A Few Thoughts Regarding Leonard Cohen

First, I will beg your forgiveness for not having updated since May; it's been a strange couple of months.

Since I'm on the topic of forgiveness, there are many things I forgive Leonard Cohen for. I can forgive his endless introductions of his band members, for those words show his gentlemanly bearing and infinite humility (qualities that many other musicians should learn from; any performer that has stomped off stage in a huff, I'm looking at you). I can forgive using a loop on a keyboard during "Tower of Song;" he was blessed with a golden voice, after all, and that allows the focus to be on that voice. I can look past his not singing several of his own songs in concert, taking a back seat as the back-up singers take the spotlight, as if he were saying, "There are other great musicians in the world; you should really be taking note since I like them too." I can't stand anything even remotely sounding like country, but how anyone can imagine doing anything other than taking his sweetie by the hand and dancing to the delightful hoedown that is "Closing Time?"

Several weeks ago, my friend Kevin called me at about 11am. He had a spare ticket to see Leonard Cohen perform at the Tower Theater in Philadelphia. As I recall, I told him that I wasn't all that familiar with Cohen's music, having only heard several covers. I didn't hesitate long, since, hey, free ticket, and I wasn't doing anything else that day (unemployment does have a few benefits). It was one of the best impulse decisions I have ever made.

Cohen's performance at the Tower Theater stands as my favorite live performance ever. As already noted, Cohen stands before his audience as a consummate gentleman, doffing his hat to his band with each introduction and treating his audience with every ounce of gratitude for sharing the evening with him and his compatriots. Even though he had a ridiculously large band backing him up, not once did a song seem overdone. Despite being 75 years of age, he presented an infinitely more polished show with more enthusiasm and grace than musicians a third of his age. And he was skipping off the stage like a giddy schoolboy! How he could have so much energy after performing for almost three hours boggles the mind. If I were to do such a thing, they'd have to carry me off halfway to being a cadaver under the heat of the stage lights.

The only thing that truly irked me and dampened the experience was the audience. I understand that they were all very excited by the show and to see one of the greatest lyricists in known human history, but did they have to give a standing ovation every three songs? Was it necessary to cheer wildly after the first thirty seconds of each song? And what the hell was with the inappropriate laughter in the first couple lines of his recitation (billed as "Recitation with N.L.," it's a variation on "A Thousand Kisses Deep")? That piece is the most soul-grinding piece of love-agony I have ever heard in my life, and people found it amusing? I don't suppose it's much to ask, but I would prefer the gentleman to be allowed to present his poetry without the constant interruption of people that absolutely cannot resist shouting.

I guess I can forgive the audience too. Their enthusiasm did get to be infectious. Especially the couple in the row in front of me that couldn't resist jumping out of their seats to kiss behind a nearby column. Sorry for staring, I just thought it was such a romantic thing to do.

Having thus had my mind and all expectations blown, I could not help but purchase Live In London. I'm not sure my bank account can handle the blow of reckless spending, but this is worth a little debt. It's also about as close to the Philadelphia show as I'll ever get short of having a recording of that specific show. Everything is spot on, and I don't believe the setlist to be varying much from what I saw.

Just as the performance at the Tower Theater is my favorite live experience, Live In London is the best live album in my collection. Nothing else can compare. It is one of the most soul-rending things ever committed to record to grace my music shelves. The audio quality is superb, Cohen's in-between song comments bespeak his graciousness, and the arrangement is magnificent. You cannot ask for more. If you are a fan, or are inexperienced with his music and just interested in wetting your feet in his material a little, Live In London comes highly recommended.

Now that I am through forgiving Leonard for anything that might be conceived as a shortcoming (mind you, none of it was, none of it could possibly be), I ask for his forgiveness. I am sorry I never gave his music a chance before being dragged to a concert that I had to bribed into by a free ticket. I am sorry for disregarding the advice of friends who recommended his work to me. I also hope he can forgive my audacity, my bold arrogance for thinking myself so high and mighty as to having any authority to forgive anyone of anything.

