20-08-2019, 21:41
MARC COHN AND BLIND BOYS OF ALABAMA ~ Work to Do
(Can't find an album cover to copy - it shows up in the link below)
It beggars belief that Marc Cohn is not a whole lot better known and appreciated than he appears to be - a songwriter par excellence IMHO. He certainly seems quite happy to follow his own muse and pays no attention whatsoever to trends - what a relief.
There are three studio tracks on this album, the rest are from a live set. Marc Cohn has collaborated with Blind Boys before and this release incorporates some Cohn staples from throughout his career including “Walking in Memphis”, “Silver Thunderbird” (I prefer the original) and “Listening to Levon”, as well as the obligatory rendition of “Amazing Grace” ala Blind Boys and like no other version you’ve ever heard (they somewhat unusually seem to be singing it to the tune of “House of the Rising Sun”!!! Say what??! Mind you, one could adapt a whole lot of things to fit that progression, lol!) and another traditional number, “Walk in Jerusalem”.
There is an obvious rapport between the players and a definitive nod to gospel which is entirely to be expected, but it doesn’t altogether dominate – Cohn is in command. I am not familiar with the Blind Boys but the sound of a quartet (or so) of singers with one baritone and several other harmonising higher tones takes me back a way to dim and distant childhood.
AllMusic defines it as Pop/Rock and Blues which is why we are here. It's more a smorgasbord of pop, gospel and soul, I think, and may not be an immediately obvious choice for album of the month, but there are some good odds that it might be mine! Not a whole lot else out there to compare with these skills, at least not in the space of the most recent twenty days …
Here’s “Amazing Grace” … https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rWtZ1IhuWkI
And the title track …
(Can't find an album cover to copy - it shows up in the link below)
It beggars belief that Marc Cohn is not a whole lot better known and appreciated than he appears to be - a songwriter par excellence IMHO. He certainly seems quite happy to follow his own muse and pays no attention whatsoever to trends - what a relief.
There are three studio tracks on this album, the rest are from a live set. Marc Cohn has collaborated with Blind Boys before and this release incorporates some Cohn staples from throughout his career including “Walking in Memphis”, “Silver Thunderbird” (I prefer the original) and “Listening to Levon”, as well as the obligatory rendition of “Amazing Grace” ala Blind Boys and like no other version you’ve ever heard (they somewhat unusually seem to be singing it to the tune of “House of the Rising Sun”!!! Say what??! Mind you, one could adapt a whole lot of things to fit that progression, lol!) and another traditional number, “Walk in Jerusalem”.
There is an obvious rapport between the players and a definitive nod to gospel which is entirely to be expected, but it doesn’t altogether dominate – Cohn is in command. I am not familiar with the Blind Boys but the sound of a quartet (or so) of singers with one baritone and several other harmonising higher tones takes me back a way to dim and distant childhood.
AllMusic defines it as Pop/Rock and Blues which is why we are here. It's more a smorgasbord of pop, gospel and soul, I think, and may not be an immediately obvious choice for album of the month, but there are some good odds that it might be mine! Not a whole lot else out there to compare with these skills, at least not in the space of the most recent twenty days …
Here’s “Amazing Grace” … https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rWtZ1IhuWkI
And the title track …
"The surest sign that intelligent life exists elsewhere in the universe is that it has never tried to contact us." ~ Bill Watterson
