Customer Reviews

The Rainwater LP

5 star:		(4)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

Citizen Cope is one of those artists that constantly get shafted by the major labels. In 1997 he recorded an album for Capitol that got shelved. Then in 2002, he moved to DreamWorks Records only to see his self-titled debut get the cold shoulder. In 2004, he moved to RCA Records, which by that point was only dealing with American Idol-affiliated artists. Part of the reason that he has that problem is that no one knows exactly how to market him...and he doesn't exactly make it any easier. How many artists do you know that can go from hip hop (Rhymefest's "Bullet"), R&B (Raheem DeVaughn's "Nobody Wins A War"), rock (Carlos Santana's "Sideways") and adult contemporary (Dido's "Burnin' Love") without breaking a sweat? For record labels, he is pretty much an enigma.

In 2010, he decided to go the indie route and release "The Rainwater LP"- named so for his label Rainwater Recordings. On this new album, it's pretty much business as usual for Cope. He doesn't stray far from his sound and doesn't even bother trying to expand his sound either. The album has ten songs ,well, eight really. The remaining two songs are acoustic versions of the previous tracks. It starts off with "Keep Askin'" and leads into "Healing Hands". The two standout tracks are "Jericho" and "I Couldn't Explain Why". Overall, it's a good album, but is the weakest of his entire catalogue.

I first heard about Citizen Cope while listening to a local radio station in New Jersey; track "Healing Hands" compelled me to purchase the Rainwater CD. I knew I was taking a gamble for buying a CD for just one song but what I had already heard was worth the risk. All I can say now is that my gamble paid off; I cannot remember the last time I bought a CD where every track was OFF THE CHART. This CD is flavorful with a taste of soul, reggae, and blues, you get it all. Citizen Cope sings from his toes through his soul, this blue-eyed brotha has been through some thangs and is here to talk about it. Never have I ever heard such delivery of deep, raw emotion in every breath and every note of the songs. Do yourself the favor and purchase this CD NOW. I already bought two because I let my manager listen to mine and couldn't wait to get it back so I purchased another one the same day. Besides I knew she would be HOOKED once she was bitten by this amazing CD.

This new release is a good listen and I highly recommend it to anyone who is a Citizen Cope fan. The only minor complaints I have were that there weren't really that many new songs with only 8 and two alternate versions for a total of 10 songs. The other weird thing is that the songs all seem to be much slower and mellower than his previous material. I was looking forward to more songs like "Bullet and a Target" or "Brother Named Lee" kind of material but there wasn't really anything like that on this CD. That being said, as a Citizen Cope fan I really like the CD.

Buy it if you are a Citizen Cope fan or interested in trying something new and different from the mainstream music.
Don't buy it if you are looking for the best Citizen Cope CD...in that case go to any of his previous offerings since they are all better introductions to his music than this one.

I was listening to the radio last week and heard a new Citizen Cope song. I immediately ordered the CD and I was not disappointed. His music is incredible, so full of passion, longing and warmth...things that are all to rare these days. He's a nice guy too, I've seen him around my Brooklyn neighborhood.

I wasn't so sure about this record at first. I was introduced to Cope with The Clarence Greenwood Recordings, which is a masterpiece of an album. Every Waking Moment went a different route, and while it was good, it wasn't AS good as CGR. The Rainwater LP felt a little different to me at first, as Cope didn't return to his old style, but also didn't shift further in the direction he took on EWM. The only way I can describe this is to use a metaphor. Let's say CGR is the USA. He went a different direction and headed to Central America with EWM. Instead of heading to Canada, back to the US, or to South America, Cope went to Japan. Yes, it's different from his other stuff, but it's great. Just give it a shot.

I listen to WFUV.org and they had been playing one of his songs from this album that I really liked so I purchased the disk and it is very good. Kind of a mix of Rap, R&B, rock, soul and who knows what. A lot of catchy toons and certainly a good introduction to a new artist for me. Want something a little different this is it

Just when you thought Citizen Cope couldn't get any better he gives us The Rainwater LP!

Very chill. I wouldn't have expected anything less than this from Citizen Cope. Great album.

I paid extra to get the item sooner. It still took 21 days to get the item which is what it would have taken if I had gone with the standard media rate.

Only Everlast never tried to sound like Everlast. He was original, hip-hop icon going troubadour. The only good songs on here are "Healing Hands" and "Jericho," the rest is just trash.