Taglines: There have been many great drivers but only one great passenger.
Even Cowgirls Get the Blues tells the story of Sissy Hankshaw, a woman born with a mutation (she would not call it a defect) giving her enormously large thumbs. The film is a transgressive romp, covering topics from homosexuality and free love to drug use and political rebellion to animal rights and body odor and religions. Sissy makes the most of her thumbs by becoming a hitchhiker. Her travels eventually take her to New York, where she becomes a model for a homosexual feminine hygiene products mogul, known as The Countess, a few years later, he introduces her to his “beauty ranch” the Rubber Rose Ranch.
The main plot revolves around the cowgirls who work at the ranch after they violently take over and drug the endangered whooping cranes who nest along the lake on their land making the once migratory birds stay. The cowgirls end up in a showdown with government agencies because the cranes won’t leave the ranch and the cowgirls refuse to allow the men on the ranch to take the cranes. Sissy and the ranch leader, Bonanza Jellybean have a brief love affair. After a fatal shootout between the cowgirls and the various agencies, the cranes leave, and Sissy takes over running the ranch.
Even Cowgirls Get the Blues is a 1993 American romantic comedy-drama film based on Tom Robbins’ 1976 novel of the same name. The film was directed by Gus Van Sant (credited as Gus Van Sant, Jr.) and starred an ensemble cast led by Uma Thurman, Lorraine Bracco, Angie Dickinson, Noriyuki “Pat” Morita, Keanu Reeves, John Hurt, and Rain Phoenix. Robbins himself was the narrator. The soundtrack was sung entirely by k.d. lang. The film was dedicated to the late River Phoenix.
About the Soundtrack
The soundtrack was released on November 2, 1993 by Rhino Records. k.d. lang performed the music. The album was composed by k.d. lang and Ben Mink. The soundtrack went top 10 in Australia and top 5 in New Zealand (#10 and #4, respectively), and also peaked at #82 on the Billboard 200 in the United States.
The record company’s advertisements brag that while everyone expected this collection to be just a movie soundtrack, “the project transformed into something no one expected: the new k.d. lang album.” Well, maybe–if you were expecting the next k.d. lang album to consist mostly of short instrumental pieces.
Of 16 tracks, only seven are full-fledged vocal numbers. These tend toward the thin yet charming: Several are in the languid, balladic vein of “Ingenue,” albeit with a lighter lyrical touch. And with more of Greg Leisz’s steel guitar back in the mix, you can hear lang’s hybridizing instincts further coalescing into a style that’s all hers–Connie Francis on the Plains, or cabaret-and-Western.
Off that track, the two furthest stylistic stretches provide a weird pair of polar vocal highlights: “Don’t Be a Lemming Polka,” her first all-out hoedown in a while, and “Just Keep Me Moving,” her first stab at disco.
But the varied and lackluster instrumental cues–which evoke more assured soundtrack stalwarts from Mark Isham to Ennio Morricone–suggest, predictably, that it will take more than one try for lang and co-writer and producer Ben Mink to develop a firm knack for film underscoring. Oh, well: Half of the next lang album’s better than none.
Tracklisting
“Just Keep Me Moving” (3:56)
“Much Finer Place” (0:51)
“Or Was I” (3:07)
“Hush Sweet Lover” (4:05)
“Myth” (4:08)
“Apogee” (0:37)
“Virtual Vortex” (0:44)
“Lifted by Love” (3:02)
“Overture” (2:03)
“Kundalini Yoga Waltz” (1:07)
“In Perfect Dreams” (3:07)
“Curious Soul Astray” (3:40)
“Ride of Bonanza Jellybean” (1:47)
“Don’t Be a Lemming Polka” (2:17)
“Sweet Little Cherokee” (2:48)
“Cowgirl Pride” (1:47)
Even Cowgirls Get the Blues movie trailer.
Even Cowgirls Get the Blues (1994)
Directed by: Gus Van Sant
Starring: Uma Thurman, Lorraine Bracco, Angie Dickinson, Noriyuki “Pat” Morita, Keanu Reeves, John Hurt, Rain Phoenix, Carol Kane, Sean Young, Roseanne Barr, Crispin Glover
Screenplay by: Gus Van Sant
Production Design by: Missy Stewart
Cinematography by: John J. Campbell, Eric Alan Edwards
Film Editing by: Curtiss Clayton, Gus Van Sant
Costume Design by: Beatrix Aruna Pasztor
Set Decoration by: Nina Bradford
Art Direction by: Dan Self
Music by: k.d. lang, Ben Mink
MPAA Rating: R for sexuality and some language.
Distributed by: Fine Line Features
Release Date: May 20, 1994
Views: 313
