That brings me to Kevin Coyne's voice. Some people are said to have the voice of an Angel, but they weren't talking about Kevin. Unless of course your definition of Angel stretches to include imps with a voice that sounds like a mixture of Joe Cocker and Warren Zevon with the delivery of Randy Newman.
But unlike the latter two whose constant irony, bitterness and sarcasm can wear on you after a while, there's an honesty and rawness that will slip through in Kevin's delivery and voice that resonates on an emotional level instead of simply an intellectual level. Sure he uses clever arrangements of words, and quick turns of phrase to make some points, but he still knows the true strength of a Blues' song resides in it's emotional honesty.
Before listening to Sugar Candy Taxi I had only heard one song of Kevin's, but that had been enough to make an impression on me. Sometimes though those first impressions can be misleading, and listening to a full disc of the person's music will be a disappointment. Not from this man though, and not from this disc.
Kevin Coyne's 1999 CD Sugar Candy Taxi is a disc that has already stood the test of time and sure sounds like it will continue to do so for many a year to come. Even though Kevin is no longer with us, he has left a wonderful legacy behind him.
Article comments
1 - Charlene Komar Storey
Warren Zevon's songs are intelligent, yes, but characterizing his work as marked by "constant irony, bitterness and sarcasm" simply doesn't hold up. Yes, there's irony in Zevon's writing. But it's far from constant. There's much more humor than bitterness. And there are plenty of just plain rockers and romantic songs as well. In fact, his range is pretty damn impressive.
Take a look at just a couple of his albums. Going back to the beginning of his popularity, the songs on "Excitable Boy" hardly fit your description. Even "Accidentally Like a Martyr" has only one line that might possibly be called bitter ("the hurt gets worse/and the heart gets harder"). Yes, there are songs that look at things a bit differently, shall we say, but "constant bitterness, irony and sarcasm"? No.
Later CDs? I'll pass over "The Wind" -- notable though it is for a lack of bitterness and a plethora of humor from a dying man -- because of the circumstances of its recording. Put "Life'll Kill Ya" on the player instead. Again, yes, there's irony, but hardly constant. There's some sarcasm, but again, far from constant. Some songs are rueful. More are funny ("Life'll Kill Ya" and "My Shit's Fucked Up") or touching ("Hostage-O," "Ourselves to Know" and "Don't Let Us Get Sick").
It's all too common to try to limit Zevon, but it's like trying to get a multi-sided peg into a round hole.
I understand that on March 27 we'll see re-issues of "Excitable Boy," "Stand in the Fire" and "The Envoy." Give them a listen.