I know it's probably been said before, but Leonard Cohen really is our man. I hope he continues to show us how a musician should write, sing, and behave.



with thanks to Kevin for offering the opportunity to share a fantastic evening with him and his family

DeVotchKa, A Mad & Faithful Telling

I can't remember exactly where I first heard about DeVotchKa. Perhaps it was from one of the times I went trawling through ANTI- Records' catalog in a desperate search for something new. Or maybe it was through the myspace page of one of their friends of friends or something of that nature. In any event, I heard a couple of songs and was instantly intrigued.

I consider this one of my backlog albums from last year; it was released back in March of 2008, and I feel like I have been missing out on something quite magical. I only picked up A Mad & Faithful Telling last Saturday as a Valentine's Day gift to myself, and I count it as one of the better gifts I've given myself in the past couple years.

For those unfamiliar with the band, DeVotchKa is made up of four members (Nick Urata, Tom Hagerman, Jeanie Schroder, and Shawn King) and combines various different styles of music into a sort of ethnic blender with a dose of punk and folk to smooth out the mix. The result is absolutely delicious, something so familiar yet completely alien at the same time, utterly inescapable in its draw. Yes, this is a band that I have bought into hook line sinker just off one release.

How many times shall I tell thee that A Mad & Faithful Telling is a damn fine album? Ten times, music aficionados. From the first track to the last few notes, A Mad & Faithful Telling entertains with its variety and potency. Also important to note is that Nick Urata is a phenomenal songwriter (see Lyrics of The Day sidebar for evidence) in addition to being a powerful vocalist. The music is perfect and beautiful in every way. Picking out favorites is difficult since every song is so f#cking good, but the ones that really roped me in were "Transliterator," "The Clockwise Witness," and "Basso Profundo." While I'm not crazy about the sort of German Oktoberfest influence to "Blessing In Disguise," the lyrics are still of high quality and that oompah line stirs something in the genetic memory and makes me want to sway back and forth with a giant mug of beer in my hand.

Point in fact, most of this album makes me want to dance in some way. Not a thrashy sort of dance, or a night club grind, but a more intimate dance with a fine lady or gentle swaying back ang forth. You know, the sort of dance that actually requires steps and talent. I can't hold still while listening to this album.

My only complaint is that the album seems to lose steam at "Undone." While all the songs, and I do mean all, are very good, those last three tracks are lacking the energy seen in the early half of the album. Perhaps the band was looking for a gentle ending to the album and maintaining the excitement of the first half was not the intention, but it loses my attention rapidly while casually listing.

Notes on packaging: I love the cover image and choice of colors over all album materials. It actually comes with printed lyrics so we can read Urata's great songwriting! However, ANTI- needs to have a talk with the manufacturers of their digipaks; the tray doesn't appear to be glued on straight since part of the plastic is overhanging over the backing. Okay, that was my pointless nitpicking for this review; sorry I couldn't do better, but look at what I had to work with.

To summarize my rapidly dwindling thoughts on the matter, A Mad & Faithful Telling is a beautiful music experience. This is the classic notion of American ingenuity and melting pot aesthetic shaped into something truly extraordinary. If you haven't already picked it up, I strongly urge you to give yourself the gift of a new experience.

DeVotchKa's official website and myspace page

Sarah Slean, The Baroness Redecorates EP

Sorry for being scarce, my few but loyal readers. Well, at least I think you're loyal. Belts have been tight in these parts, so I haven't had the graft to keep up with everything I want to write about. For awhile, I was thinking about simply calling it quits rather than leave this thing open with nothing happening. However, we're back for at least one more ride around the block.

