I’ve been on a serious Leonard Cohen binge lately, revisiting favorites and catching up on the records I missed the first time around. Feeding the beast, two 2022 releases fell right into the obsession. Many listens later, I’m greatly enjoying both. I’ve also been doing a deep dive into the album that hits me as his best, most of the time. His whole catalog needs a wider discussion, and I’ll probably get to that sooner rather than later, but let’s start with this trio.
• Hallelujah and Songs From His Albums (06/03/22) – Well, that title kinda bluntly says it all. This new greatest hits collection kicks off with an epic live performance of "Hallelujah" from Glastonbury 2008, further evidence (if you need it) that only Leonard sings that song without the sentimentality or religiosity that so many interpreters have inaccurately tacked onto it. The album carries on from there to present sixteen choice cuts, chronologically from his first album to his last. The song selection is spot-on, every track on here deserves its place and is a treat to hear again. Some harder core fans might crab about the absence of a song or two, for me it’s “So Long Marianne” and “Tower of Song,” but that’s minor quibbling. Hallelujah and Songs From His Albums is a great choice for anybody looking to add one Leonard album to their collection, or to stream as an enjoyable and informative career overview. And it’s now the official collection of record, so to speak, since it’s the only one that spans Leonard's entire output, including Thanks for the Dance, his posthumous final album.
EARWORM: "Famous Blue Raincoat" - Quite possibly my favorite song from his entire catalog, written as a letter to an unnamed someone. Jennifer Warnes' version from her album of the same name should be listened to immediately after the original.
• Here It is: A Tribute to Leonard Cohen (10/14/22) – One of Leonard’s closest friends over his last couple of decades was jazz musician and producer Larry Klein. After Leonard’s death, Klein started to put together this tribute album for Blue Note records, gathering up musician friends and former collaborators. He put together a dynamite jazz band, featuring the great Immanuel Wilkins on sax and Bill Frisell on guitar, and invited some heavyweight singers to join in. The result is a musically rich and affecting tribute, worthy of Leonard’s great songs.
Mr. Wilkins and Mr. Frisell offer up the record’s two jazz instrumentals, in the true spirit of Blue Note, the rest of the album features a diverse cast of guest vocalists. I gotta say, one of the most striking things about the album are the performances by the three old guys – Peter Gabriel, Iggy Pop, and James Taylor. All three sing in a low register and use phrasing that mimics Leonard’s singing very closely. Gabriel, especially, I might guess to be Leonard in a blind listen. Iggy has a touch more attitude and James can’t quite get gravelly enough, but all three performances are very fine tributes to the man of the hour. The stellar turns by the women – Norah Jones, Sarah McLachlan, Luciana Souza, and Mavis Staples – highlight the deep humanity of Leonard’s words, they resonate in the soul regardless of gender.
EARWORM: "Hallelujah," Sarah McLachlan - Sarah gets the big one. I can't say she adds anything new to the song interpretation-wise, but she sure sings it pretty.
• Ten New Songs (2001) - I chose Ten New Songs because, if I had to for some reason, I would call it my favorite Leonard Cohen album. There are strong contenders for the title – I’m Your Man, Old Ideas, Various Positions – but this one hits just a bit deeper than the rest.
Leonard always had a love/hate relationship with his career, he had the heart and mind of a reclusive self-doubting poet, working in a commercial field that demanded access and timely product. He embraced, and then backed away from, whatever level of fame he had achieved countless times. In 1994, he was enjoying one of his most successful periods. His two most recent records, I’m Your Man and The Future, were by far his biggest hits, commercially and critically, and he had just come off the road from a sold-out worldwide tour. So, of course, he sounded the retreat, which in this case meant holing up for the next five years at the Mount Baldy Zen Center with his 90-year-old Zen Master, Roshi.
Leonard brought a batch of new song lyrics and poetry down from the mount when he finally returned to L.A. in 1999 but was reluctant to start the new record his fans, management, and record label were waiting for. So, he handed them off to his former musical collaborator and backing singer Sharon Robinson, to see if she could actually turn some of them into songs. In her above-the-garage home studio, Sharon wrote melodies, added softly programmed instrumentation and rhythms, and sang the new songs as guide vocals for the boss. She sent the results to Leonard as demos for the album now, hopefully, in progress. He was so impressed by what he heard he left everything as is, including her vocals, and simply added his own voice singing beside hers. An electric guitar was overdubbed on one track, a string arrangement on another, and Ten New Songs was ready.
Compared to his two previous hit records, Ten New Songs is quieter, mellower, more reflective – not surprising, considering where he’d spent the last five years. Leonard’s new batch of lyrics, written far away from the distractions of celebrity and commerce, are deep ruminations about spirituality, romance, humor, love, triumph, and human frailty. Sharon’s simple arrangements and co-vocals give the words a lush romanticism and melodic beauty unlike any of his previous records. There are no fast ones here, the mood is always hushed and unforced, but there are subtle hooks that stick with you in every song. If I’m making a list of my ten favorite Leonard Cohen songs, four or five of them would likely come from Ten New Songs. There’s no way I could leave “In My Secret Life,” “A Thousand Kisses Deep,” “Boogie Street,” or the sublime “Alexandra Leaving” off the list.
EARWORM: “Alexandra Leaving” – One of the most beautiful pop ballads ever written, in my humble opinion.
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