Customer Reviews

Marjory Razorblade

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This obscure musician has made some unforgettable albums, like Case History and this sprawling masterpiece. His themes are often very dark (fellow Brit Nick Drake's "Black Eyed Dog" comes to mind when I listen to Coyne) and deals with stuff like insanity, despair, abuse and all manner of deviancies. He's also a sharp satirist, as demonstrated by Dog Latin, This Is Spain and Good Boy, in which he respectively sends up organised religion, holidays in Spain and the public school system. Eastbourne Ladies also falls into this category. Everybody Says is a beautiul acoustic ballad and Mummy is a sweeping wall-of-sound rocker. His voice is not unlike Van Morrison's in its scope and expressive range, but while Van's is likely to be affected by spiritual ecstacy, Coyne's can be twisted with rage or anguish, as on the title track. Marlene is a catchy number with gorgeous organ and guitar, a galoping beat and a sinister undertone. Talking To No One and House On The Hill are anguished but moving ballads about alienation and insanity. Lonesome Valley is more of the same, but over an uptempo beat and complex vocal arrangement where his voice really shines. Other great tracks include I Want My Crown, Nasty and Chairman's Ball. With his chosen subject matter, it's no surprise that Coyne has remained obscure. Still, I think that fans of Leonard Cohen, Richard Thompson, Marianne Faithfull, Nick Drake, Nico, Lydia Lunch and especially Swans, will find much here to appreciate.

Marjorie Razorblade is one of rare underrated masterpieces of classic rock, compatible with Kevin Ayers Shooting at the moon and Syd Barretts The Madcap Laughs. It deals with madness and delirium, as does Coynes Case History, and includes an all time classic House on the Hill. Coynes hard strumming gutar playing and eccentric singing style, chanting, screaming or plain acting make MJ a unique experience. Originally a low budget double Lp it is somewhat lacking in sound quality, as are Barretts masterpieces. Any admiror of Barrett, Ayers or Robert Wyatt not missout on Marjorie Razorblade.

I can't for the life of me remember how I heard of Kevin Coyne--probably on an Amazon list of obscure music--but I'll be eternally grateful. As evidenced by the dearth of reviews for this, his most highly-regarded album, not many people in the US have heard of him, and I doubt his popular stock is soaring anywhere else in the world, which is an utter travesty, especially after you listen to Marjory Razorblade.


The title track kicks off the double album with a bang--it's a cappella and sounds like a very British version of something straight out of Trout Mask Replica. Right off the bat, you know Coyne's got talent (listen to that voice!), a sense of humor, songwriting chops, and the sort of creative ferocity that leads to such successful weird experiments. "Marjory Razorblade" is a bit of a fake-out; for the most part, the album isn't nearly as bizarre (though there are a few strange standouts), but it's all permeated by an inimitable eccentricity that the title track displays in spades.

In many ways, the title track is a blueprint for the rest of the album, and elements of the songwriting, style, and themes for the song crop up elsewhere. The same off-kilter humor rears its head on the hilarious "Nasty" and "Karate King." In other places, this humor gets a bit cutting, as on the sinister, rocking "Eastborn Ladies," the foreboding "Dog Latin," and the desperate but tongue-in-cheek mockery of "This Is Spain." The slight descent into lunacy evident in "Marjory Razorblade" reappears on the isolated "Talking to No One," the heart-wrenching "House on the Hill," and the gorgeous "Everybody Says." That last one is the most Van Morrison-sounding of everything on the album (though Coyne's voice is at times reminiscent of Van), with his wordless scatting blending perfectly with the lead acoustic guitar playing cascading harmonics behind him. The themes of isolation and madness likely result from Coyne's former employment at mental institutions, and his portrayals of mental loneliness are compelling and always warm--this recurring theme and his peerless treatment of it is something I've seen few other songwriters do (and none do as well).

On the rest of the album, Coyne reveals himself as a potent (if radically off-kilter) blues/folk singer, howling through rompers like "I Want My Crown," "Cheat Me," and the joyous "Chairman's Ball"--his falsetto "way way way way waaaaaay" at the end of "Mummy" is priceless, and "Marlene" is an organ-soaked hit folk-rock single that never was. His treatment of the Carter Family's "Lonesome Valley" is a breath of fresh air, and about as authentic as it gets. The instrumentation on the album is always pretty organic, with lots of acoustic guitars and a folk-blues style band that is capable of ripping it up with some gnarly lead guitar and a heavy bottom.

