MARC COHN
''LISTENING BOOTH:1970''
JULY 20 2010
43:00
1 /Wild World
Cat Stevens 4:14
2 /Look at Me
John Lennon 3:05
3 /Maybe I'm Amazed
Paul McCartney 3:17
4 /Make It with You 3:50
5 /The Letter
Wayne Carson Thompson 2:42
6 /The Only Living Boy in New York
Paul Simon 4:26
7 /After Midnight
J.J. Cale 2:50
8 /The Tears of a Clown
Henry Cosby / Smokey Robinson / Stevie Wonder 3:47
9 /No Matter What
Pete Ham 3:41
10 /New Speedway Boogie
Jerry Garcia 4:40
11 /Into the Mystic
Van Morrison 3:13
12 /Long as I Can See the Light
John Fogerty 3:15
Marc Cohn /Vocals
Rick DePofi /Horn, Percussion, Producer
India.Arie /Vocals
Curtis King /Vocals (Background)
Jim Lauderdale /Main Personnel, Vocal Harmony
John Leventhal /Arranger, Bass, Guitar, Keyboards, Organ, Percussion, Producer
Tim Luntzel /Bass (Upright)
Aimee Mann /Main Personnel, Vocal Harmony
Shawn Pelton /Drums
Rich Hinman /Pedal Steel
Kristina Train /Main Personnel, Vocal Harmony
James "D-Train" Williams /Vocals (Background)
Kenny Williams /Vocal Harmony, Vocals (Background)
REVIEW
By Thom Jurek
Marc Cohn is a songwriter and singer whose own work is full of original touches and excellent, and craft, such as on his hit "Walking in Memphis." Sometimes, as evidenced by the track "Let Me Be Your Witness," from 2007's excellent Join the Parade, he even reaches the level of the profound. His voice suits his own material perfectly -- but that's not the same thing as being an interpretive singer. Listening Booth: 1970 is an homage to the hit songs of that year. As a youth, Cohn claims he crouched inside a soundproof booth at his local record shop and was blown away by what he heard in these songs and others. He's claimed in interview that these songs and others like them set him upon his chosen path as a musician. Fair enough. That said, he should have written those memories down in a journal rather than recorded them.
Cohn just isn't singer enough to pull any of these tunes off -- with one exception, and that's because of his duet partner. Iconic songs, such as Paul McCartney's "Maybe I'm Amazed," John Fogerty''s "Long as I Can See the Light," J.J. Cale's "After Midnight," Cat Stevens' "Wild World," Paul Simon's "The Only Living Boy in New York," the Boxtops' "The Letter," and Van Morrison's "Into the Mystic" are nearly murdered by Cohn's shortcomings as an interpretive vocalist and his plodding, unoriginal, overly sentimental arrangements. There are a few guest vocalists that help him out -- or at least do their best trying -- Aimee Mann on Badfinger's "No Matter What," India.Arie on David Gates' (Bread) "Make It with You," and newcomer Kristina Train on Smokey Robinson's "Tears of a Clown." Because of Cohn's singing, however, these end up in worse shape than the tracks he tries solo. (It would be nice to hear more from Train, however, because she's clearly talented.) Only the reading of the Grateful Dead's "New Speedway Boogie" gets pulled off on this set, and that's largely because of Jim Lauderdale's wily, reckless, free-spirited vocals. Listening Booth: 1970 might make for an interesting gab bit on NPR, but not something to listen to -- even once -- all the way through. This album is a huge misstep in Cohn's career; hopefully, he has this virus out of his system and can go back to writing and recording original material.
BIOGRAPHY
by Kelly McCartney
One Sunday morning in the early '70s, a youngster in Cleveland caught an earful of Van Morrison's Astral Weeks and his life was never to be the same. That kid was Marc Cohn, and soon after that morning, he bought everything Morrison had released to date, along with works by Joni Mitchell and Jackson Browne. Soon thereafter, an older brother taught him a Ray Charles tune on the piano, and he joined a cover band, Doanbrook Hotel. He sang with them from junior high school until he left home for Oberlin College. All the while, Cohn learned to play guitar and was dabbling with the craft of songwriting, since the cover band played everything but the kind of songs he loved so dearly.
At Oberlin, Cohn taught himself to play piano and a lasting bond formed. After transferring to UCLA, he hit the Los Angeles coffeehouse circuit. Cohn then made yet another move, this time to New York to be with his fiancée, and he formed the Supreme Court, a 14-piece band complete with horn section. Putting unusual spins on popular tunes, the band gained a following that included Carly Simon, who recommended they play at Caroline Kennedy's wedding. That gig seemed like a good stopping point, and Cohn left the band to focus once again on his own songs.
He sent a piano/vocal demo to Atlantic Records and landed a deal, and from there he co-produced his debut with Ben Wisch with some assistance from John Leventhal. What emerged was a beautifully tasteful and intelligent album that included the hit "Walking in Memphis" and won Cohn a Grammy Award for Best New Artist. The Rainy Season followed in 1993 and was a thematic complement to Cohn's debut. Folks like David Crosby and Graham Nash stepped up to the mike to lend their vocal support to this soulful new talent.
Cohn was quiet for several years, returning in 1998 with the release of Burning the Daze. Another studio hiatus followed, during which he released an independent live compilation. Cohn was also shot in the head when victimized by an attempted carjacking -- thankfully, the musician recovered, and he subsequently released Join the Parade, perhaps his strongest effort to date, in 2007. In 2010, Cohn returned with Listening Booth: 1970, a collection of cover songs that were originally released during the titular year. In addition to crossing genres from rock to soul to folk and pop, it features vocal performances from India.Arie, Jim Lauderdale, Aimee Mann, and Kristina Train on a third of the album's dozen tracks.
