It may be a record you never heard of. Or you’ve got it in your collection but didn’t play it for a long time. It was issued in 1987. If you don’t have it or if you can’t find it, don’t worry: there are over 500 on Discogs.
I am talking about Jennifer Warnes’ LP “Famous Blue Raincoat”. A beautiful record in more than one sense. First, it is beautifully recorded, absolute top quality. The LP version is slightly warmer and more ‘alive’ than the digital ones. It’s a joy to play it, every time.
Then the tracks. All these songs were written by Leonard Cohen. I admire his work and many of his later performances are impressive, moving. But I love the interpretations by Jennifer Warnes on this record. She sings full of emotion and devotion. Which is not surprising as she sang backing vocals on quite a few of Cohen’s own recordings so she knows him and his songs well.
I’ll name a few songs. “First We Take Manhattan” reflects the optimism of the seventies and early eighties of last century for a better world. However, that hope started to collapse rapidly by 1986 when the song was written, so it sounds ironic, a bit cynical even. But the text is funny.
“Famous Blue Raincoat” is about a three-cornered relationship devoid of any reproach. On the contrary: the I-person is grateful to the third person in the relationship for helping his girlfriend getting back on her feet.
Then “Joan Of Arc”. To me this is the masterpiece on this record. It is beautiful, it is confusing, it is deeply moving. And Cohen joins Warnes here in a duet. The story goes that when Cohen learned that Warnes was recording this album, he got a bit restless and went to the studio to check for himself how it was going. And joined Warnes in this one song. He takes the role of the fire in the funeral pyre that is to be Jeanne d’Arc’s fate but also destiny.
Enchanting record. A must-have.
Peter van Willenswaard
