Album: The Clarence Greenwood Recordings

Song Title

Time

Nite Becomes Day

Pablo Picasso

My Way Home

Son's Gonna Rise

Sideways

Penitentiary

Hurricane Waters

Dartagnan's Theme

Bullet and a Target

10)

Fame

11)

Deep

Album: The Clarence Greenwood Recordings

Song Title

Time

Nite Becomes Day

Pablo Picasso

My Way Home

Son's Gonna Rise

Sideways

Penitentiary

Hurricane Waters

Dartagnan's Theme

Bullet and a Target

10)

Fame

11)

Deep

Performer Notes

Citizen Cope: Clarence Greenwood (vocals, guitar, Fender Rhodes piano, keyboards, drum machine).
Additional personnel: John Ginty (piano, organ, keyboards); James Poyser, Daniel Parker (piano, keyboards); Jason Yates (Fender Rhodes piano, organ); Preston Crump, Meshell Ndegeocello, Mike "Funky" Neal (bass guitar); Dennis Chambers, Rev. Brady Blade, Paul "Buggy" Edwards (drums); Bashiri Johnson (percussion).
When a singer/songwriter fights the big record label -- in this case Dreamworks -- because the label doesn't understand the artist's vision, then buys back a record so he can find someone else who cares enough to release it, it's admirable and has a "this must be good" allure for sure. One listen to The Clarence Greenwood Recordings and you might have a guess at why Dreamworks said "no." It's a wandering album, one that Greenwood's fan base can connect with, but more difficult for everyone else. The timely "people wanna bomb us" number, "Bullet and a Target," is the album's centerpiece single; it presents a shock-value laundry list of depressing situations, Billy Joel's "We Didn't Start the Fire" for the Dave Matthews generation. Elsewhere a vagrant falls in deep love with a billboard and D'Artagnan meets his match. From there it gets more undecipherable, but it's a record he fought hard for and his fans will love trying to figure it all out. ~ David Jeffries

Professional Reviews

Uncut (p.103) - 3 stars out of 5 -- "[H]e marshals influences cleverly to create a refreshing, contemporary roots stew."