Cosy Sheridan

The Horse King

Waterbug #102

"The Horse King," from Chicago's Waterbug Records, is Cosy Sheridan's 10th CD, give or take. You can't make it into double digits, and continue touring for twenty or so years, unless you know what you're doing, and do it well.

Rarely do you find a CD where every song is memorable. It happens, just not often. It happens here. Nine of the 10 cuts are Cosy Sheridan originals. They are mostly upbeat, often toungue-in-cheek, and always original and clever.

In "Higher Financial Reform," as a way to encourage us not to trust our retirement funds to someone younger, Cosy suggests, "He will talk about liquidity, but really he knows diddly."  Now, I ask you, when have you ever seen "liquidity" rhymed with "diddly."? Do some research and get back to me.

Play an air guitar? Don't do it. "Air guitar might have its charm, to me it's a waste of the hand and the arm." Cosy, my air guitar sounds better than the wood and string one.

"The Horse King" succeeds on all levels. Cosy is joined by Kent Allyn, David Surette, Penny Nichols, and TR Ritchie, on all their various instruments. Some cuts on the CD almost resemble show music in their productions.

 The Horse King

Waterbug #102

Seems fitting that a premiere folkie should land on the premiere folk label. Picking up the socio-political folkie side of things, Sheridan assails blows against the empire like she's a latter day Wobblie. Without being strident, she manages to send out a bunch more messages than the typical singer/songwriter has for quite some time. Delightfully offbeat, this is the email you look forward to getting from a friend of yours that's always on the go. All folkies know she's the real deal and this latest chapter is on the money throughout.

Cosy Sheridan

Horse King

Wind River

In this, her 10th release, Cosy admits to only recently deciding to call herself a “singer songwriter”. Previously, she’d always been only comfortable with “guitarist who sings”.

She learned to play guitar decades ago from her babysitter, and it became her comfort and creative outlet.  I’m always excited to hear a woman who can really play, and this Berklee student can.  That is not to say that she should underplay her writing chops, which in my view, has always placed her solidly in the top 10% of touring artists.

Mythology, religion and higher finance take turns emerging in this release.  Of the 10 cuts, five are humorous and many contain warnings and advice. “Pay attention, don’t trust your pension to someone younger than you” precedes the almost motherly suggestion to “be outside.”

Cosy writes intelligent and clever lyrics with stickable melodies.   The title cut is a great example. Aging sucks; whether you experience it personally or watch it’s emerging reality on a loved one.  Cosy uses the iconic imagery of the Horse King, now past his prime, being taunted and overrun by young stallions. Once you’ve heard this melody you will not get it out of your head.  A superb song.

As some artists age, their writing doesn’t match their earlier excellence, but Cosy consistently delivers and with real musicianship. Count on her to be clever with educated and touching lyrics whether in humor or reflection. – AP

Eros

Windriver #4042

Cosy Sheridan possesses an eccentric muse, or perhaps it possesses her. That's all for the good as this muse leads her into explorations to which other writers are oblivious. Thus, Eros stems largely from Greek mythology, as Sheridan sings with the wisdom of Minerva. Eros is a complete dozen song cycle that explores the nature of contemporary women and their lives as reflected in the age-old mythology. Sheridan specifically cites the myth of Eros and Psyche as the foundation for the album. She introduces the album's concept with the opening "The Story Of Longing," which contains a line about "the gods holding out their hand to me." Several of the songs stand alone without direct reference to the theme, but, taken in context, they fit like pieces of a jigsaw puzzle. "The Beauty Cream" updates the Persephone myth in a mock Gospel style. The wonderfully tongue-in-cheek "Weekend Workshop" sends up and puts down some New Age rituals. It might take Dr. Freud to divine all the nuances contained in this fascinating album of well-written songs. "You Still Love Me Somewhere" could be mistaken for a Carter Family song, not derivative, simply in that timeless style. The album ends with some irony, with "Happiness is Waiting," a song that uses laundry as metaphor. On this self-produced CD, Penny Nichols helped with the arrangements. Sheridan, who is a most adept guitarist, is accompanied by TR Ritchie, Kent Allyn, Nichols, David Surette and Eric Halter. This talented crew gives the songs bounce and substance. There's some very tasty picking on many of the songs. Sheridan has practiced her trade for many years, and has touched on these themes before, but not in a coherent stream of new songs. 1 laud her for going to Hades and back for a CD that stands apart from the hydra of singer-songwriters. Sheridan sings with the knowingness in her performance of someone who has lived, and this makes the tale of Eros all the more provocative and relevant.--RWarr