Jennifer Warnes
The Hunter

Thirteen very long years, this is the chronological distance that separates "The Hunter" of 1992 from "Shot Through The Heart" of 1979, yet the '80s were a very happy and fruitful period for the (anti)diva of Pop Jennifer Warnes; besides the famous "Up Where We Belong" and "Time Of My Life," which guaranteed her two great international hits, her relationship with Leonard Cohen grew increasingly closer: the duets of "Night Comes On" and "If It Be Your Will," among the most precious gems of "Various Positions," remain etched in the hearts of all the admirers of the great Canadian singer-songwriter. Then, in 1987, a masterpiece of interpretive art like "Famous Blue Raincoat," which Cohen almost uses as an echo chamber for his new album, "I'm Your Man" of 1988, entrusting Jenny with "First We Take Manhattan" and "Ain't No Cure For Love," along with a breathtaking duet on the notes of "Joan Of Arc," an unpublished gem like "Song Of Bernadette" and other chilling performances like "Coming Back To You," "A Singer Must Die," and "Came So Far For Beauty." Five years later, Jennifer Warnes returns to walk on her own and does so with a unique album, rich in influences, styles, and facets, "The Hunter."

Immediately striking is a beautiful and elegant cover, and elegance is one of Jennifer Warnes' characteristic traits and, even more specifically, of "The Hunter": the album, released by Private Music, presents a strong "black" connotation: perfectly fitting for the crystalline, powerful, and sensual tone of the singer, who has absolutely nothing to envy the better-known and celebrated divas of black music: in episodes like "Rock You Gently" and "True Emotion" Jenny offers a simple, engaging, and elegant pop tinged with soul of great quality and care in arrangements, "Somewhere, Somebody" by Max Carl undergoes a metamorphosis: from a pop rock semi-ballad it becomes a soft parade of muffled R'n'B rhythms that enhances the most sensual side of Jennifer Warnes' voice, which in the epic swing of "Big Noise, New York", penned by Donald Fagen, showcases truly extraordinary interpretive abilities, giving a living, pulsating soul, an overflowing flow of emotions to an already great song, which, sung in this way, becomes a masterpiece. That Jennifer Warnes was a divine performer was already known, and this concept is strongly reiterated in "Pretending To Care" by Todd Rundgren, in which her powerful and impassioned voice almost seems to dialogue with the piano, in a climax of elegance and expressiveness that comes close to recalling the unmistakable style of Joni Mitchell from "Ladies Of The Canyon" and "Blue" reinterpreted in a more pop key and in "The Whole Of The Moon" by the Waterboys, which is reshaped with more rock sounds that enhance the clarity and passion of Jenny's voice.

But "The Hunter" is more than a simple album of perfectly interpreted covers, in this record Jennifer Warnes expresses the maximum of her songwriting abilities, which were already abundantly glimpsed in "Shot Through The Heart" and here are extraordinarily refined: all the unpublished pieces of "The Hunter" are written or co-written by the singer and, besides the already mentioned "Rock You Gently" and "True Emotion" are the best episodes of the album: "Way Down Deep", a very soft love song beautifully minimal where tribal rhythms meet a Scottish bagpipe intermezzo; a masterpiece of arrangement where the singer's voice resonates echoing in all its velvety sensuality interpreting a beautiful text gifted to her, not surprisingly, by Leonard Cohen: "Don't matter what we gave away was nothing we could keep, don't matter what we gave away you know the talk is cheap, forgive me if I hate you, you're a liar and a thief but I've got you in the glory place, I've got you way down deep", while "Lights Of Louisianne" is an ethereal and contemplative waltz, a rapture of folk sweetness accompanied by Van Dyke Parks' accordion that, combined with an angelic voice (I hate this adjective but there's no other way to describe it) like Jennifer's, gives life to a fresco of rare and poignant delicacy, splendidly poetic and dreamy.

The last two pearls of the album are credited solely to Jennifer Warnes who, blessed with extraordinary inspiration, gives us a piece like "The Hunter", a lively, exhilarating, and joyful love song, as well as a perfect example of high-class Pop, operatic pop in particular, without any sophisticated and baroque frills but with a lot of grit and enthusiasm, finally closing with a breathtaking soul-ballad, "I Can't Hide", where once again she demonstrates how to make the most of that incredible voice Mother Nature gave her, in a wonderful farewell that almost sounds like an affectionate dedication, a declaration of love addressed to every listener. Indeed, "The Hunter" is almost a farewell record: the very happy relationship with Leonard Cohen ends that year, 1992, and for Jenny, a long period away from the spotlight will follow. Although inferior to "The Well," the artistic testament and ultimate masterpiece of Jennifer Warnes "The Hunter" is a very peculiar record that perfectly reflects, in all its peculiarities, the character of this sweet, small, yet grand popstar, and I like to think that "The Hunter" is a example of what pop could have been and should be.