Marc Cohn: Marching In

Join the Parade
Marc Cohn
(Decca)

I bought Marc Cohn’s self-titled debut album in 1991 after getting hooked on its huge hit, “Walking in Memphis.” So did a lot of other folks; Cohn won the Grammy for Best New Artist that year. The award was justified. “Marc Cohn” was chock full of good songs. Yet for some reason I didn’t keep up with his career afterward.

There wasn’t that much to keep up with. His new disc, “Join the Parade,” is only his fourth release and his first since 1998. Cohn did make an unfortunate return to the public eye in 2005, when he was shot in the head during an attempted carjacking. I don’t know why I lost interest in Cohn, but curiosity brought me back. I have to admit that I wanted to know what a guy who had been shot in the head had to say after all this time.

As it turns out, Cohn had plenty on his mind after a long layoff and a harrowing experience. The cover photo of a jazz funeral provides a clear picture of where he’s coming from on “Join the Parade.” Themes of rebirth, rejoicing, atonement and embracing life are woven through the 10 songs. Lyrically, it’s on target. Sonically, it’s triumphant. Cohn and co-producer/multi-instrumentalist Charlie Sexton drape the album in the rich colors of guitar, keys, muted horns and gospel undercurrents.

As it did on his stunning debut, the South plays a key role on “Join the Parade.” It’s another disembodied son of the South, The Band’s Levon Helm, who hangs over the opener, “Listening to Levon.” He’s not a ghost like Elvis was in Cohn’s breakout hit. Instead, Helm’s is the voice emanating from an old Valiant’s radio, a spirit that grips a songwriter for life: “I was lost / I was gone / Listening to Levon,” Cohn sings. “I was looking in Mary’s eyes / But I was listening to Levon.” Cohn wants to make it right, to apologize for neglecting that girl long ago. In a fitting twist of fate, he supposes that she might now be more interested in listening to Levon, too.

A Southern city, New Orleans, figures prominently in “Dance Back from the Grave.” As Sexton’s guitar grinds and snarls, Cohn celebrates the city’s fighting spirit. The title could just as easily refer to Cohn’s shooting, but that experience seems to be addressed more directly on “Live Out the String,” “Join the Parade” and the closer, “Life Goes On.”

After being through so much, Cohn seems ready to embrace his craft to its fullest. “Join the Parade” more than lives up to the promise of that long-ago Grammy. Even more hopeful is its message that life itself holds the potential for greatness. Finding it, for Cohn, meant getting off the ground and taking it.

“Live out the string a little longer boy / Raise your voice and make a joyful noise,” he sings on “Life Goes On.” “Ain’t no guarantee of anything / Live out the string.”