IN CONCERT
Jennifer Warnes
Where: Alix Goolden Hall, Victoria Conservatory of Music (also Sid Williams Theatre in Courtenay on Sept. 29)
When: Wednesday, doors 6: 30 p.m., showtime 7: 30 p.m.
Tickets: $45 door, $41.50 advance (www.hightideconcerts.net, Lyle's Place, Ditch Records)
Singer Jennifer Warnes became a hugely successful artist in the 1980s with mega-hit duets such as Up Where We Belong (with Joe Cocker) and I've Had The Time of My Life (with Bill Medley).
Fans and critics especially adored Famous Blue Raincoat (1987), her collection of Leonard Cohen songs. Warnes, a former backup vocalist for Cohen, interpreted his songs with singular intelligence and grit, establishing herself as more than just another movie soundtrack singer.
Yet somehow Warnes - who will be accompanied by a bassist and guitarist next week in Victoria - never quite became a superstar. It's surprising, given her commercial success and high profile. Four songs nominated for Academy Awards in the '80s showcased Warnes as a vocalist (she ended up winning three times). And her Linda Ronstadt-influenced performance of Right Time of the Night reached the Top 10 in 1976.
Warnes says her staunch refusal to let the music industry package and commodify her stymied the publicity mill.
"I was pretty unmarketable to many aspects of the music business, because they want a fixed product with a brand name and a trademark. I get shifting gears and changing," the 65year-old said on the phone from her home near Los Angeles.
Warnes promises an intimate concert at Alix Goolden Hall. She'll offer a few old hits and "some things that are fun to sing, some things that are new and different." Warnes added: "It'd be the same as if I invited half a dozen friends over and sang for them."
Her recorded output slowed after Famous Blue Raincoat. In 1992 Warnes released The Hunter, followed by The Well in 2001. Since then, she hasn't issued a new album.
In fact, Warnes still records regularly. But no record company has stepped up to release her music. The situation reflects turmoil and financial struggles within the industry, she says.
"I love the recording studio. Whenever there's a reason to be there, I'm there," Warnes said. "But there's no majors, no record companies, there's no support system for us. A lot of my friends and I, we're just amassing recordings as much as we can, but there is no way to get [the process] completed."
One of her recent projects was contributing written material to a yet-to-bereleased documentary about the Wrecking Crew. This legendary group of top session musicians, who supported Warnes on her first two records, backed a who's who of pop and rock acts, ranging from the Beach Boys to The Byrds.
Warnes' career has been eclectic. A child prodigy, she sang The Star Spangled Banner as a nine-year-old at the Los Angeles Shrine Auditorium, backed by 350 accordions. In high school, Warnes was offered an opera college scholarship. Instead she struck out as a folk singer, signing a record deal with Parrot Records in 1968. That year, she joined the cast of The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour.
After a stint with the stage musical Hair, she met Cohen. Their friendship and musical partnership - she toured and recorded with him - had a profound influence. It was Cohen who encouraged Warnes to take whatever opportunities offered themselves.
"He said, 'Step up and say yes as often as you can,' " Warnes said. "So I did, whether it was arranging or singing backgrounds, or learning how to record or being on TV. Whatever it was. I felt an obligation to step up fully, rather than trying to orchestrate some kind of master plan - that's ridiculous. The career I got was a chain of pearls, I suppose. Each one I said yes to."
The latest pigeonhole Warnes finds herself struggling with is being an older woman in pop music. Showbiz usually shunts seniors to one side. Yet Warnes believes she has many creative years ahead of her.
"Look at Ry Cooder and Leonard Cohen and Bob Dylan and what they're producing now," she said. "It's totally adventuresome."
