The American songwriter and singer Sharon Robinson has written successful songs for Aaron Neville, Diana Ross and Patti Labelle, among others. However, she gained most fame as the musical partner of Leonard Cohen. In 1979 she started as a backing vocalist for this Canadian bard and twenty-two years later she was musical director of Cohen's comeback album Ten New Songs. Caffeine is only her second
… solo album and that modesty seems to resonate in the content. In ten hypothermic soul songs, Robinson never leaves the band. Her voice sounds strikingly masculine and is somewhat like Aaron Neville's lamenting voice. The band plays tight, so tight that you sometimes think it comes from a box or computer but is called an extensive line-up of accompanists. The lyrics about love happiness and sadness sometimes seem a bit clichéd, she could have used some help from her Canadian boyfriend. This entertaining soul album is therefore not necessarily intended for Cohen lovers. (MR)more
