Review:
Steve Cohen
(CD "I Must Have Been Crazy")
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Steve Cohen Philadelphia, USA. By John Frame (30th November 2001) new CD: "I Must Have Been Crazy" (2000 Hurricane Records) (available through www.amazon.com )Steve Cohen is a singer/songwriter/pianist, now into his second fully produced CD release. His work is beautifully produced by his long-term friend and music teacher Jack Piccari. The title track of Steve’s first album "Silent Too Long" referred to the US military’s "Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell" attitude to tolerating gays only as long as they remain invisible – his song is a rallying call to openly demand social equity. On that album he also sings about being socially isolated from a homophobic father, avoiding eye contact with the boys you really fancy at school (and taking that into adulthood), envy of sporty jock-types and lots about relationships and love. With "I Must Have Been Crazy" there is bigger production and instrumentation. There are also fewer direct statements about gayness, which is now a given part of the persona of his work. "Dykes Lumber" plays with the idea that this real-life Hoboken business is dyke by nature, not just by name. "Your Kind Of Love" is about victims of gay-bashing, and is Steve’s tribute to the memory of Matthew Shepard. Most of the themes here are aspects of relationships: "You Don’t Know What You Want" declares a resolution to give up on a relationship where drug abuse has made honest communication impossible. "Spanish Fly" looks at the gay bar scene of quick pickups and temporary romance. But my favourite track, because it has a great hook and really swings – is "Can’t Put My Finger On It" – about a girlfriend with secrets who refuses to make love. |
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