And before this tangent takes over and crushes everything in its path, let me jump to whatever the point was.
RESUMPTION
If you think I’ve got the CSNY equation backwards, well, this may be the disc for you. The opening track, “Welcome to the Show”, sounds just exactly like CSN, to the point where you expect frickin’ “Marrakesh Express” to come up next. Many of you might find that to be a good thing; it made me cringe. C’est la vie.
I guess you might call Davenport’s voice… uh, “warm”, or maybe “winsome”. A lot of people would find it pretty appealing, anyway. He runs through a few styles over the course of the disc: aside from the aforementioned CSN-esque opener, there are a couple of cuts with a sorta bossa nova feel to them (“Clara”, “Following A Red Balloon”); “Finishing School” is somewhat reminiscent of Michael Franks; “Paper Friend” has a vaguely Nick Drake vibe to it, although Davenport’s guitar playing, while perfectly fine, is nowhere near as supple as Drake’s was. (In the interest of fairness, I should point out that very few guitarists approach Nick Drake’s ability with an acoustic guitar.) Overall, though, it’s a seventies singer-songwriter vibe throughout. Think James Taylor; think Dan Fogelberg; think Stephen Bishop, of “On and On” fame. That sort of thing.
The instrumentation is mostly acoustic guitar (natch) with some bass, percussion, sax and recorder thrown in here and there. And then there’s “One More Reason”, with its drum machine and glitter disco synthesizer in tow. Coming after all the acoustic earnestness, it’s a bit of a WTF moment. Ordinarily I’d welcome such an intrusion on an otherwise placid outing such as this, but it’s too little, too late.
CONFESSION
I really have no desire to shred this album. What purpose would it serve? I mean, it’s not like it’s poorly made or anything; there’s obviously been a lot of thought put into the project. The truth is that it’s really not my cup of fur, not by a long shot. And unfortunately, listening to it just makes me want to open a vein, so I’m afraid I’m gonna have to stop here. If you’d like to take a whack at giving Maroon Cocoon a better review, send me your name and address and I’ll mail you my review copy. It’s only fair.
*I’m a horrible misanthropist, yes, and a dyed-in-the-wool soft-rock-ophobe, but kitties are my pals.
Article comments
1 - raven
what a horrible review! but i guess you already know that. i mean, you were talking around the album and not about it. next time, if you don't like the genre of music, just pass the review to someone else; it's not worth making everyone listening to your complaining, and it is not fair to the artist.
bart davenport is a great artist, and he is phenomenal live.
2 - bmarkey
Eh. First off, I don't recall "making" anyone do anything. You clicked on that review of your own free will, and I'm willing to bet there was no one holding a gun to your head to make you finish reading it. And secondly, I did offer to send it on to anybody who wants to take a shot at it. I'll even pay the postage myself.
You say Bart Davenport is a great artist, and phenomenal live. That's as may be. I don't care for what he had to offer on this disc, and I tried to be as nice about that as I possibly could in saying that. I could have just ripped the shit out of it, y'know.
C'est la vie.
3 - bmarkey
Second paragraph, third line should read "I don't care for what he had to offer on this disc, and I tried to be as nice as I possibly could in saying that."
4 - paul k
If soft rock moves you to violence, perhaps you should seek professional help before someone gets hurt.
5 - bmarkey
Hey Paul, they've got this thing now called a "sense of humor". You should really look into getting one. All the cool kids are doin' it.
6 - wally bangs
The great writer to whom I pay homage to by taking the name, Wally Bangs, Mr. Lester Bangs once wrote a piece titled James Taylor Marked For Death. Those who think that bmarkey stepped over the line in his review should really find the Lester piece, read it, and then return to apologize for bmarkey's judicious handling of such lame crap as Bart Davenport.
7 - Bart Davenport
bmarkey - This is one of my favorite reviews. It was funny and somehow not so offensive. It amazes me that although you hate the genre, you still seem to have more references than reviewers who said they liked it. They seem to drop the name, James Taylor as if they've never heard anything else from the 70s. YOU on the other hand are familiar with Stephen Bishop and Michael Franks. I am not insulted at all by those comparrisons and prefer them over JT. When I was a kid, most of the other kids were really into Led Zep but me, I liked the sound of The Carpenters. Later on, I got into punk and then 60s garage bands. But I've always rocked the hardest to the slick, cheesey, coked out and yet somehow wooden and earthy feel of "On and On" or "Baker Street" or "Dream Weaver".
I almost want to put this review on my website because it is so intensly opposed to what I do. I rarely respond to things like this. But I have to give you a thumbs up for writing a funny piece and ripping into my influences instead of me.
rock softly,
- Bart Davenport
8 - wally bangs
Okay, I take it back, Bart Davenport is not lame crap. Anybody that's as sure of themselves as he obviously is deserves nothing put praise. I still might not like his music much, but as a person, Bart is moving to the top of the line for defending bmarkey's review.
9 - bmarkey
Hey Bart - Thanks for taking the review in the spirt in which it was intended. It's nice to find an artist with a sense of humor about his work. Responding here was a pretty rock & roll move, and I salute you for it.
Personally, I think reprinting this review on your site would be a very wise move on your part; if nothing else, maybe it would get your fans to calm down a bit.
PS - Just between you and me, the Michael Franks reference was intended as something of a compliment.
10 - Caryn Rose
This is starting to remind me of the old CREEM "Letters To The Editor". And this piece could have run in the magazine and fit in.
Which is the highest of high compliments.
It's rare to find a music fan with a sense of humor, even rarer to find a musician with one. This makes me want to listen to this record, now, or at least check out his live show when he comes to the Big Apple.
11 - Temple Stark
The review and the response were both pretty cool.
>>The weakest part of Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young, as far as I’m concerned, was Crosby, Stills, and Nash.
hahahahaha