Life, Love and Leaving

Detroit Cobras | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (May 15, 2001)
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Sympathy 4 the R.I.
• ASIN: B00005B4FN
• Also Available in: Audio CD  |  Vinyl  |  MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (18 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #62,407 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com

Like the Dirtbombs or the Screws, the Detroit Cobras are an underground rock & roll act that pays homage to the decades of artists who have hit the vinyl before them. These Motor City garage rockers combine gospel, soul, R&B, and '50s rock & roll to create a unique mix of retro innocence and tight, danceable music overflowing with rhythm and grit. Frontwoman Rachael Nagy croons with class and soul, with a low, hearty voice that sounds husky and warm. On the band's second album, Life, Love and Leaving, the Cobras cover songs by everyone from Otis Redding and Ike Turner to more obscure acts like Clyde McPhatter (the amazing ballad "Let's Forget About the Past") and Ronnie Mack (the mind-blowing "Cry On"). While a band that only does covers may sound like a one-trick pony, the Cobras manage to mine the hidden parts of bygone eras, coming back with gems that might go otherwise unheard to the next generations, and creating a great style of their own in the process. --Jennifer Maerz

Product Description

Admittedly, the Detroit Cobras are simply a cover band. But with their release Life, Love and Leaving on the Long Beach label Sympathy for the Record Industry (the label responsible for the White Stripes' incredible international success), they've been given a bit of credence and an opportunity to showcase their amazing homegrown chops. These 14 songs, all Motown, soul, and good ole rock & roll standards, are the perfect material to bring this Detroit garage rock combo to life. Guitarists Dante Aliano and Maribel Restrepo set the frets afire with seething twangs and fuzz-box chord progressions. And singer Rachael Nagy attacks each song with aplomb, like Janis Joplin crossed with Mary Wells -- a hearty bar band crooner with showstopping resplendence. In fact, Nagy's most impressive track on the record is a cover of Wells' "Bye Bye Baby." Other standouts include her stunningly sincere renditions of Jackie Deshanon's "He Did It" and Otis Redding's "Shout Bama Lama." Like labelmates the White Stripes, the Cobras' sound is stripped down to '60s proportions so that the production takes a back-seat to heart-rending voices and screaming guitars. In this regard, Detroit mainstay Al Sutton triumphs, producing a minimal gem of an album. Life, Love and Leaving is clearly one of the best records of the Detroit garage rock scene. Though the Cobras may never really get their due in the shadow of so many more flashy, press-friendly Motown rockers, they have the much-coveted gift of musicality that sets them apart from most of their noisy neighbors. ~ Ken Taylor, All Music Guide

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

15 of 18 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Detroit Cobras, Raw Soul, Rough and Tumble genius, May 18, 2001

By 

dr john (Brooklyn, NY) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Life, Love and Leaving (Audio CD)

The Detroit Cobras are back, their second album is finally out, it's been 3 years in the waiting and it is absolutely brilliant. This band seem to effortlessly take a style (styles ) of music from the past and find the soul and spirit of it and build something new and beautiful out of it, as opposed to copying, rehashing, imitating it etc, like 99% of the so called "Garage Rock " bands around today. This album is all covers, yet if you were not familiar with the originals ( note* they don't cover obvious songs) you would swear they were written by the band. The music can be loosely termed "Garage Rock", but it's tight and it's got real depth feeling to it, like old R'n'b a la Otis Redding etc (whose "Shout Bama LA" is covered here. Rachel Nagy (ex-BUTCHER/EXOTIC DANCER)has an amazing raw and husky voice, the guitar is tough and gutsy and the rhythm section is steaming. This great/completely overlooked band take old songs and pay them the utmost respect, and sometimes add a vitality to the original cut which is no mean feat. Garage Rock is hurting these days, with the exception of the Gossip and a few others the DETROIT COBRAS are a truly mesmerizing band. Buy this record now!

10 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars God's Favorite Bar Band, December 8, 2005

By 

Clark Paull "(Sleepin' with the TV on)" (Murder City) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Life, Love and Leaving (Audio CD)

Forget everything you've heard and read about the White Stripes for a minute. Oh, sure, they're cute in their red and white togs and all, despite Jack White managing to look like he's just vomited in almost every photo you see of him, but on a grass roots level, they barely register on the radar in their hometown of Detroit. I should know - I live there...

And despite Meg White's ability to master her drum kit in much the same way a left-handed pre-schooler masters tying his shoelaces, it's women like Wendy Case of The Paybacks and Rachel Nagy of the Detroit Cobras who are the real queens of the roost around here. Live with it.

Although they've been tied up in my own back yard since 1994, it wasn't until an on-line acquaintance sent me a mix CD last year that I got my first taste of The Detroit Cobras. Quite simply put, Nagy's voice, whether she realizes it or not, is a gift from above.

"Shout Bama Lama," a cover of the old Otis Redding shouter, just may be the best thing the Cobras have ever done. It's stop-and-start cadence and churning glam/punk guitars, Nagy purring "She's bustin' bricks now," actually forced me to pull my car over to the side of the road the first time I heard it.

We may be dirty and broke here in the Murder City, but we're also smart. Look no further than the Detroit Cobras for proof positive.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars jammin' late 50's rock you can groove to, April 16, 2004

By A Customer

This review is from: Life, Love and Leaving (Audio CD)

this band is awesome. from the first song to the last you want to turn your volume up to 11 and drift back in time to surfin and beach parties. classic summertime fun that is done true to the original form with tremendous production. A ++++ !!