walk Of Life." Lurleen Ladd's vocals in this song come across sounding lighter and calmer as it progresses, but there is still quite a bit of power that can be heard in her delivery especially in the way some moments stop the song from feeling overly soft. The arrangement also brings in this bluesier feel, with Jackie Venson's work on the guitar adding more character to the song without overpowering Lurleen's voice. This combination therefore gives "Mystify" a different feel from the more urgent INXS original while still keeping enough of the song's familiarity for the melody and vocal lines to remain recognizable.

Alongside these individual reinterpretations, Lurleen Ladd also had a direct role in the way Reclamation was put together from coproducing the album alongside Eddy Hobizal to also working with David Pulkingham on the arrangements. The album has also brought together musicians like Chris Maresh who plays bass, Kyle Thompson who handles the drums and Kevin McKinney and David Pulkingham on electric guitar, with Hobizal playing the keyboards and Alice Spencer contributing to the background vocals. Merrily Garrett also worked on the vocal production, while Hobizal completed the mix and Holger Lagerfelt mastered the album. The cover artwork for Reclamation has also been specially created by world-renowned artist Ashley Longshore, giving the album another notable collaboration.Together, these contributions have helped bring Lurleen Ladd's ideas to life across a record that still feels personal to the way she wanted to revisit these songs while giving each one enough difference to stand out against the originals.

Check out the album below and you can keep up with Lurleen on Instagram here.