Customer Reviews

The Very Best of Marc Cohn : Greatest Hits

5 star:		(18)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Marc Cohn's Greatest Hits features a sweet, sipping bourbon voice from a song writer with a poetic glance and deep understanding of life stories. The music, written and song by Cohn is arranged and accompanied with a rich intricate afterglow of folk rock, down south gospel with a sprig of delta blues. The musicans and choir, including Cohn, rise and fall with a professional clarity that paints the mood and meaning of the notes and lyrics. The quality of the recording honors the effort of the CD.

All 18 songs on this CD are worth the listen and reflection on what they have to tell us of life. The journey through the songs is one of continuity; yet each song has it's own tale.

"Walking In Memphis" is a classic worth the price of the CD alone, but it is only the beginning to a set of masterpieces. I bought the CD for the last song, "One Safe Place" (song live), but would dishonor the effort to say I have a favorite on the album or a lesser favorite.

Truly great recordings become worthy of 5 stars to me when one will return to them over and over again, because they are timeless in their ability to move the soul. Marc Cohn's Greatest Hits is such a treasure.

I don't have this album, but I do have MC's 3 'regular' albums. All of the tracks (with the exception of 'Fallen Angels' and 'One Safe Place') are taken from these albums. MC is probably best known for his big hit 'Walking In Memphis'. There can be little doubt that this is an exceptionally good song, but there are others here which are as good, if not, better (for example - 'True Companion', 'Silver Thunderbird', 'Healing Hands' and MC's very 'laid back' version of the Harry Nilsson song 'Turn On Your Radio').

There is a lot of vocal and instrumental variety here, and the album also demontrates how MC can deliver quality popular music with a wide range of styles and moods (atmospheric/acoustic - southern rootsy/bluesy - funky rockers etc.); all this, together with songwriting of the highest order. Three of the songs feature brief contributions by James Taylor, Bonnie Raitt and Patty Griffin (yes, it's all good stuff) and I think this gives an idea of where MC is 'coming from'.

I would like to have seen 'Strangers In a Car', 'Ellis Island' and 'From the Station' included, with the possible exclusion of 'Perfect Love' and 'Saints Preserve Us' - but this is just a matter of my personal preference. Nevertheless, this is an excellent compilation of well chosen songs from MC's 1990s repertoire.

Forever tied to his one masterful hit, Marc Cohn is so much more than "Walking In Memphis." This long deserved best of collects the Grammy winning some of the best of this singer-songwriter's three Atlantic albums Marc Cohn, The Rainy Season and Burning the Daze plus a pair of new tracks. Cohn's style harkens back to the seventies school of sensitive writers; it's no coincidence that James Taylor pops up on "Perfect Love."

Cohn's music also took on a richly darkened hue as his albums progressed. The themes of loneliness and loss explored on "The Rainy Season" and "Burning The Daze" spoke of an artist maturing through his songs, even while his audience was diminishing. "Things We've Handed Down" is an amazing song about the expectations we place on our newborn children. As others have commented, the lovely "One Safe Place" (one of the new songs here) was featured on an episode of "House MD," to capture the meaning of a life passing.

It is, sadly, Marc's brush with death that has brought him back into the public eye. He was shot in the face during a car-jacking incident, landing him both in the headlines and on ABC's 20/20. (Caveat: Cohn is married to ABC correspondent Elizabeth Vargas.) It makes some of these stories of family life and love ("Rest for The Weary," "True Companion" and "Silver Thunderbird") all the more poignant, and his new "Join The Parade" a late season stunner.

If your library includes James Taylor, Van Morrison, Jackson Browne or Bonnie Raitt (who guests here on "Walk Through The World"), "The Very Best of Marc Cohn" will thrill you. His 2007 release, Join the Parade, stands up with his best work, as well.

I came upon this singer/songwriter as a result of being a fan of the TV series "House", including the music in the episodes.
"One Safe Place" from episode "Euphoria (2)", the one where Dr. Foreman is rapidly dying, finally did it for me. I had to find out who this musician was, and try to get more of his music.
He won a Grammy fifteen years ago and has not been "in the news" so much since then, but contributing music to the popular TV series should help him out a lot. He's a wonderful musician and I love this CD.

Marc Cohn is a prolific songwriter. I was specifically looking for 'True Companion' when I came across this album. Some of the tracks were familiar, others were new. I am amazed by the depth of his words. I highly recommend this!

I purchased this only for "Walking in Memphis" which I LOVED, but was sadly the only Marc Cohn song I knew. Turns out I've been missing out. The whole album was just beautiful, calm, and worth listening to over and over again. A worthy purchase I'm so glad I made.

This CD exceeded my expectations beyond belief! I would recommend this CD to anyone - the soulful music is fantastic. The songs really grow on you - I find myself thinking about their meaning since I listen to the CD all the time. Marc Cohn is very talented and has a great voice.

This is a fantastic album for those who are new to Marc Cohn and wish to learn more. It covers his career to date and has a great selection of tracks that gives a good representation of what his music is like. This artist is seriously underrated and hopefully this album will spread the word just that little bit more. It also has an interesting essay in the booklet. A great selection of music from a great artist.

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I discovered this artist by accident during an Amazon.com gem hunt. This guy has become one of my favorite artists. He his heads and feet above most contemporary song writers. Absolutely top quality stuff. Don't hesitate to buy, especially this "best hits" album which is flawless.

Marc Cohn has written and performed numerous classic songs. They are all on this album. Thoroughly enjoyable.