Famous Blue Raincoat (25 Anniversary Edition)
Jennifer Warnes
Stevie Ray Vaughan, Bill Payne, Van Dyke Parks, Leonard Cohen
Engineer: Henry Lewy, Bill Youdelman,
Producer: C. Roscoe Beck, Jennifer Warnes
Shout! Factory, 2007
1 CD
Catalogue #: 10490
EAN: 0826663104905
UPC: 826663104905
You save: 20%
Personnel: Jennifer Warnes (vocals), Fred Tackett, Michael Landau, Robben Ford (guitar), David Lindley (lap steel guitar), Sid Page, Barbara Porter (violins), Novi Novog (viola), Larry Corbett, Suzie Katayama (cellos), Paul Ostermayer (tenor saxophone), "Reverend" Dave Boruff (saxophone), Bill Ginn (piano, synthesizer), Gary Chang (synthesizers, programming), William "Smitty" Smith (synthesizer, Hammond B-3), Russell Ferrante (synthesizer), Richard Feves, Jorge Calderon (bass), Roscoe Beck (bass, guitar, acoustic bass, synthesizer), Vinnie Colaiuta (drums), Larry Brown, Steve Forman, Lenny Castro (percussion), Bobby King, Terry Evans, Kal David, Willie Greene Jr. (background vocals).
Like Bob Dylan, Leonard Cohen has the distinction of being a superior songwriter whose often-covered songs seldom rival the original (due in part to Cohen's inimitable voice). That changed with the appearance of Jennifer Warnes' FAMOUS BLUE RAINCOAT. Best known for her soft rock-oriented pop material, Warnes took a surprising (and critically acclaimed) turn on a this collection of first-rate interpretations. Cohen and Warnes worked together on the album (he duets with her on "Joan of Arc"), so these versions carry the poetic depth and breadth of Cohen's original vision. The arrangements might be glossy compared to Cohen's stark originals, but they also suit Warnes' smooth, accomplished approach. "First We Take Manhattan," "Ain't No Cure for Love," and the title track are standouts.
Tracklist
Stevie Ray Vaughan
In the 1980s, many assumed blues rock was left for dead, but Stevie Ray Vaughan helped breath life back into it. More than a straight-ahead bluesman, Texas-native Vaughan was influenced as much by Jimi Hendrix as he was by Otis Rush, and the singer/songwriter/guitarist possessed jaw-dropping technical abilities and pure soul in equal amounts. With his trio Double Trouble (later expanded to include keyboardist Reese Wynans), Vaughan helped spearhead something of a blues revival in the '80s. Like his hero Hendrix, though, the flamboyant guitar hero died too soon, killed in a helicopter accident in 1990.
Van Dyke Parks
One of pop music's more eccentric figures, songwriter, producer, and performer Van Dyke Parks is perhaps best known for his lyrical and conceptual contributions to Brian Wilson and the Beach Boys' legendary lost album, SMILE. Parks made a name for himself around Los Angeles in the '60s as a creative gun for hire, and in 1968 he released his debut album, SONG CYCLE, a challenging pastiche of popular musical forms from throughout American history. His equally challenging follow-up, 1969's DISCOVER AMERICA, looked more toward the sounds of the Caribbean than continental America. In 1995 he reteamed with Wilson for the album ORANGE CRATE ART.
Leonard Cohen
Montreal's Leonard Cohen was a well-respected poet and novelist before he ever entered the songwriting fray in the 1960s. His dark, poetic vision rivaled that of Dylan, and his songs inspired countless cover versions, by everyone from Judy Collins to Nick Cave. Over the years, he honed his craft to a razor's edge, his passion always expertly undercut by a biting sense of black humor. His early recordings were largely acoustic affairs, but by the end of the 1980s he had reinvented his sound, successfully incorporating synthesizers and contemporary production techniques while still sounding very much like himself (and gaining a new generation of followers in the process).
