Cohen Cover Revelations

I grabbed Leonard Cohen's I'm Your Man off a dingy rack of DVDs at the local grocery store cum gas station. Didn't expect much; hadn't heard of most of the cover "artists".

It was godawful.

What a useless gang of washed-up has-beens, or maybe never wases, populated this sad collection. Some must have been pulled from punk rock groups. Family connections were everywhere apparent. It made me wonder if: a) the whole show was cast from people on Mr. Cohen's Montreal street; or, b) he wouldn't allow anyone onstage who might outclass him?

Then a revelation . .

After what seemed endless hours of agony, Antony (Hegarty) delivers (channels?) a musical masterpiece with "If It Be Your Will".¹  Artistic genius, perfect from beginning-to-end.

Add his name to Jeff Buckley's for out-of-the-park Leonard Cohen covers.²

And another . .

Teddy Thompson makes "Tonight Will Be Fine" country, not quite what the songwriter had in mind. He makes me believe.

But Teddy's version of "The Future" is a stunner. My guess is he owes much to Hal Willner³ for arrangement. Whatever it took, it's sustained, unmatched brilliance — live for seven full minutes.⁴

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1. my ear always converts it to "If It Be Thy Will".
2. it was a commemorative show in honor of his father Tim Buckley, produced by Hal Willner, that launched Jeff's career.
3. when he commemorates Richard and Linda Thompson, we know who'll be there (with kid sister Kami).
4. so good it makes me enjoy the song in spite of its troubling message.

Covering Cohen

I was first introduced to Leonard Cohen in the early '70s, back when he had quite a sweet singing voice himself. Before he'd taken on the croaking-toad manner of singing so common to fellow older Jewish males. Here I'm referring both to Bob Dylan and Neil Diamond, though I think they came by it more through substance abuse.

His voice was spare in the days but quite listenable. Even fine. "Suzanne" is one of the great songs of the rock era, certainly, and nobody does a better version of it than the author himself. I say this even after having listened to the much-vaunted Nina Simone cover. Forget Judy Collins (and somebody please shoot Nick Cave).

This was long before he'd written the darker works he's produced in later decades. Partly because I was young, but mostly because the early Leonard Cohen albums were in a pile of great music that emanated from this country in those days, I recall nothing special about the impact the man and his music had on me. 

The major wallop came much later in life:

The first time I heard Jeff Buckley's "Hallelujah".

That earth-shattering event occurred in 2002 or 2003. I played Buckley's cover over-and-over, for what seemed like hours, at top volume. I credit this one recording with single-handedly restoring my faith in rock music.

Now the second wallop, reeling as I am in the post-viewing-phase of "Leonard Cohen: I'm Your Man", the Cohen cover song lovefest recorded by a ragtag band of inbred (seemingly) musical oddities (mostly) set on destroying the poor man's artistic legacy.

But then . .

Where Has This Guy Been?

A CHANGE OF HEART
by Boudleaux and Felice Bryant

Well, I guess you must have had a change of heart
You don't treat me like you did at the start
Your campaign of love was quite a work of art
But I guess you must have had a change of heart.

Guess I took too much for granted anyway
But it's just cause I'd believe those things you'd say
Not so long ago you'd swore we'd never part
Well, I guess you must have had a change of heart.

Say goodbye to all those castles in the air
And goodbye to all the plans we used to share
They were fragments of a dream that fell apart
Now they're gone because you had a change of heart.

They're all gone because you had a change of heart...

"Your Destructive Days Are Through"

Says Order to Chaos:

. . Your destructive days are through!

Says Chaos to Order:
. . Then I put an end to you.
May 12, 2010

New Genius: Terri Allard

I've met Terri Allard.  I've seen her play (with her father).  I recognized her as a solid country performer.  One of many.  Nothing too extra special.  Then someone sold me a stack of her CDs at an ultra-deep discount (needing to score, I guess).  I never got around to listening to them.  I'd been doing her a favor.  Wasn't too interested.

Then I took a trip and was forced (forced I tell you) to load some of these CDs on my laptop.  God I hate Windows Media Player.  Never figured it out; never cared to.

Somewhere in all that stumbling, I stumbled upon "Makes No Sense" on the record of the same name.  Produced in 2002.  I now hail Terri Allard as a genius.  I've been listening to it back-to-back every since, just that one song (if only Media Player could work that for me automatically).  Last song I did that with was Leonard Cohen's "Hallelujah" sung by Jeff Buckley.

"Makes No Sense"
by Terri Allard

Makes no sense for me to love you
Makes no sense to even try
Oh, my mind knows I can't have you
But my heart does not know why.

Makes no sense to think about you
'Cause it always makes me cry
Yet thoughts of you remain as true as the phases of the moon
Steady as the ocean tide.

Crashing over me, oh, you surround me
And it feels so good 'til you pull me down
I'm tumbling around and around and around
The more I fight the more I fall
It makes no sense to me at all.

Makes no sense racing down the highway
Trying to catch a speeding train
Or to stand beside the ocean
Staring down a hurricane.

You'd never wrestle with a lion
Because you know you'd never win
Yet here I fight these thoughts of you
Knowing full well I will lose
They rise and fall and rise again.

Crashing over me, oh, you surround me
And it feels so good 'til you pull me down

I'm tumbling around and around and around

The more I fight the more I fall

It makes no sense to me at all.

Makes no sense for me to love you.

(c) 2002 Terri A. Allard, BMI

"When Love Happens"

When Love happens . .
. . The people stare
. . . They look to gain position.

When Love happens . .
. . That special Thing
. . . That no one wants . .
The people sing.

When Love happens . .
. . When two hearts meet
. . . And all the World
Must skip a beat
. . We realize why we're here.
May 7, 2010

"To Say I Think of You"

To say I think of you
. . Is not news
It is not news
. . It is not Blues.

To say I think of you
. . Is just my way
. . . It is my day
It is so me it's now cliche.

I think of you when skies turns blue

When rain comes down

When suns comes out.

I think of you when seas turn green

When lightning crashes

When babies shout.

To say I think of you
. . Cannot be news
. . . No tongues wag
. . . No bells ring out
. . No history books ink
No scribes stop and think.

To say I think of you
. . That's just my way
. . . The way I play
. . . It makes my day
Thoughts of you light my way.
May 6, 2010