Walking home today I felt an easy contentment
come over me. People I knew recognized me from their cars, waving and honking enthusiastically.
Random, not entirely sober dudes mistook the honking for them and took it all
well when they realized their mistake. The world just seemed at peace with itself.
And the whole journey home I was in the company of a very old friend – this next
album.
Disc 1293 is… Famous Blue Raincoat
Artist:
Jennifer Warnes
Year of Release: 1986
What’s up with the
Cover?
The titular blue raincoat. This one is pretty wrinkled, like it’s just come out
of summer storage. Below the raincoat it looks like someone has emptied out an
ashtray on the bedspread, which is rather rude.
How I Came to Know
It: I was a fan of Leonard
Cohen and this record was a pretty popular collection of his songs back when I
was attending university. It ended up being one of my first CDs and I still own
it today.
How It Stacks Up: This is the only Jennifer Warnes album I have,
so it can’t stack up.
Ratings: 4 stars
I’ve always been one of those people who likes
the sound of Leonard Cohen’s voice. I like the voices of Bob Dylan and Kris
Kristofferson as well. I have no issue with gravelly old guys singing as long
as the songs are good. So when I heard about “Famous Blue Raincoat” back in
1988 my first thought was, “why would anyone do an album full of Leonard
Cohen covers? Aren’t his original versions awesome enough?” They are, but
Jennifer Warnes’ extended love letter to his work won me over with its grace
and beauty.
At the time I was decidedly anti-cover, and
only wanted to hear the original artist singing their songs. This all seems a
bit silly now, the more so considering how much I was into Celtic folk music at
the time. Almost every album in that genre has at least one traditional tune on
it that’s been sung by dozens of people over the years. Somehow the incongruity
of my position on covering a ten year old song and covering a 300 year old song
never occurred to me.
Jennifer Warnes helped disavow me of such
folly. As a song on the record notes, their ain’t no cure for love. There is,
however, a cure for narrow-mindedness, and hearing her sing Cohen’s songs on “Famous
Blue Raincoat” was a big part of that journey for me. Warnes’ voice is rich and
pure and she belts it out with a simple confidence, devoid of a bunch of runs
and vocal gymnastics that a lesser performer might resort to.
She doesn’t need this sort of cheap trick,
because she gets these songs, understanding their bones like she wrote
them herself. This depth of understanding helps her honour the brilliance of
Cohen’s poetic soul, while still infusing them with her own unique artistry.
There are even songs where – to my shock – I found
myself preferring her cover to the original. On “First We Take Manhattan”
smooth jazz elements actually help create the feeling of a dystopian future the
lyrics intend. “Joan of Arc”
benefits immeasurably by being a duet between Joan and the fire that consumes
her (Cohen provides guest vocals to sing the part of Fire, in what is one of his
better vocal performances).
While I didn’t prefer “Ain’t No Cure for
Love” and “Coming Back to You” over Cohen’s versions, I did like the
way Warnes infused a thread of optimism and playfulness into songs that have a
more somber approach coming off Cohen’s tongue.
My one gripe with the record is that its
production and arrangements are so typical of their time. 1986 was not a kind
year, and the excess use of saxophone solos was rampant. It works on “First
We Take Manhattan” but in other places it sometimes had me feeling like I
was in the middle of an episode of Moonlighting. One of those moments where
Maddie and David have had a fight and are now rolling around in their beds in
the moonlight, pining for one another.
This sax assault is particularly egregious on “Bird
on a Wire.” This song works best as a song of quiet regret and doesn’t
deserve some bizarre noodle-fest evoking a “life in the city is tough”
vibe.
Fortunately, those moments are generally eclipsed
by Warnes’ brilliant vocal performance and her clear connection to the songs. Her
versions don’t outshine Cohen’s, and she doesn’t get lost in their shadow
either. She comfortably and confidently stands alongside them; different but
equal. In the process she helps show young idiots like me that great art has
many facets, and there are benefits from seeing those facets from a fresh
angle.
Best tracks: Famous Blue Raincoat, Joan of Arc, Ain’t No Cure
for Love
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