"...And Jesus was a sailor, when he walked upon the water, and he spent a long time watching from his lonely wooden tower, and when he knew for certain, only drowning men could see him, he said, "All men will be sailors then until the sea shall free them," But he himself was broken long before the sky would open, forsaken, almost human, he sank beneath your wisdom like a stone..."

These words represent one of the great songs of our time. Written in the '60s, "Suzanne" highlights the brilliance of a thinking man we would come to know as Leonard Cohen. In time, Cohen would produce many wonderful insights into philosophy and the darkness that is the molecular fabric of our lives, all condensed into songs. Up through his last studio album, Dear Heather, we have been what Lou Reed would so eloquently state at Cohen's induction into the Hall of Fame in 2008, "... so lucky to be alive at the same time Leonard Cohen is."

The Field Commander was beyond his whole on Saturday night at the Nokia Theatre in LA. He began his 3 hour set with "Dance Me to The End of Love," and held our attention throughout a massive set which included 4 encores before giving a heartfelt but sure goodbye that left no doubt that we have seen the last of Cohen, tour-wise. Cohen respectfully bowed to each of his bandmates after introductions and gave his audience that same bow at the end. You knew love was in the air. And that greatness has touched us.

Cohen said it best when he gave us, "There's a crack in everything. That's how the light gets in." We need that kind of understanding now. But so few can think at that level. Fewer yet can write it.

First we take Manhattan...

The singer and founding member of Delfonics, Randy Cain, died Thursday at the very young age of 63, cause of death unknown. It was his voice that you heard on "Didn't I (Blow Your Mind This Time)," a big hit for the R& B Philly band. His is another loss that we'll miss. But he adds a unique style to the Big Band.

No reviews for today.

There will not be posts throughout the rest of this week and possibly Monday of next week as I have to run back to Illinois. Mom TAP has been very ill and I find it necessary to be back there as soon as possible. I will, however, be leaving release information throughout this time by way of Twitter. If you are joined to my feeds, then you're good to go. Otherwise, come back to the site and catch up via our Twitter applet located on the front page (below this paragraph). I'll post as soon as I can otherwise.

Brushfire Records (Jack Johnson's label) will release a 12-track debut S/T album from Zee Avi on May 19.

A specially priced collection is coming for Johnny Griffin called The Best of Johnny Griffin and will be released on May 19 by Riverside Records.

Island Records and Def Jam will release the new album by Lionel Ritchie called Just Go.  This 14-track CD is planned for May 19.

Hear Music will release a Sia DVD called TV is my Parent on May 19.  This DVD is 60 minutes of concert footage mixed in 5.1 and Stereo.  Bonus inclusions are random hidden clips throughout the DVD as well as four Sia music videos.

12 tracks of Smooth Jazz by saxophonist, Candy Dulfer is arriving on Funked Up, released by Heads Up International on May 12.

Floodplain coming from Kronos Quartet, has been bumped to May 19.

Rounder will release Hillbilly Goddess by Alecia Nugent, scheduling the album for May 12.

Here's some nice news:  Heads Up International will release a new album by Stanley Clarke, actually The Stanley Clarke Trio, which features Hiromi (who recently was featured in a Chick Corea collaboration, Duet), and Lenny White.  The album is called Jazz in the Garden and will be released on CD, LP (Limited Edition 180g 2LP w/DD card, autographed, and with two bonus tracks - “Take the Coltrane (Funky Version),”and “L's Bop.”)  A tour will follow.  Planned for May 12.

Varese Sarabande, on their Fuel label, will release a 33-track collection of Bill Wyman songs from his work with The Rhythm Kings.  The set is called Greatest & Latest, incorporating Live and Just for a Thrill for a big experience.  This set is expected on May 12.

Greatest Hits II for Kenny Chesney, which features a new song (“Out Last Night”), is slated for release on May 12.

Columbia  Records will release the new Mat Kearney album called City of Black and White on May 12.

The upcoming celebratory and honouring Paul Simon tribute DVD called Paul Simon and Friends: The Library of Congress Gershwin Prize for Popular Song is chronicled on a PBS Special and now will be made available for you on DVD that features 5.1 Surround (Dolby, DTS), and presented visually in 16:9 widescreen.  Additionally, there is included a 24-page booklet based on the original event program.  This DVD features 23 Various Artists renderings of classic Paul Simon tunes from Simon and Garfunkle/Solo periods with an introduction by Bob Costas.  It's coming from Shout! Factory on May 12.

Levon Helm of The Band fame will release his latest album, Electric Dirt, on June 30.  It is the follow-up to the Grammy Award-winning Dirt Farmer (2007).  It is being released on Helm's boutique label, Dirt Farmer Music, and distributed by Vanguard Records.  The new album will feature 11 tracks, some of them covers (Grateful Dead; Happy Traum) and some original compositions.  We look forward to his new batch of music.

Texas-based Hardcore Metal is what this band is all about. Seeding the market with this stack of metal songs, this S/T EP can sear your eardrums AND supply juice to the solar panels of your neighbours' houses. Tommy Bones is spilling the gasoline and this EP is the match.

Foghat ruled the charts and Rock lovers' hearts with the release of this high-charting platinum selling release, Fool For The City. With blues, hard rock, and the uniqueness of Peverett's vocals, Foghat - and Fool for The City - remains representative of a great era in Rock music, the '70s. This album generated the huge hit, "Slow Ride" as well as the album's title cut. Mobile Fidelity, with their attention to detail, has released an excellent audio version of the classic album on SACD, where it needed to be.

The female-fronted Orchid Thieves hails from the UK (don't confuse them with the Canadian and NYC bands of the same name variations), where it currently delivers it's brand of Rock not unlike The Pretenders except with stronger vocals. The music is reminiscent of an earlier time and yet they remain very relevant to the kind of emerging musical style that it coming from the always fertile musical climate of the UK. I highly recommend them to you. I am providing links to their Facebook page and their MySpace page, where you should find plenty of music to enjoy from this new band. Soon, they will release their debut album. We hope that they will do well. You can also follow their Twitter feeds.

Check out their posted songs, especially "After Tomorrow." They will be releasing an EP in a few months.