Sunday Music Spotlight - The Alan Cohen Experience

Alan Cohen is something of a one-man-band.  Actually he’s exactly a one-man-band.  The Alan Cohen Experience’s debut album, Revolution, features Cohen on vocals, guitar, bass, keyboards, and kazoo.  He’s the only person that appears on the album, and he produced it himself.  So, if many great albums are built from collaboration, the synergistic swapping of ideas, the give and take of creative ideas, how does Revolution sound?  Can one man’s vision truly provide the musical variety and the depth of lyrics required to provide a satisfying album?

Yes and no.  Despite the fact that all of the songs focus on the theme of “revolution”, there a lot of musical and lyrical variety.  From beat poetry about Nelson Mandela to electronic odes to the digital age, every song has something different.  If Nelson Mandela is too lovey-dovey for your tastes there are also tunes about Fidel Castro, Che Guevara, and the French Revolution.  If anything, there’s a little too much variety.  The album sounds more like a collection of random songs than a cohesive unit.  It’s a fun ride though, and well worth the listen.  Especially since it’s available as a free download on his website.

Alan Cohen Experience - Pharoah
Imagine a dialogue between Moses and the pharaoh, as told by Crosby, Stills, and Nash. Then insert a message from the Lord. That pretty much sums up “Pharoah”.

Alan Cohen Experience - Elephant
From the forthcoming Alan Cohen Experience EP, “Elephant” is a result of a collaboration between Cohen and producer Roger Greenawalt.  This shows more of the rocker side of Cohen’s musical personality.

Videos
“Smog: The Industrial Revolution”

Links
MySpace
Official Site
Buy Revolution or Download it for Free