Marc Cohn --- Marc Cohn --- 1991 (Atlantic)
Something of a throwback to the early seventies, Marc Cohn's debut album reminds me of those singer/songwriter albums from the likes of Paul Simon, James Taylor, Harry Chapin and Justin Hayward. Simple, personal songs played with passion and sincerity, no real push to get a hit single but more a desire to make an album that is intimate and means something. And yet, the very first track off it became a huge success, though after that not so much.
With its flowing piano melody, “Walking in Memphis” reminds me of nothing more than Bruce Hornsby, until that is Cohn's deep, soulful voice comes in, and you kind of wonder, looking at the picture of him on the sleeve, how can such a guy have so deep a voice? It's almost impossible to associate the two. But he does a great job on the opener, with a great organ solo and some really effective gospel singing as the song goes on. I don't really need to go into too much detail, do I? It was a huge success and was on the radio for longer than I care to remember. Great song.
But as sometimes happens, “Memphis” was a two-edged sword. Yes, it got him noticed by the mainstream (including me: I had no idea who he was till that single, but then, no-one had, as this was his debut album) and scored a hit in the charts, gaining massive radio airplay, but when it came time to follow that hit up, it just didn't happen. His next single only got to the number 63 slot, and the one after that fared even worse. To many people then, Marc Cohn was a “one-hit-wonder”, but people like that only buy singles, and had they shelled out for the album and took the time to appreciate Cohn's songwriting they would have discovered that here indeed was a rare talent, who did not deserve to be judged on one, admittedly hugely successful, song.
Though he's had four albums since this one, and survived an attempt on his life in a carjacking, Cohn has been largely forgotten by the mainstream music press, despite the fact that he won an American Music Award AND a Grammy for this album in 1991, plus a nomination for a Grammy in 1992. But there is so much to enthuse about on this album, and very little, if anything, disappoints.
“Ghost train” is nicely understated, with a great bass line and a nice soul beat, while “Silver Thunderbird” evokes the best of early Springsteen, with memories of his father and his coveted car set to a nice piano and keyboard tune:
”Don't you give me no Buick/ Son you must take my word/ If there's a god in Heaven/ He's got a silver Thunderbird.”
Very country/bluegrass opening to “Dig down deep”, acoustic guitar carrying the tune, helped along by some fine mandolin from Robin Batteau, Cohn's organ coming in slowly and gracefully as the song builds and then fades slowly away, bringing in the gentle sway of “Walk on water”, ghostly keyboard ushering the song along, joined by bright piano, Cohn's sonorous voice rising above it all, taking command and focussing the ear on his pitch-perfect singing, a faultless delivery which can whisper or shout with equal effectiveness.
The first really uptempo song is “Miles away”, where Cohn gets to unleash the full power of his assembled band of musicians, creating a very radio-friendly song which should have got more attention, and might have, had it been released as a single. It has a great sense of fun and escapism about it, in contrast to the more or less introspective style of the preceding tracks. In essence, if the bulk of Marc Cohn's album is folk rock, then “Miles away” is his full-out rock track. Where the rest make you think, make you listen, this one makes you tap your foot, which can never be bad.
“Saving the best for last” goes back to the gentler, folk-influenced style, with jangly guitar and light percussion, a nice insistent bass keeping the rhythm fresh. “Strangers in a car” is a lovely little piano-driven ballad, another song of escape mixed with possible danger, whether it's the danger of accepting the lift from the stranger, or that of missing out on the chance to get away.
”It might be the highway to Heaven /And it might be the road to ruin.”
The only track not written by Cohn is a cover of Willie Dixon's “29 ways”, sung acapella except for drums and with great acapella backing vocals, low organ in the background until Cohn rips off a pretty funky solo and then finishes the song off with a flourish on the organ, bringing in “Perfect love”, a fine acoustic ballad with definite shades of early Dire Straits, and guest backing vocals from the legendary James Taylor, and finishing off with “True companion”, a gentle little piano ballad whose melody recalls parts of the opener, his big (and only) hit, “Walking in Memphis”, and features some lovely violin and French horn, bringing a really fine debut album to its satisfying close.
As I say, there really are no bad tracks on this, and Cohn hardly ever puts a foot wrong. Perhaps it might have been better had he not had his big hit, as it became, as these things often do, something of a millstone around his neck, a standard he could never again reach. But I would argue that there are tracks on this album that certainly do reach the quality of “Memphis”, though sadly the record-buying public and the label didn't seem to think so.
Cohn is still recording, and doing well, but his one-time shot at the charts definitely seems to have scuppered any real chance of his continuing to appeal to a wider audience, and his albums are more enjoyed by fans now than the mainstream. A pity, but that's how it goes. At least people are still enjoying his music. Why not join them?
TRACKLISTING
1. Walking in Memphis
2. Ghost train
3. Silver thunderbird
4. Dig down deep
5. Walk on water
6. Miles away
7. Saving the best for last
8. Strangers in a car
9. 29 ways
10. Perfect love
11. True companion