Arthur Smith's smash hit Edinburgh 2000 show, full of jokes, poignant humour (and some of the best songs ever written) is being broadcast on BBC Radio 4 on Thursday 5th February at 23:30 (duration 30 minutes)
It is incredibly funny and, I believe, his humour counterpoints the selected songs perfectly.
JTS (Let me know if you agree)
Arthur Smith Sings Leonard Cohen
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John the Shorts
- Posts: 491
- Joined: Sat Mar 15, 2003 4:22 pm
- Location: Wales
?
. It may not even be the same one, but I somehow [perhaps wrongfully] took it to be so. I guess we'll just have to wait and see, on all of it 
Hi Paula ~
I could probably listen if I had speakers attached here, but I don't
. At work, it won't work at all to listen to something for an hour off the Internet. With the time differences between us, it could be a middle-of-the-night thing, anyway....much more do-able from home than work, if I had the speakers 
.
~ Lizzy
I could probably listen if I had speakers attached here, but I don't
. At work, it won't work at all to listen to something for an hour off the Internet. With the time differences between us, it could be a middle-of-the-night thing, anyway....much more do-able from home than work, if I had the speakers .~ Lizzy
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John the Shorts
- Posts: 491
- Joined: Sat Mar 15, 2003 4:22 pm
- Location: Wales
Dear All
If you want you should be able to listen to it (provided you have Real Player or somesuch) at http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio4/ it was first broadcast about 18 months (?) ago.
Here are extracts from a few reports:
http://www.montrealmirror.com/ARCHIVES/ ... /jfl3.html
http://www.idler.co.uk/html/frontsectio ... rsmith.htm
JTS
If you want you should be able to listen to it (provided you have Real Player or somesuch) at http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio4/ it was first broadcast about 18 months (?) ago.
Here are extracts from a few reports:
And he does. From "Suzanne" to "First We Take Manhattan" – with the occasional side trip into "Perfect Day" and "Cumbaya" – Balham's rumpled prince of ridiculous banter does exactly that. Of course, the banter still takes up the lion's share of this afternoon hour, ranging from George Steiner's views on American network TV scheduling to how expensive it is to hire a duck to appear on stage.
Although Smith admits, "I did this show just 'cause I liked the title," the Cohen material is substantial. He goes so far as to recite the melancholic Montreal bard's spoken introduction to the live version of "Chelsea Hotel," about sharing an elevator with Janis Joplin. But when Smith talks about Cohen as a touchstone for the boredom of most of everyday life (and even guitarist Ronnie Golden affects to nod off during one number), you know that his deadpan style is going to differ more than a little from that of his ostensible hero.
He has a largely serviceable voice, especially for songs of this kind, but at bottom, there's a reason why Arthur's name comes before Lenny's in the title. One of the Fringe's most solid bets continues to find ways to keep himself, and us, amused.
Written for the Financial Times Web site, ft.com
Copyright © Ian Shuttleworth; all rights reserved.
Arthur Smith Sings Leonard Cohen, Pleasance, Edinburgh
I HAD heard this show was good - but had no idea how good.
Through the music of Leonard Cohen, Smith tackled the hard issues of hard: boredom, addiction, misery, depression, love, betrayal and ducks.
The script was sharp, funny, moving and sad.
And the enjoyment of Cohen's music was enhanced, rather than spoilt, by the fact that Arthur is not exactly God's gift to singing. It was totally in keeping with the loser spirit of the songs.
Ronnie Golden, who accompanied Smith on guitar, was also fabulous.
He used his few lines to great effect and did a hilarious guitar solo, playing the axe with his teeth, apparently spitting out a loose one.
At the end of the show, the applause was deafening.
And the audience was right. It was most probably the best comedy show at Edinburgh this year.
STAR RATING(out of five): *****
Ollie Wilson
September 2000
And also some links for other reviews:A meditation on boredom, suicide, smoking and drinking, punctuated by poorly executed songs. Eschewing conventional notions of entertainment, ARTHUR SMITH offers you an enlightening journey to the centre of your tedious soul (some nudity). This is the second of the Arthur Smith trilogy, and threatens to be the last.
http://www.montrealmirror.com/ARCHIVES/ ... /jfl3.html
http://www.idler.co.uk/html/frontsectio ... rsmith.htm
JTS
... or for a completely unbiased review of the warm-up for the Edinburgh festival performances, there's this from the newsgroup:
http://groups.google.com/groups?hl=en&l ... CIS.DFN.DE
(if that link doesn't work, google the news group for Arthur Smith and you'll get plenty of hits)
I did subsequently see the performance in London too, and from what I can recall, the Radio 4 broadcast does a pretty good job of capturing the show. I thoroughly recommend it anyway!
http://groups.google.com/groups?hl=en&l ... CIS.DFN.DE
(if that link doesn't work, google the news group for Arthur Smith and you'll get plenty of hits)
I did subsequently see the performance in London too, and from what I can recall, the Radio 4 broadcast does a pretty good job of capturing the show. I thoroughly recommend it anyway!