Robin Grey
Robin Grey Sings I Love Leonard Cohen
Robin Grey writes and sings songs in and around Hackney. Given that the first thing to come to mind when I think “Hackney” is a particularly delicious hamburger accompanied by a brick of fried onions sold by a Chicago regional chain rather than the London Borough, which, one presumes, is the Hackney in which Mr Grey resides, it is not, I suppose, surprising that I had never heard of him before today.
No one who has visited this blog previously, however, will be surprised that I tracked down and listened to this song exclusively because the title is I Love Leonard Cohen.
It turns out that the serendipitous Leonard Cohen reference in Grey’s song title has introduced me to an impressive talent. (Thanks, Leonard.) More about that in a moment, after I respond to the inevitable questions (I do know my audience),
- No, I did not commission I Love Leonard Cohen as the Heck Of A Guy theme song. And, if I had, I would have insisted on a salacious verse or two describing that long anticipated tryst with Anjani.
- No, this is not a dubbed version of I Love Rock And Roll with the words, “Rock And Roll,” replaced by “Leonard Cohen.” Joan Jett made me promise I wouldn’t do that again, and I’m a little afraid of anyone who still looks like that in leather pants and bikini top at 50.1
- No, this is not some kind of weird follow-up to the IRONY ALERT post or to The Jeffrey Lewis – Leonard Cohen Connection Myth. The non-ironic “I Love Leonard Cohen” line in the song means pretty much what you would think, i.e., the singer has an affection for Cohen’s music. And, unlike Jeffrey Lewis, who sang about Leonard Cohen and has a generic respect for him but does not see him as someone to emulate, Robin Grey thinks of Cohen as a major influence.2
- No, this is not a promotion to motivate readers to buy this song. In fact, it’s available at no cost. That’s right – through an exclusive arrangement between Robin Grey and – well, whomever would like the song, I Love Leonard Cohen can be downloaded gratis at http://www.robingrey.com/mp3/iloveleonardcohen.mp3.
- Yes, it is possible the title may have influenced my judgment of the song. And, yes, it is possible that I would have listened to a song performed by a supergroup comprising members of The Archies and Simon and Theodore from the Chipmunks with an instrumental background of gorillas stampeding a rafter3 of turkeys by pounding on barrels with tire irons if that track were named I Love Leonard Cohen. So, what’s your point?
Grey is a thoughtful, articulate songwriter with a strong, full voice he modulates more like a coffeehouse poet than a concert singer. Happily, his songs resonate with lyrics and strains one associates with folk music that he subtly darkens with nuances from the blues. He is certainly not afraid to play the nostalgia card, as is evident in this chorus from I Love Leonard Cohen:
My Weezer cd’s well they hardly get played,
My obsession with Jeff Buckley has all but ended,
You might ask is anything certain these days,
And I’d probably tell you that I love Leonard Cohen.
A number of his other songs4 are also available on his web site and his myspace page.
In any case, you gotta give a guy who writes a blog entry like this about the launch of his CD a chance.
Hey hey
I am up in Northumberland at the moment visiting my Gran, who luckily for me is a silver surfer with a nice shiny new pc on broadband … /Which means I can tell you about my gig this Sunday and then go and mooch down by the picture-postcard harbour and perfect my windswept look….
I will be on around 7pm and will be joined by Iain and Geri, wielding banjo, dulcimer, bass, percussion toys, violin and other things with strings… we will be done by 8pm so it is not too late for a school night or a cross London trip!
You can download the mp3 of ‘I Love Leonard Cohen’ here – http://www.robingrey.com/mp3/iloveleonardcohen.mp3 – please practice the outro backing vocals so we can all have a nice big sing-a-long on sunday 
[emphasis mine]
You heard the man – practice.
I Love Leonard Cohen – Robin Grey
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Credit Due Department
Photo by Gabrielle Motola. (The photo has also been used for the cover art of Robin Grey’s Only The Missile CD)
- To clarify: (1) Joan Jett turned 50 on September 22, 2008. The photo was taken in 2006, but I saw her on TV a week or two ago. Same leather pants, same Joan. (2) I’m more than a little afraid. [↩]
- He also lists Dylan, Ani Difranco, and a batch of others as important influences. He may be planning love songs addressed to each, and it just turned out that I Love Leonard Cohen happens to the first in a series. I dunno; like I said, I don’t know much about Robin Grey. [↩]
- Yes, a group of turkeys is called a “rafter.” [↩]
- I also recommend his cover of Kirsty MacColl’s There’s a Guy Works Down the Chip Shop Swears He’s Elvis [↩]
robingrey.com » Blog Archive » the internet’s biggest leonard cohen fan? // Dec 10, 2008 at 4:48 pm
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