OFFICIAL SITE
''LISTENING BOOTH:1970''
JULY 20 2010
43:00
1 /Wild World
Cat Stevens 4:14
2 /Look at Me
John Lennon 3:05
3 /Maybe I'm Amazed
Paul McCartney 3:17
4 /Make It with You 3:50
5 /The Letter
Wayne Carson Thompson 2:42
6 /The Only Living Boy in New York
Paul Simon 4:26
7 /After Midnight
J.J. Cale 2:50
8 /The Tears of a Clown
Henry Cosby / Smokey Robinson / Stevie Wonder 3:47
9 /No Matter What
Pete Ham 3:41
10 /New Speedway Boogie
Jerry Garcia 4:40
11 /Into the Mystic
Van Morrison 3:13
12 /Long as I Can See the Light
John Fogerty 3:15
Marc Cohn /Vocals
Rick DePofi /Horn, Percussion, Producer
India.Arie /Vocals
Curtis King /Vocals (Background)
Jim Lauderdale /Main Personnel, Vocal Harmony
John Leventhal /Arranger, Bass, Guitar, Keyboards, Organ, Percussion, Producer
Tim Luntzel /Bass (Upright)
Aimee Mann /Main Personnel, Vocal Harmony
Shawn Pelton /Drums
Rich Hinman /Pedal Steel
Kristina Train /Main Personnel, Vocal Harmony
James "D-Train" Williams /Vocals (Background)
Kenny Williams /Vocal Harmony, Vocals (Background)
REVIEW
By Thom Jurek
Marc Cohn is a songwriter and singer whose own work is full of original touches and excellent, and craft, such as on his hit "Walking in Memphis." Sometimes, as evidenced by the track "Let Me Be Your Witness," from 2007's excellent Join the Parade, he even reaches the level of the profound. His voice suits his own material perfectly -- but that's not the same thing as being an interpretive singer. Listening Booth: 1970 is an homage to the hit songs of that year. As a youth, Cohn claims he crouched inside a soundproof booth at his local record shop and was blown away by what he heard in these songs and others. He's claimed in interview that these songs and others like them set him upon his chosen path as a musician. Fair enough. That said, he should have written those memories down in a journal rather than recorded them.
Cohn just isn't singer enough to pull any of these tunes off -- with one exception, and that's because of his duet partner. Iconic songs, such as Paul McCartney's "Maybe I'm Amazed," John Fogerty''s "Long as I Can See the Light," J.J. Cale's "After Midnight," Cat Stevens' "Wild World," Paul Simon's "The Only Living Boy in New York," the Boxtops' "The Letter," and Van Morrison's "Into the Mystic" are nearly murdered by Cohn's shortcomings as an interpretive vocalist and his plodding, unoriginal, overly sentimental arrangements. There are a few guest vocalists that help him out -- or at least do their best trying -- Aimee Mann on Badfinger's "No Matter What," India.Arie on David Gates' (Bread) "Make It with You," and newcomer Kristina Train on Smokey Robinson's "Tears of a Clown." Because of Cohn's singing, however, these end up in worse shape than the tracks he tries solo. (It would be nice to hear more from Train, however, because she's clearly talented.) Only the reading of the Grateful Dead's "New Speedway Boogie" gets pulled off on this set, and that's largely because of Jim Lauderdale's wily, reckless, free-spirited vocals. Listening Booth: 1970 might make for an interesting gab bit on NPR, but not something to listen to -- even once -- all the way through. This album is a huge misstep in Cohn's career; hopefully, he has this virus out of his system and can go back to writing and recording original material.
BIOGRAPHY
by Kelly McCartney
One Sunday morning in the early '70s, a youngster in Cleveland caught an earful of Van Morrison's Astral Weeks and his life was never to be the same. That kid was Marc Cohn, and soon after that morning, he bought everything Morrison had released to date, along with works by Joni Mitchell and Jackson Browne. Soon thereafter, an older brother taught him a Ray Charles tune on the piano, and he joined a cover band, Doanbrook Hotel. He sang with them from junior high school until he left home for Oberlin College. All the while, Cohn learned to play guitar and was dabbling with the craft of songwriting, since the cover band played everything but the kind of songs he loved so dearly.
At Oberlin, Cohn taught himself to play piano and a lasting bond formed. After transferring to UCLA, he hit the Los Angeles coffeehouse circuit. Cohn then made yet another move, this time to New York to be with his fiancée, and he formed the Supreme Court, a 14-piece band complete with horn section. Putting unusual spins on popular tunes, the band gained a following that included Carly Simon, who recommended they play at Caroline Kennedy's wedding. That gig seemed like a good stopping point, and Cohn left the band to focus once again on his own songs.
He sent a piano/vocal demo to Atlantic Records and landed a deal, and from there he co-produced his debut with Ben Wisch with some assistance from John Leventhal. What emerged was a beautifully tasteful and intelligent album that included the hit "Walking in Memphis" and won Cohn a Grammy Award for Best New Artist. The Rainy Season followed in 1993 and was a thematic complement to Cohn's debut. Folks like David Crosby and Graham Nash stepped up to the mike to lend their vocal support to this soulful new talent.
Cohn was quiet for several years, returning in 1998 with the release of Burning the Daze. Another studio hiatus followed, during which he released an independent live compilation. Cohn was also shot in the head when victimized by an attempted carjacking -- thankfully, the musician recovered, and he subsequently released Join the Parade, perhaps his strongest effort to date, in 2007. In 2010, Cohn returned with Listening Booth: 1970, a collection of cover songs that were originally released during the titular year. In addition to crossing genres from rock to soul to folk and pop, it features vocal performances from India.Arie, Jim Lauderdale, Aimee Mann, and Kristina Train on a third of the album's dozen tracks.
OFFICIAL SITE