Come to think of it, I don't think there's a weak track on this double album (so rare for a double album), except of course the two bonus tracks at the end which, as usual, spoil the flow intended by the original album track sequencing. If you're a fan of Van Morrison and some of the less stable characters of the 60's and 70's like Syd Barrett, Skip Spence, or Leonard Cohen, you owe it to yourself to check out this fantastic but obscure artist. It's not something you can just throw on at a social gathering--there's too many prickly tracks like "Good Boy" that aren't for the casual music fan--but if you're somebody who really gets into songwriters and opens up to being emotionally-involved, this is a fantastic choice. This was my first Coyne album, and my next stop will be The Dandelion Years 1969-1972, which compiles his two albums with the band Siren, and his first solo album Case History. After that, it's rough going, since most of his catalog is hard-to-find, but totally worth it!

The Late Great Kevin Coyne. Poor Kevin Coyne, always seems to get lumped together with other sorely neglected artists like Robert Wyatt and Ivor Cutler, all conveniently grouped in that overused and quite meaningless "wilful British eccentric" catagory. This certainly doesn't do any any justice at all to their respective talents, dooming them as "cult" artists who tragically do not receive the exposure to a larger audience that their unique talents deserve. What they really bring is a listening experience which is actually very good for you, bringing about the same feeling of well being as the perfectly poured pint of Guinness or a blissfully lazy doze after a good long walk!!! Marjory Razor Blade is a wonderfully varied double album containing the classic comic trio of songs "Is This Spain ?","Karate King" and "Good Boy" along with the brilliant "House on the Hill" and the truly Beefheartian title track. I have one complaint about Kevin's back catalogue and that is the non-appearance of "Beautiful Extremes", an album of Virgin outakes from the 1970's which included four of his very best songs "Something Gone Wrong", "Walking by the River", "Mona Where's Me Trousers?" and "Roses In Your Room", all wonderful songs showing Kevin's always illuminating take on the joys and sorrows of living in a very real and somewhat scary world. Anyways Marjory Razor Blade is a great place to start if this is your first visit to Coyne's world.

This obscure UK musician made some unforgettable albums, like Case History and this sprawling masterpiece. His themes are often very dark (fellow Brit Nick Drake's "Black Eyed Dog" comes to mind when I listen to Coyne) and deals with stuff like insanity, despair, abuse and all manner of deviancies.

He was also a sharp satirist, as demonstrated by Dog Latin, This Is Spain and Good Boy, in which he respectively sends up organised religion, holidays in Spain and the public school system. Eastbourne Ladies also falls into this category.

Everybody Says is a beautiul acoustic ballad and Mummy is a sweeping wall-of-sound rocker. His voice is not unlike Van Morrison's in its scope and expressive range, but while Van's is likely to be affected by spiritual ecstacy, Coyne's can be twisted with rage or anguish, as on the title track.

Marlene is a melodious number with gorgeous organ and guitar, a galoping beat and a sinister undertone. Talking To No One and House On The Hill are anguished but moving ballads about alienation and insanity. Lonesome Valley is more of the same, but over an uptempo beat and complex vocal arrangement where his voice really shines.

Other great tracks include I Want My Crown, Nasty and Chairman's Ball. With his chosen subject matter, it's no surprise that Coyne has remained obscure. Still, I think that fans of Leonard Cohen, Richard Thompson, Marianne Faithfull, Nick Drake, Nico, Lydia Lunch and especially Swans, will find much here to appreciate.

Coyne's masterpiece has been enhanced by extra tracks. This obscure musician made some unforgettable albums, like Case History and this harrowing work. His themes are often very dark (fellow Brit Nick Drake's "Black Eyed Dog" comes to mind when I listen to Coyne), dealing with stuff like insanity, despair, alienation, abuse and all sorts of deviancies.

He was also a sharp satirist, as demonstrated by Dog Latin, This Is Spain and Good Boy, in which he respectively mocks organized religion, holidays in Spain and the public school system. Eastbourne Ladies also falls into this category. Everybody Says is a beautiful acoustic ballad and Mummy a sweeping wall-of-sound rocker. His voice is not unlike that of Van Morrison in its timbre and expressive range, but while Van's is affected by spiritual ecstasy, Coyne's tend to be twisted with rage, disdain or anguish as on the title track.

Marlene is a melodious number with gorgeous organ and guitar, a pulsating beat and sinister undertone. Talking To No One and House On The Hill are anguished ballads portraying alienation and insanity. Lonesome Valley is more of the same, but over an uptempo beat and complex vocal arrangement where his voice really soars. Other great songs include I Want My Crown, Nasty and Chairman's Ball.

With his chosen subject matter, it's no surprise that Coyne never gained a wide audience during his lifetime. Still, I think that fans of Nico, Leonard Cohen, Marianne Faithfull, the aforementioned Nick Drake, World of Skin, Lydia Lunch, Michael Gira and especially Swans, will find much here to appreciate.