Peter Cooper
Posted: July 27, 2008 7:17 am
Country Music Hall of Famers Tom T. Hall and Kris Kristofferson already love this thing. You gonna argue?
If so, or even if not, we’ll start at the start.
Mission Door is the debut album from Peter Cooper, a songwriter from East Nashville, Tennessee.
It’s an incredible collection, and it’s Cooper’s first. And it’s the work of a man who’s spent the better part of his adult life as a music writer and critic for The Tennessean newspaper, Esquire , No Depression , Mix magazine, and the Encyclopedia Britannica, among many others. His published work conveys a fan’s enthusiasm and a scholar’s knowledge. And so why not quit right there? After all, there’s a notion that folks who write about music just aren’t that good at making it. Well, Cooper’s not good at it. He’s great at it.
He writes of the pains and joys of life with sympathy and honesty. Brutal honesty sometimes, but somehow that just adds to the songs’ considerable beauty. There’s so much truth in Cooper’s tunes-so much that’s just absolutely right—it’s a good bet you’ll soon be hearing his name mentioned in the same breath as folks like John Prine, Kris Kristofferson, Tom T. Hall and Todd Snider.
That makes sense when you know that those fellows are on Cooper’s list of songwriting heroes. And rarely has a student learned so well from the masters. And the masters agree:
“Peter Cooper looks at the world with an artist’s eye and a human heart and soul. His songs are the work of an original, creative imagination, alive with humor and heartbreak and irony and intelligence, with truth and beauty in the details. Deep stuff. And they get better every time you listen to them.” -Kris Kristofferson
“The enticing allure of Nashville is that there is always something new coming down the pike. Put this record on and you’ll hear footsteps.” -Tom T. Hall
“Most of these songs were mine, but the song ‘Mission Door’ allowed me to sing my favorite song with my favorite singers,” Cooper said. “Who gets to do that? I had some stories to tell, and I told them with the help of some of the greatest musicians on the planet, including the most accomplished steel guitarist in the world. I’m hoping it brings a smile or two to whomever is listening. Most of all, I’m happy that Lloyd Green likes it enough to stand behind this thing. My most cherished moment in this process was when I played the album for Tom T. Hall, and he said, ‘There’s not one steel guitar lick on this thing.’ I said, ‘What do you mean? There’s more steel guitar on here than anyone uses.’ And he said, ‘Yeah, I know. But there’s not one steel guitar lick here. I guess that’s why he’s Lloyd Green. He plays the songs, not the licks.’”
Tour updates and other information are available at www.petercoopermusic.com and myspace.com/petercoopermusic.
tracks listing:
01. Boy Genius
02. All the Way to Heaven
03. Wine
04. Couple of Lies
05. Take Care
06. Mission Door
07. They Hate Me
08. 715 (For Hank Aaron)
09. Sheboygan
10. One by One
11. Andalusia
12. Thin Wild Mercury
If so, or even if not, we’ll start at the start.
Mission Door is the debut album from Peter Cooper, a songwriter from East Nashville, Tennessee.
It’s an incredible collection, and it’s Cooper’s first. And it’s the work of a man who’s spent the better part of his adult life as a music writer and critic for The Tennessean newspaper, Esquire , No Depression , Mix magazine, and the Encyclopedia Britannica, among many others. His published work conveys a fan’s enthusiasm and a scholar’s knowledge. And so why not quit right there? After all, there’s a notion that folks who write about music just aren’t that good at making it. Well, Cooper’s not good at it. He’s great at it.
He writes of the pains and joys of life with sympathy and honesty. Brutal honesty sometimes, but somehow that just adds to the songs’ considerable beauty. There’s so much truth in Cooper’s tunes-so much that’s just absolutely right—it’s a good bet you’ll soon be hearing his name mentioned in the same breath as folks like John Prine, Kris Kristofferson, Tom T. Hall and Todd Snider.
That makes sense when you know that those fellows are on Cooper’s list of songwriting heroes. And rarely has a student learned so well from the masters. And the masters agree:
“Peter Cooper looks at the world with an artist’s eye and a human heart and soul. His songs are the work of an original, creative imagination, alive with humor and heartbreak and irony and intelligence, with truth and beauty in the details. Deep stuff. And they get better every time you listen to them.” -Kris Kristofferson
“The enticing allure of Nashville is that there is always something new coming down the pike. Put this record on and you’ll hear footsteps.” -Tom T. Hall
“Most of these songs were mine, but the song ‘Mission Door’ allowed me to sing my favorite song with my favorite singers,” Cooper said. “Who gets to do that? I had some stories to tell, and I told them with the help of some of the greatest musicians on the planet, including the most accomplished steel guitarist in the world. I’m hoping it brings a smile or two to whomever is listening. Most of all, I’m happy that Lloyd Green likes it enough to stand behind this thing. My most cherished moment in this process was when I played the album for Tom T. Hall, and he said, ‘There’s not one steel guitar lick on this thing.’ I said, ‘What do you mean? There’s more steel guitar on here than anyone uses.’ And he said, ‘Yeah, I know. But there’s not one steel guitar lick here. I guess that’s why he’s Lloyd Green. He plays the songs, not the licks.’”
Tour updates and other information are available at www.petercoopermusic.com and myspace.com/petercoopermusic.
tracks listing:
01. Boy Genius
02. All the Way to Heaven
03. Wine
04. Couple of Lies
05. Take Care
06. Mission Door
07. They Hate Me
08. 715 (For Hank Aaron)
09. Sheboygan
10. One by One
11. Andalusia
12. Thin Wild Mercury