Gypsy Hill
Susan Cogan
Nomad Music
1999
11 tracks
While she presents an interesting and in some ways eclectic mix of songs on Gypsy Hill, Susan Cogans music carries with it an overall feel of hippie music. Even the songs that don't quite have that hippie-folk feel show the influence of that long-ago era. This is not bad. Fortunately, Cogan has retained the elements of this music which tend to stand up over time and has left the rest behind. Perhaps the only drawback is that there is a certain sameness to the songs on this release which may make any given song seem less interesting than it would in a more varied mix.
Cogan's lyrics are particularly strong and, for the most part, deserve a close listen. Set against sometimes uninspired musical arrangements, the lyrics are powerful statements of principle. Using very little imagery, Cogan is less a poet than a storyteller, more a Cockburn than a Cohen. Her lyrics are almost prose, yet concise and expressive, making a point without preaching or getting boring. Lyrics she has not written but has chosen from the writing of others bear the same hallmark. Here are the anti-war and pro-ecology themes of times past raised to the position of importance they once held. The lyrics are arguably the most interesting facet of Susan Cogan's Gypsy Hill.
With one of the shorter lyrics on this release, the title song, "Gypsy Hill," is one of the most interesting. The song is almost experimental in its blending of elements from many sources to create a new whole. The lyric praises the joy of country living as opposed to "shake down take down break down city stuff" and verges on being a simplified version of Joni Mitchell's "Woodstock" in its use of a music festival setting to make its point. Buried at the lyric's centre, however, is a seed of modern scepticism. Cogan turns around the sentiment of Ed McCurdy's "Last Night I had the Strangest Dream" with her lines: "Well I dreamed last night/That the world had all agreed to end this fight/I awoke and found it was all lies...."
Gypsy hill is interesting in its musical mix too. The backbeat is an almost Beatles (circa 1965) rhythm, yet the melody is more of a folk-blues. Later on in the song, the listener is surprised by a brief riff that could have been lifted from Chuck Berry's "Rock and Roll Music." Before the lyric repeats a second time (this time minus the anti-war bit), there is a clip of children's voices and what sounds like someone in hard shoes on concrete which seems at the same time to be incongruous yet to belong in this quirky song.The first song, "Medicine Wheel," is also interesting in the way it draws in and then holds the listener. The lyric itself is simple: a respectful painting of the traditional medicine wheel, the stone circle found in so many places around the world. The song begins not with human music but with nature, the sounds of a storm approaching and somewhere in the distance what may be a crow calling. The music segues in from this aural backdrop. While this is an interesting approach and works well with this song, the sound of the storm and crow is muggy and could have been recorded more clearly. The introductory music is a sort of old country and western break that, in combination with the storm backdrop, makes one almost expect to hear Cogan break out in a chorus of "Ghost Riders in the Sky." Behind the lyrics, the sound changes to something more reminiscent of "Indian Reservation" or perhaps the rhythms of native drumming.
"Men in the Service" seems, in my opinion at least, much too sweet and schmaltzy given the subject matter. In fact, it reminds me ever so much of the theme song for the British television comedy The Vicar of Dibley. The lyric might be better served by a stronger, harder-edged musical treatment.
Taken as a whole, Gypsy Hill is a sweet, listenable recording with some interesting musical treatments and lyrics that mostly have something important to say.
Canadian songwriter and performer Susan Cogan has been plying her craft across North America and in Israel for three decades. Those interested in learning more about her may want to visit her home page.
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Review Written: February 5, 2000
Page Last modified: February 14, 2004
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