If you've been paying attention, you already know that I'm a huge sucker for women musicians that arm themselves with pianos. During my searches for new music to review this year, I stumbled onto a performer I had never heard of, Canadian native Sarah Slean. Unfortunately, someone at her record label has a vicious hatred of America, so her albums aren't released here in the USofA. Poo. That roadblock thus standing in my way, plus the fact that I was too stupid to simply visit the online store at her website, I never ordered The Baroness, her offering for 2008's list of new releases.

So, many months pass since I, like a bonehead, forget to buy The Baroness, instead wasting the money that would have been better spent on good music at worthless bars in my boring hometown. I spot a myspace bulletin from the Sarah Slean page, stating that a limited availability EP of b-sides and unreleased material was to be released within a few days of the post (December 9th, to be exact). The EP would only be available as a digital download, or as a CD sold at live shows and in small quantities at the online store. I hate it when artists do this; they put together a small release of songs that weren't widely available to begin with, and then only sell it at live performances. I notice this is done primarily by musicians that never tour anywhere near me, leaving me with the option of either buying it from some online scalper that marks up the price to double original sale, or resigning myself to never owning a physical copy and bootlegging the damn thing.

So, at some late hour December 8th, I created an account at sarahslean.com/store. By 12:05am December 9th, my order was placed for The Baroness Redecorates. By Saturday, it had arrived.

I can't say the packaging is anything extravagant. The cardboard sleeve method of CD packing seems to be cropping up everywhere, but this is ridiculous. You'd think they could have at least given it a double sleeve, inner and outer, for protection. Aside from women with pianos, I'm also a big sucker for fonts. The 1920's/1930's art deco sort of font that adorns the cover is quite nice, and very fitting for Slean's overall style and effect. But enough of this hooey, we're here to hear about music.

As we've already established, Sarah Slean, being both female and a pianist, typically gets lumped into the genre of "piano pop." However, what really makes her work stand out for me is how un-pop it is. From what I've heard on The Baroness Redecorates, she veers away from the popular stylings of contemporary piano-heavy music and focuses on more classic forms. I'm no expert on such styles, me being a lowly critic and not a music theory major, but I'm hearing all kinds of good stuff: "Parasol" is a lovably demented tango; "Compatriots" is a bewitching waltz. The amazing string sections on "Modern Man I &II," "Hear Me Out," and "The 'Disarm' Suite" break the assumption that she's writes music solely for the piano. Class and style seemingly come naturally to Ms. Slean, and I'm entirely enticed and swept away to a alternate 1920's imaginary world. I love her singing voice, and her songwriting is excellent. The music is wistful, romantic, dramatic, and occasionally absurd.

Now that we've got the praise out of the way, I can't say for sure if this is an ideal place to start for the Slean neophyte. Sure, the music is great on all levels, but bear in mind that The Baroness Redecorates is a collection of b-sides and other tracks cut from The Baroness. The very title implies that this EP is significantly different from the album with which it shared recording sessions. There stands the possibilty that these tracks were cut from The Baroness because they simply didn't fit in with the majority of the songs in any way. Since this is my introduction to Ms. Slean's music, I have no idea what the rest of her catalog sounds like, and how this compares to the majority of her work. I feel as though I've been given a glimpse into another world, a fantastical realm where art deco never left and all that can be seen is beautiful with the right touch of style, but my vision is blurry because of an impacting opera glove that sent my glasses flying across the room after I made a saucy comment regarding an elegant lady's elegant dress's neckline.

Sorry, lost my place there. The Baroness Redecorates is a right treat, exquisite in every sense, made of pure elegance. Since this is an EP, it comes with that criminally short sensation associated with EPs of higher quality. I can only say I'm thirsting for more, and will no doubt sooner or later venture further into that unknown realm of Sarah Slean's musical beauty, hoping this sample was but a taste of what's to come and not a radical oddity.

Unfortunately, the sarahslean.com store is out of copies of The Baroness Redecorates (sold out in under a day, so I heard), so if you want the CD, you're going to have to either hunt for it on eBay or make a drive to Canada to see one of her live performances.



Sarah Slean's official website and myspace