Adam Cohen - We Go Home

Styles: Vocal
Year: 2014
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 37:01
Size: 86,3 MB
Art: Front

(3:13)  1. Song Of Me And You
(4:20)  2. Too Real
(3:13)  3. We Go Home
(3:26)  4. Put Your Bags Down
(3:27)  5. So Much To Learn
(2:59)  6. Uniform
(2:38)  7. Love Is
(3:50)  8. What Kind Of Woman
(3:56)  9. Fall Apart
(4:25) 10. Swear I Was There
(1:29) 11. Boats

The road to hell is paved with the records of pop stars’ offspring, from Julian Lennon to I Blame Coco. Adam Cohen has the advantage of at least knowing what he’s doing: his fifth album of unshowy singer-songwriter fare occupies similarly confessional territory to that marked out by his father, Leonard. Indeed, Cohenologists will find much to pore over here, as his lyrics frequently address that relationship, and at times appear to be explicitly encouraging comparisons, not least on Fall Apart (“You’ll be hearing his voice, like you’re hearing it now”). It’s a disarmingly bold move, but while We Go Home is an undeniably fine record, it’s not quite good enough to escape Dad’s long shadow.

… we have a small favour to ask. More people are reading the Guardian than ever but advertising revenues across the media are falling fast. And unlike many news organisations, we haven’t put up a paywall we want to keep our journalism as open as we can. So you can see why we need to ask for your help. The Guardian’s independent, investigative journalism takes a lot of time, money and hard work to produce. But we do it because we believe our perspective matters because it might well be your perspective, too.  I appreciate there not being a paywall: it is more democratic for the media to be available for all and not a commodity to be purchased by a few. I’m happy to make a contribution so others with less means still have access to information.~ Thomasine F-R. https://www.theguardian.com/music/2014/sep/14/adam-cohen-we-go-home-review-unshowy-leonard-cohen-son

We Go Home

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Adam Cohen - Like A Man

Styles: Vocal, Folk
Year: 2011
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 37:05
Size: 85,3 MB
Art: Front

(6:01)  1. Out of Bed
(3:20)  2. Matchbox
(3:31)  3. Like A Man
(3:31)  4. Sweet Dominique
(4:42)  5. What Other Guy
(3:10)  6. Girls These Days
(4:14)  7. Lie Alone
(2:39)  8. Overrated
(3:29)  9. Beautiful
(2:23) 10. Stranger

On his fourth solo recording, songwriter Adam Cohen, progeny of one of pop music's greatest poets, Leonard Cohen, finally quits struggling against his birthright and surrenders. And in doing so, he's come all the way over to the side he seemed so determined to escape. Thank goodness. Like a Man assembles ten songs about what else? Love. There's no mistaking the singer's lineage: it's in his expressive baritone (his voice, though still somewhat flat, is not gruff or harsh). The arrangements and production bear his dad's influence: nylon-string guitars, upright bass, piano, subtle strings, and harmony vocals by no less than Jennifer Warnes. For those suspecting that Cohen is merely channeling and cashing in on his dad's rep, that's their problem. He makes no secret of his father's influence, but his way of writing songs is certainly his own. He uses fewer metaphorical or metonymic devices; his approach is more halting, less authoritative, but he possesses a keen eye for observation. Cohen is a mature songwriter whose work has been featured on other artists' records, but this is the first time his own voice so completely possesses his material. 

The title track, with its damning observations and admissions about the male gender, offers no excuses, its vulnerability evident. Producer Patrick Leonard's lilting string arrangements and Warnes' hushed backing vocals lend the song a quiet power. "Sweet Dominique" is as poignant a love song seen through the rearview mirror of life as you're likely to find. "What Other Guy" is from the same perspective, but without the distance of time to lessen the ache. It's all the more devastating because the protagonist knows virtually everything about his former, still-longed-for love, including "what you smell like when the night ends." Warnes' multi-tracked backing vocals on the chorus underscore the song's poignancy and tenderness. Like a Man was a recording Cohen had to make; it feels like he's coming to terms with exactly who he is. No, he's not as profound as his dad, but who the hell is? Measure him up to other great songwriters of his own generation born between the late '60s and the mid-'70s and he shines. ~ Thom Jurek  http://www.allmusic.com/album/like-a-man-mw0002203943

Personnel: Adam Cohen (vocals, nylon-string guitar); Bruce Geitch (steel guitar); Pat Leonard (piano, harmonium, Hammond b-3 organ, synthesizer).

Like A Man

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