I have recently gotten into Marc Cohn’s stuff. I know, I know, I’m late to the game.
The album that really got me hooked was The Rainy Season. This is unusual since second albums are typically less accessible than the first album for an artist. Favorite songs from the album: “Walk Through the World,” “She’s Becoming Gold,” and “Things We’ve Handed Down.” I actually like most of the others too, but I skip through “Baby King” every time.
His third album, Burning the Daze, is good too. Favorites include “Healing Hands,” “Already Home,” and especially “Turn On Your Radio.” If I had to pick a weakest link from that album, it would be “Saints Preserve Us.”
Now his latest album, Join the Parade, is out after what I understand is 9 years since his last studio album. Very strong showing. My favorites: “The Calling,” “Listening to Levon,” and “Dance Back from the Grave”, which is an interesting anthem about post-Katrina New Orleans. One interesting thing about “The Calling” is that its chorus reminds me of “Baba O’Reilly” by The Who (same chord progression and rhythm).
I actually listen to his eponymous debut album less than the others. “Walking in Memphis” is of course a great song, but many of the more popular tunes from that album (”Silver Thunderbird,” “True Companion”) leave me kinda flat. And “29 Ways” just doesn’t work for me - I can’t listen to 4 mins of unresolved 7th chords - and the falling scale chorus of “Strangers in a Car” seems trite.
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