The Rainwater LP

Artist: Citizen Cope
Label: Rainwater Recordings
Website: citizencope.com

Take a chance on Cope

Sometimes to get it right, it is best to just go out on your own and that is exactly what Clarence Greenwood, aka Citizen Cope, has done on The RainWater LP.

It is his first record in four years and like his previous two outings, this record was produced by Greenwood, but it is the first on his own label RainWater Recordings, Inc. You can hear his ultimate freedom throughout this album, as it is laid back catchy and cohesive right to the end. This cohesiveness comes at you on several fronts as the lyrics are memorable and sometimes to the point like “If you come looking for a hard time, hard times ain’t hard to find,” from standout track "Lifeline".

The second attack of course is his music, which ebbs and flows with a folk-rock backbone mixed with jazzy rhythms, that all get the help from the talented backing musicians of bassist Preston Crump (OutKast, Raphael Saadiq), keyboardist James Poyser (Roots, John Legend) and percussionist Bashiri Johnson (Donald Fagen, Madonna). What makes The RainWater LP so solid is that the record is a completely honest offering without any tweaking from a label. No changing a hook, no changing artwork, no additional songs - just Citizen Cope. Guess what? - that is all you need.

If for whatever reason you have been resistant to check out Greenwood's music before, The RainWater LP is the album to get on board with, as his fusion of musical styles work themselves out to completion in a neatly packaged 40 minutes and it represents his best work since Greenwood's debut.

Christopher Anthony

For more of Christopher Anthony's music reviews, check out The Fire Note