tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8778001285727771343.post3349331763325817210..comments2009-06-02T11:57:50.723-07:00Ercolehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07624336130332596024noreply@blogger.comBlogger1125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8778001285727771343.post-86394233420452186082009-06-02T09:20:12.480-07:002009-06-02T09:20:12.480-07:00Gentlemen, <br /><br />To compare Paolo Conte with Leonard Cohen is surely to damn him with faint praise. Conte is an exceptional musician, an inspired vocalist, and a brilliant interpreter of diverse musical genres. He is, like most Italian artists, a bit quirky, somewhat eccentric, but nevertheless a genius. I have attended his concerts at the Montreal Jazz Festival on a couple of occasions and he is the marquee attraction that no one can gets tickets for. His reputation precedes him wherever he performs. Mr. Cohen, on the other hand, is a fellow Montrealer/Canadian, and considered by some, particularly himself, to be a gifted and exceptional artist/poet. Though loathed to admit so, I had to be screwed into my seat to stay for his whole concert in Montreal on that one dreadful occasion. His lyrics seem to come from rhyming dictionaries that I used in my creative writing course in grade school. Cohen also boasts over 200 songs but I say he wrote the same song 200 times. He does, however, teach us all a valuable lesson; where nature has failed to provide from within, hire a crackerjack team of managers, agents, and lawyers.<br /><br />CheersJohnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16558424820424726809noreply@blogger.com