Marc Cohn came and went in the early 90s, a classic one-hit wonder. Winning the Grammy for Best New Artist in 1991, he's done very little since, other than releasing another album, a spattering of collections and live recordings, and getting shot in the head.
I have to give Cohn credit; in that narrow crevasse between the mohawks and acid-washed jeans of the 80s and the hammer pants and breakdancing ninja turtles of the early 90s he made some really nice folk rock music. His album Marc Cohn has the feel of really competent musicians who aren't trying too hard. For that, I feel like it's worth a revisit. The album credits include Don Alias, Steve Gadd, James Taylor and a host of other studio musicians who are probably amazing though not recognizable by name.
Walking in Memphis is beautifully recorded, as I listen to it for the first time in a while on good headphones. (incidentally, it was mastered by present Mainer Bob Ludwig, a couple years before he started his business in Portland) The rhythm instruments are layered beautifully, with piano, synth sounds, guitars, organs never really getting in the way of each other. There are many tasteful, nuanced choices like the way the bass lays out until halfway through the second verse, the piano part changing in the second verse, all sorts of colorful synth notes in the bridge and very careful dynamics throughout. Really, with good headphones it is striking how well-mixed this song is.
What gets me is the rhythm, because I am sure as a kid I heard it wrong. I'm a sucker for music that I realize I have been hearing incorrectly. There are many ways to botch the piano part; one is to add thirds to the chords. It is a IV, V, I, vi in C Major, but none of the chords have thirds in the piano part, just open fifths.
More likely, people tend to square up the rhythm. Especially since the time is nebulous when he plays the main piano part, it is easy to square it up in your head but the strongly accented root notes should actually all be anticipations. Here is exactly how it shouldn't be played:
People often square it up like this because it is easier to play and sing at the same time. Here it is done correctly:
(for those trying to play it on the piano, I recommend playing the first two notes of each chord in the left hand, the second two in the right hand)
Note that the first chord starts on the down beat, so there are only three notes (the high C is omitted). Besides being a pretty hip syncopation, the pattern played with the sustain pedal creates lingering color tones for each chord. The high D on the G chord carries into the C, and so forth. This makes the chords sound like this: FM7, Gsus, C2, Am7. It manages to be simple (easy pattern, no thirds) and elaborate (syncopated, color notes and suspensions implied) at the same time.
So "hats off" to Marc Cohn. You could probably make a strong case that Boyz II Men should have won the Best New Artist Grammy that year, but I really appreciate his musical competence and unpretentious roots-style songwriting. For those who enjoy Cohn, I recommend checking out his Silver Thunderbird, which was one of my favorite songs as a kid. One hit is more than I've ever had, and I think his praise was well-deserved. Here's hoping Marc Cohn has a long happy life and never gets shot in the head again.
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