Customer Reviews

Burning the Daze (Mcup)

5 star:		(12)
4 star:		(14)
3 star:		(7)
2 star:		(4)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

I've been a Marc Cohn fan since the first time I heard his first album. The second album, I liked just as much especially 'Paper Walls' which reminds me of '29 Ways'. The first time I heard 'Burning Daze' I didn't understand the songs and why it sounded so .... sad. I'm now currently going through the divorce of my first (and only?) marriage and can now see a new side to the music. He deftly tells of his pains and hurts without bashing the woman he loved. I find that this sends a strong message about the man and his vast talents. I recommend this CD to any Marc Cohn fan, but listen to it with a little thought and a lot of heart.

This is the latest release from Marc Cohn, and "Burning the Daze" ranks right up there with his other albums. Cohn proves again that he's a triple-threat with his lyricism, vocal, and musical talents. His voice hasn't lost any qualities since his previous release, and the music is good. There seems to be more pain in both his voice and lyrics than in the past.

The album opens with "Already Home", another great opener that'll catch your interest like "The Rainy Season" or "Walking In Memphis". He mixes guitar, horns and his voice so very well on this track, and it sets the tone for the album. He adds a slightly overdriven guitar for "Lost You In the Canyon" for a little harder sound. "Olana" focuses on Cohn's melodic voice, and the many layers of this song sound so simple under Cohn's magic. He picks up the pace again for "Valley of the Kings", giving it just a touch of Arabian flare, and giving his voice a workout. One of the best songs off this album is "Turn On Your Radio", a soft bluesy feel. The lyrics just flow right, like all of Cohn's songs, making this a powerful song.

Cohn's musical ability is simply amazing. If you liked the first two albums he did, then don't hesitate to get this one. It's a little different, slightly heavier in meaning, but great music all the same.

Seven years on from from "Walking in Memphis" Marc has firmly established himself in the true-roots musician camp with Leonard Cohen, Leo Kottke and Tom Waits; he shares their same melancholy sound, soulful songcrafting, and smoky singing as well as their tendency (for the most part) to take five years between albums. Fortunately for us, Marc's works are strong and consistent enough to last through the wait until the next one (if the constant dose of manic depression doesn't get to be too much first). Burning the Daze, while unquestionably his saddest release to date, shows a growth in writing and performing that his self-titled debut only hinted at. If it seems like I'm glossing over his second album The Rainy Season as a lesser release than the others.. well, that's more or less what it is. But I digress.

Marc's sound is an easy blend of pop, jazz and Memphis soul, married to a rich unmistakable voice and poetry that could move the soul even without the music. "Already Home" sets the tone right from the start with its gliding horn groove; it's one soft mood after another from there on out. Some influences may come out stronger at some times than others - I hear traces of the Band in "Saints Preserve Us," a lot of Nick Drake in "Girl of Mysterious Sorrow," a touch of Clapton through "Lost You in the Canyon" - but Marc's overall sound is all his own. It always seems that he gets a little too sappy for my taste at times, which is why I normally stop the disc before the Nilsson cover "Turn On Your Radio" and the ill-fitting "Ellis Island." (The whole thing is personal and universal; why take a sideways leap into someone else's story with the last track? Nevermind.) If you've got a taste for Southern blues and like a good sad tune when the mood hits, Burning the Daze deserves a spot on your shelf - though not at the expense of Marc's self-titled disc. This is more moody, more melancholy, but ultimately more touching.

"Burning The Daze" is arguably Marc's best album yet. It is stylistically quite different from his first two albums (Marc Cohn & Rainy Season), with several songs having a greater jazz influence, and others with a more melancholy tone. But Marc holds true to the standards of his artistic genius - his choice of percussion continues to be varied and perfectly selected, the blends of voices/harmony are sheer egophany, and the variety of moods, lyrical styles, and instrumentation are just short of perfection. This is not "background" music - it must be LISTENED to again and again to appreciate its complexity, beauty, and timelessness.

After "The Rainy Season", which was a pretty good album, but not as good as his debut, self-titled, LP, I was a bit leary of what to expect from "Burning the Daze". However, it doesn't take long to get in the swing of things after hearing the opening track "Already Home". The album is very consistent in that nearly every track is pretty strong, especially "Valley of the Kings", "Olana", and "Turn to Me". This album definitely leaves me ready for the next.

What do you do when your first album can be called your greatest hits? Hey reviewers...stop faulting Marc Cohn for begginer's luck!!! This album shows the amazing range of style that Cohn is capable of both in singing and songwriting. Maybe it's just too much for some listeners...If you think that a singer/songwriter has to stick to one type of music, then this album's not for you. On the other hand, if you are a Marc Cohn fan you should appreciate this display of the great depth and variety of his talent!!!

Marc Cohn's first self-titled album is the most fabulous album that I've ever had the pleasure to own. His next attempts missed the mark for me, until I purchased "Burning the Daze". And I felt like I had come home after a long winter.

Cohn is, in my eyes, a brilliant teller of the stories so rarely heard. In this album, if a woman can't hear him speaking to her, then she may not be listening hard enough. "Girl of Mysterious Sorrow" is the essence of the unspoken inner person that remains an enigma to the outside world. "It seems like inside of every woman I know, there's a girl of mysterious sorrow." Is he paying attention, or what! We hear the story of the harrowing journey of the immigrants to "Ellis Island", and of a mysterious invention named "Olana" who returns inspiration back to the struggling artist.

I am terribly excited to see what Cohn has in store over the next few years. And if "Burning the Daze" is any indication, then it will not be a disappointment.

Marc Cohn's third album strikes me as his least satisfying. Unlike many other reviewers, I found "The Rainy Season" to be an impressive and highly listenable piece of work. By contrast, this album lacks coherence and moves from mood to mood far too rapidly.

The writing is, at best, uneven. "This is the winter of our discontent " -- a great line to borrow -- seems forced and trite in Cohn's application. These songs, although well done as a rule, simply do not resonate with me in the way that Cohn's earlier offerings did.

Given the enjoyment that I derived from Cohn's two other albums, I eagerly awaited this one. Ultimately, however, this album disappoints.

I'm a big Marc Cohn fan, and guilty of singing "Walking In Memphis" as loud as my wife will allow when I hear it on the radio. That said, I enjoy Burning The Daze almost as much as his debut album (I'm not familiar with Rainy Season, and can make no comparison here). His voice maintains that soulful, gravely tone, and the sound of the album is similar, even fuller at times. It's a very personal recording, by all accounts, and only a Harry Nilsson cover keeps it from being autobiographical. But there is something in these songs that prevent me from fully understanding and appreciating, and it almost feels intentional, like the details have been changed just enough to throw us off his track. It's a shame, too, because there are gorgeous, inspired tracks to be heard here.

Marc Cohn battles the same demons most singer/songwriters encounter: How to follow up the great first album (Even two albums down the road). He wins - mostly. If you are a fan you know exactly what that means. 'Walking in Memphis' still echoes in all of his work as the benchmark to strive for. But this truly isn't where he should be judged. So many of the cuts on that first, self-titled album are genuinely better songs. True Companion. Saving the best for last. These are Marc Cohn. And these are the ones that you won't hear except on XM late at night.

His first album was pedominately written on piano wherein the succeding efforts were driven by guitar. Different vibe. But that opens another dimension to his music missed by many reviewers. His live album, available only through a link on his web site, is the one you really want to make the effort to own.

The long and short of it is this album (you see, I show my age calling it an album)is a worthwhile addition to any collection. This is one of the discs you put on after a lousy day at work while you sit in traffic. After which you put on Jackson Browne's 'Live Accoustic, Vol. 1.'