Famous Blue Raincoat [Import]

Jennifer Warnes | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (October 31, 2000)
• Number of Discs: 1
• Format: Import
• Label: Bmg Int'l 1987
• ASIN: B000024QBF
• Also Available in: Audio CD  |  Audio Cassette  |  Vinyl  |  MP3 Music
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (129 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #54,460 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Track Listings

1. First We Take Manhattan

2. Bird On A Wire

3. Famous Blue Raincoat

4. Joan Of Arc

5. Ain't No Cure For Love

6. Coming Back To You

7. Song Of Bernadette

8. A Singer Must Die

9. Came So Far For Beauty

Editorial Reviews

Import edition of the hit vocalist's acclaimed 1986 collection of Leonard Cohen covers which is long out of print in the US. Highlights include, 'First We Take Manhattan', 'Bird On A Wire' and 'Joan Of Arc' with guest vocal by Leonard Cohen. BMG. 2005.

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

66 of 66 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Raincoat Remastered August 11, 2007

By Great Faulkner's Ghost TOP 500 REVIEWER

Format:Audio CD|Amazon Verified Purchase

This landmark 20-year-old collaboration between songwriter/poet Leonard Cohen and singer Jennifer Warnes is in my opinion the most successful album for either artist, both artistically and commercially. Warnes' pitch perfect, emotionally charged voice teases out every last nuance and dimension of Cohen's inspired lyrical and musical compositions. Even on Cohen's most highly charged songs, one is able to fully appreciate the sweet timbre of Warnes' voice, but at the same time the sensuality and beauty of her voice never obscures the sharp edged, painfully romantic, tragic, fatalistic themes that have marked Cohen's finest and most characteristic compositions, many of which are represented on this album.

Compared with the original CD release, the sound on this remastered version is better in almost every respect, with the possible exception of the first song "First We Take Manhattan," in which a slight, digital-sounding sibilance has been added to Warnes voice. The other cuts are just great, with the digital remastering adding a more authoritative bass note and greater ambience and spaciousness to the soundstage. .

If the overall improved sound isn't enough, this remastered album offers four additional performances of Cohen compositions that are not from the original studio album sessions, including a Warnes-only live version of Joan of Arc, which is riveting even though it doesn't offer the magical duet with Cohen featured on the original studio album. Each of the four additional cuts would have been worthy of inclusion on the original release of Famous Blue Raincoat, which is high praise indeed.

46 of 46 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Masterful artistry at the highest level August 13, 2007

By David S. Rubin

Format:Audio CD

Jennifer Warnes is a master of nuance and inflection. No one weds a sound to a lyric (or a lyric to a sound) better than she does. More importantly, her content has always been rich in substance and inspiring in tone. She can locate the silver linings in sadness, and remind us that we all are capable of transcending our setbacks and healing our wounds. These are among the reasons why I have been so dedicated to her music for more than thirty years, and why Leonard Cohen himself has given her his blessings repeatedly and many times over. As I would expect from the gifted singer Warnes, the familiar tunes on the 20th anniversary edition of Famous Blue Raincoat still resonate with elegance and warmth, and, technically, they sound better than ever. In the new songs, Warnes takes us to some exciting new places that will delight her fans and win her new ones. "If It Be Your Will" is an entrancing journey into poetic tenderness, while "Ballad of the Runaway Horse" is a masterful narrative that Warnes meticulously articulates with wonderfully complex rhythms, accompanied by an array of subtle sound effects that are beautifully suited to the story. And for pure soothing comfort, Warnes gifts us a sensuous lullaby for adults with "Night Comes On." A final treat is a recording of a live performance of "Joan of Arc." Accompanied by an orchestra and chorus, Warnes gives a spellbinding performance that shines with honest spontaneity and grace.

David S. Rubin

36 of 36 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Exquisite interpretations September 8, 2007

By Pieter Uys HALL OF FAMETOP 1000 REVIEWER

Format:Audio CD|Amazon Verified Purchase

This original album was released at a time when Cohen was almost forgotten, about seven years before tribute albums like the breathtaking I'm Your Fan and the rather tepid Tower of Song would spur renewed interest in his work. Warnes' versions are always graceful and moving. She understands Cohen's music well, having done backing vocals on albums like Various Positions so she interprets his songs with loving dedication.

My favorites include Aint No Cure For Love from Cohen's I'm Your Man, Coming Back To You and Night Comes On from Various Positions, Came So Far For Beauty and Ballad Of The Runaway Horse from Recent Songs and of course the formidable Joan Of Arc where Cohen himself sings some of the verses. The title track stands out with its smoky sax and desolate ambience whilst the live version of Joan Of Arc really fires on all fours.

Warnes' voice is the perfect vehicle for Cohen's poetic lyrics of romantic longing and resigned despair. The new tracks are superb. She slightly adapted the lyric of Night Comes On to a female perspective, and Ballad Of The Runaway Horse becomes a long excursion with a complex arrangement and a display of great virtuosity in the instrumentation which includes viola and cello.

If It Be Your Will is a straightforward rendition close to the original, and the album ends on a spectacular note with the live version of Joan Of Arc, from Cohen's Songs of Love and Hate which was recorded in Antwerp in 1992 and includes the Novecento Orchestra and two choirs: Het West Brabants Operakoor and De Tweede Adem, in addition to her regular backing musicians.

The luxurious fold-out CD box contains a booklet with two line drawings by Cohen, full color and black & white photographs, letters from Lenny to Jenny, a short 1956 school essay on St Bernadette by Jenny and information on all the songs. My only complaint is that I would have loved to hear her interpretations of Suzanne and Sisters Of Mercy too.

Other Cohen tribute albums that I recommend are Judy Collins Sings Leonard Cohen: Democracy by Judy Collins, which includes a live version of Song Of Bernadette, the song co-written by Jennifer Warnes, and the soundtack album Leonard Cohen: I'm Your Man with artists like Martha Wainwright, Kate & Anna McGarrigle, Jarvis Cocker, Perla Batalla, Nick Cave and U2.