About The Artist
In the years that preceded the release of his new Decca album Join the Parade, Marc Cohn passed through several life-changing events. These events are what enabled him to reconnect with his songwriting muse, and they are in large part, what make Join the Parade an artistic, insightful and soulful statement.

Despite his time away from the recording studio, the acclaimed singer/songwriter, winner of the 1991 Grammy Award for Best New Artist, has continued to perform live and his audiences have remained steadfast. He en¬dured the pain of divorce, but in 2002 he married news anchor Elizabeth Vargas. He struggled with writer's block and sought to break through it with a month-long tour in the summer of 2005. The gigs went great until the night of August 7, 2005. That's when Marc Cohn was shot in the head during a random attempted carjacking after a concert in Denver.

Even though the bullet was lodged near his left temple, Marc never lost consciousness and walked out of the hospital the next day. Three weeks later, while recovering at home in New York from post-traumatic stress disorder, Cohn watched the city of New Orleans destroyed by flooding in the aftermath of Hurri¬cane Katrina.

"I got home a couple of days after being shot," said Cohn. "And then Hurricane Katrina hit a few weeks later. I'm in the middle of my own crisis, and now I'm watching all these haunting images on television of thousands of people suffering through a far more horrific event. And then something I never could have predicted happened. It was like my song writing receiver got flipped into the on position. Everywhere I turned, in conversations I overheard, even in get well emails I was receiving, song ideas started coming. For several weeks, I'd be working on 2-3 songs simultaneously. And these songs weren't polite about their sudden presence either; they insisted on being written."

Out of all this, and all that came before, comes Join the Parade, a recording that is being called Marc's most accomplished and compelling album to date. Cohn has translated some of his most complex and private emotions into lyrical song-poetry and then set those words to music of remarkable depth, toughness, and complexity. In doing so, Marc has created a work that is certain to touch a universal chord of memory and feeling. The music leads us on: Indeed, its deep grooves, layered textures, and soulful singing make this journey a sensual pleasure. Marc and album co-producer Charlie Sexton (Bob Dylan, Lucinda Williams) have enlisted an exceptional supporting cast that includes members of Cohn's road band (guitarist Shane Fontayne, drummer Jay Bellerose), top session players (drummers Jim Keltner and Charley Drayton, guitarist Danny Kortchmar), and such bold-face "name" guests as Tom Petty keyboard ace Benmont Tench and vocalists Shelby Lynne, N'Dea Davenport, and the Holmes

Product Description
GRAMMY® AWARD WINNER MARC COHN RETURNS WITH HIS FIRST STUDIO ALBUM IN NEARLY A DECADE MARC COHN Join The Parade It has been nearly a decade since American singer/songwriter Marc Cohn last released a studio album. It has been fifteen years (1992) since he won the Grammy® Award for Best New Artist. Best known for his colossal hit "Walking In Memphis," Cohn returns with a new, passionate and poignant recording JOIN THE PARADE, to be released on October 9th. JOIN THE PARADE is the product of a personal journey. A recording of 10 songs that share a common theme woven from both Cohn's empathic observations after Hurricane Katrina and from a 2005 incident during which the singer found himself the victim of a carjacking in Denver, which left him with a gunshot wound to the head. JOIN THE PARADE is introspective. It is one man's look at the beauty of life through its fragility--spiritually moving and inspirational. Co-produced by long-time guitarist and Bob Dylan band member Charlie Sexton, the album was recorded over a period of a year both in New York, Los Angeles and Austin, Texas. JOIN THE PARADE is a long overdue album that serves to solidify Cohn's already well-known reputation as a great American songwriter.

1. Listening To Levon
2. The Calling (Ghost Of Charlie Christian)
3. Dance Back From The Grave
4. If I Were An Angel
5. Let Me Be Your Witness
6. Live Out The String
7. Giving Up The Ghost
8. Join The Parade
9. My Sanctuary
10. Life Goes On

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B000V9KE38/?tag=imwan-20

i'll get this on day one.

my wife and i sat next to marc cohn in the blossom music center restaraunt before he opened for CSN a few years ago.

after he finished his dinner and he got up to leave we said hello, he acted sort of stunned that i/we knew he was. he signed a napkin for my wife and about thirty minutes later he was on the stage. played by himself, no band, crosby/nash walked up and did backing vocals on "old soldier", and he came out at the end with CSN and sang and played during the encore.

a very very nice man. we are lucky he is still with us.

Soon after "Walking In Memphis" came out, a friend of mine told me that I had to get his album. I loved it, so I got the second album when it was released. Lightning struck twice! When his third album finally came out, it took a little while for me to warm up to it, but it too became a favorite. I never thought nine years would pass before we'd see a fourth album, but I'm very excited that it's almost here. Marc Cohn is a top-notch Artist who always delivers solid words and music.

I never followed his career, so I was surprised to learn that this will be only his fourth album. I guess with him being around for awhile I thought he had more.
I noticed in todays paper he's playing in the Chicago area in November.

Amen to this! Thanks for sharing that story. Unfortunately I'm out of town when he comes by on tour in December. Sure hope to finally see him sometime.

He really is a talented traditional singer songwriter that we don't have much of these days. It's too bad that has not done more in the last decade or so, but very happy that he is doing well and finally has recorded again.

The irony is that it was only a year or so ago, that a compliation finally came out. Obviously it only draws from a few albums, but it's hardly filler. I would say that his third album was the weakest, but it's still good (compared to great).

cohn does have a fifth album. a live album was released as a promo only, and it can be very tough to find.

when it does show up on ebay it doesn't usually go for a very big amount, i just always get sniped when i am bidding on one.

renny

...that's why it is useless to bid literally until the last minute. The very last minute. Any other bidding only increases the cost and while if you don't check in at the very end, someone comes in and snipes it as you say.

I had heard of the live one. I think that one of the tracks from the compliation is from the live album.

yes, it is called "one safe place"

renny

This is one fine album. The centerpiece songs "Let Me Be Your Witness" and "Live Out the String" are amazing, and the rest of the songs are strong too. Marc Cohn fans should not hesitate to pick this up. It just might be my favorite of his albums so far.

I own the "One Safe Place" cd. I bought it on amazon last year. A seller was offering 2 of them at different prices. One for $60 and one for $100 that the seller said Cohn had signed after a Denver Concert the night he was shot in the head. I bought the cheaper one because I didn't think he could verify the signing took place that night. Very good cd, 13 tracks.

MFSL has also reissued his "Walking In Memphis" cd if that hasn't been mentioned in here before.



https://www.amazon.com/dp/B000O75EXC/?tag=imwan-20