| Track: | Rating: | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. First We Take Manhattan | | | | | |
| 2. Bird On A Wire | | | | | |
| 3. Famous Blue Raincoat | | | | | |
| 4. Joan Of Arc | | | | | |
| 5. Ain't No Cure For Love | | | | ||
| 6. Coming Back To You | | | | ||
| 7. Song Of Bernadette | | | |||
| 8. A Singer Must Die | | | | | |
| 9. Came So Far For Beauty | | | | | |
All songs by Leonard Cohen except "Came So Far For Beauty" (lyrics: Leonard Cohen, music: Leonard Cohen and John Lissauer), and "Song Of Bernadette" (lyrics: Jennifer Warnes and Leonard Cohen, music: Jennifer Warnes and Bill Elliot).
Despite the fact that her two most famous singles -- vocal duets with Joe Cocker and Bill Medley, respectively -- are dreadful MOR tunes, Jennifer Warnes has actually made some attempts over the years to be taken seriously as an artist. One of these was Famous Blue Raincoat, an album of Leonard Cohen songs which predates I'm Your Fan by a fair number of years.
The back cover features Warnes and Cohen posing together (looking vaguely like Gillian Anderson and David Duchovny). Even though Cohen only appears on one track, this image seems quite appropriate. Throughout the course of the album, Warnes generally avoids making the songs "her own" -- the shadow of LC still weighs heavy over virtually every second of the work (which may very well have been the idea).
Although he's never had a "hit" as such in America, Cohen is a legendary figure in the Canadian market. The Montreal-based poet/singer/ songwriter easily ranks among the hierarchy of the entertainment industry in this country. Proof of his stature can be seen in the fact that he won an award for best Canadian male vocalist in 1993, despite the fact that he really can't sing very well (a fact which he alluded to in his acceptance speech).
I'm truthfully not clear on why Jennifer Warnes, of all people, would have chosen to do an album of his songs. Nevertheless, she did -- and while I'm not overly familiar with her solo career, it's probably safe to say that this release counts as a high point. It's certainly infinitely better than "The Time Of My Life", an astonishingly bad single released by Warnes & Medley later in 1987.
The album begins with "First We Take Manhattan", its debut single. The music is very much rooted in the pop stylings (and synth models) of 1980s, but isn't overly annoying as such. Lyrically, this is one of Cohen's better numbers, unifying many of his standard themes (his wandering nature, his Jewish background, historical redemption, etc) into a comprehensive whole that's both impressive and disturbing. Warnes's interpretation is about as good as a second-hand take of this sort could be -- she certainly sings better than Cohen does, but ultimately lacks the same conviction behind her lyrics. Stevie Ray Vaughan's guitar part is good enough to make me wonder if I may have misjudged him as the most overrated guitarist of his time, though Vinnie Colaiuta (most famous for his role in Frank Zappa's band) doesn't do all that much here. A good opening.
This leads to "Bird On A Wire", one of Cohen's earlier recorded numbers. This version has a distinct "1987" feel to it, most notably in the rhythmic, quasi-reggae backing which Colaiuta provides -- I'm not sure that it fits the song, but it works well enough on its own. The song suffers a bit from the absence of Cohen's wistfully desperate vocal tone [yes, you read that right] -- Warnes sings this one in a bit too "happy" of a tone; unlike the previous track, the lyrics themselves aren't capable of entirely invoking the right mood. The music at the end of the track makes up for this, though -- the bass/percussion duet is certainly worth a listen, as are the gospel backing vocals and saxophone contribution.
"Famous Blue Raincoat" is one of Cohen's best numbers, and it isn't terribly surprising that it would be the best track on the album. Warnes actually comes closer to capturing the mood of the song here than elsewhere, although she still seems to be focusing a bit too much of her attention on singing the lyrics in the "proper" melodic manner (this wasn't what made the song worthwhile in the first place, of course). The string effects are used quite well, especially the lead violin part. Cohen's description of a mysterious messianic figure is interpreted well here, although the removal of Cohen's name from the final line can't help but be a bit awkward.
Cohen joins Warnes on "Joan Of Arc", the former's attempt at converting a prosaic nightclub encounter into an epic historical drama (and not for the last time, at that). The co-mingling of the two singers -- taking the roles of the different characters involved -- comes off as slightly awkward on first listen, but makes more sense on subsequent hearings; it's to the credit of both involved that Cohen doesn't totally outshine Warnes on this number. The music is rather restrained at first, though the wide screen finally erupts towards the end, with Colaiuta taking a more innovative role. The first half of the album thereby ends on a strong note.
This, sadly, leads to a curious lull within the work. The next three songs are clearly below the quality level of the rest of the album, and the responsibility may fall on both Cohen and Warnes. "Ain't No Cure For Love", "Coming Back To You" and "Song Of Bernadette" are not the best songs in Cohen's catalogue, and it isn't entirely clear why they were covered here -- the idea of "Leonard Cohen playing around with ordinary pop themes" becomes much less interesting when the "Leonard Cohen" aspect of the equation is removed, after all. Surely something better could have occupied this space -- "The Partisan" or "Avalanche", perhaps, or even "Suzanne". For Warnes's part, she doesn't really do an incredible job on these numbers either, bringing their value down further.
"Ain't No Cure For Love" is a slightly countryish ballad, which Warnes can't make much of despite using the better range of her voice -- the novelty value of Cohen doing this sort of music is lost in the remake. "Coming Back To You" is a prosaic description of a young proletariat slowly returning to a former relationship -- a few clever metaphors can't disguise the fact that this isn't really much of a song. Finally, "Song Of Bernadette" (lyrics co-written by Warnes, presumably for this particuarl project) has a promising enough theme -- a vision of the "queen of heaven" by a small child -- but squanders it on a formulaic peace/ protest theme which doubles as a formulaic pop number. If this song is typical of Warnes's solo work, it may be for the better that I'm not overly familiar with it. That these three songs fall in sequential order makes the process of CD-skipping fairly easy, but that can't quite justify their presence here.
Things improve again with "A Singer Must Die". This a cappella arrangement of the song is simply bizarre in its overly impact, with some downright weird vocal harmonies emerging through the mix. The singalong bit that follows can't help but seem even more bizarre in the process. Cohen's tale of a singer on trial for "the lie in his voice" is given a haunting reading here, and one deserving of its place on the release.
The album then ends with "Came So Far For Beauty", the story of a pilgrim's journey through different lifestyle incarnations towards some great, unknowable messianic figure. The lyrical nature of the track makes it work fairly well as a closing track, and the piano lead carries the musical aspect of the song fairly well. After a bit of a slump, the album thereby ends on a strong enough note.
It would be pointless to analyse this release in terms of Warnes's career -- my admittedly limited knowledge of this field suggests that the entire project was something of an anomaly for her. Rather, it can be seen as one of many catalysts for the supersaturation of the market with LC-related material in subsequent years. With the advantage of having beaten "the storm" by several years, this album is thereby deserving of a certain element of praise.
On its own terms, its a good enough album (though obviously not a "progressive" work). Zappa fans might which to examine the range of VC's extracurricular activities through this work, although the purchase could hardly be considered essential as such.
(review originally posted to alt.music.yes on 17 April 1998)