Leonard Cohen: I'm Your Man
|
List Price: Our Price: $9.49 You Save: $4.49 (32%) Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days Buy Used: from $4.90 (click here) Category: Music CD See more new music releases 
|
|---|
Buy this Music CD at online store in your country
Canadian Music Store
Canadian Music Store
Free Music Notes for Leonard Cohen: I'm Your Man
Free Music Review: Cohen's songs are unmatched for irony, anger, humor, and compassion
Hit: 4 Stars
Listening to this collection this morning, I was again struck by the beauty of his song, "Anthem." I am convinced that Cohen adapted the beginning words of that song ("The birds they sing, at the break of day. Start again, I heard them say.") from a letter Vincent Van Gogh wrote to his brother, Theo. Here' Van Gogh's writing:
"At half-past-three in the morning, the birds began to sing at sight of dawn and I started again."
Everytime I hear that song I think of Van Gogh.
Listening to Cohen's songs interpreted by other artists (McGarrigle Sisters, Rufus Wainwright, Martha Wainwright, Perle Batalla among others) I find that his words ring true. It takes a special singer/musician to sincerely convey the deep emotional and intellectual depth of his works.
This is an effective collection of most of Cohen's best-known songs, and includes Cohen himself performing with U2 on "Tower of Song." I haven't seen the film yet and will someday, I'm sure, but the disc itself is extremely effective in its own right.
Free Music Review: More hits than misses on this tribute album
Hit: 4 Stars
Taken from several concerts that were collected into the 'I'm Your Man' documentary, the disc features many decent to great covers of classic Leonard Cohen tracks. Some of the highlights are Antony's soaring, operatic rendition of 'If It Be Your Will', Teddy Thompson's takes on 'Tonight Will Be Fine' and 'The Future', and Nick Cave's satanic crooner take on the title track. The McGarrigle sisters do a chilling 'Winter Lady', which fits into the folkier performed songs here, but it's nice to hear the artists expiriment a bit. Brett Sparks from The Handsome Family handles 'Famous Blue Raincoat' well, while going flat a few times, still adds his unique touch that he does to his own excellent music. I know Rufus Wainwright has many fans, but I found his voice to be a nasally drone and rather irritating, yet his 'Chelsea Hotel No. 2' cover far outshines his other submission.
All around, a good album of with some strong covers and a great companion for the film.
Free Music Review: Some performances are great
Hit: 4 Stars
Some performances are great (incl. "Anthem" and Nick Cave's "I'm Your Man"), and Antony's "If It Be Your Will" is transcendent; others suffer somewhat from the artists trying too hard. However, each is an original interpretation of a Cohen song and reveals just how flexible and meaningful his songs are--though I don't think any actually top Cohen's own treatment. The artists are from a younger generation than Cohen so this might be just the introduction many need to the catalog of songs, poems, and novels that this profound Canadian/world artist has been producing for 50 years. There is at least one song from the (very fine) concert/documentary movie not in this collection and one that I think has been added ("Bird on the Wire"); the original concert had 34 covers and I'd have been happy to see them all included. See the film; buy the CD.Free Music Review: See it to believe it
Hit: 4 Stars
For Mr Cohen live is always best. The documentary of this same title is second best, and this CD, drawn from the documentary, ranks a distant third.
But even a distant third for a Leonard Cohen cover CD is way better than many artists' best efforts. Don't miss this one. Pay particular attention to Antony's offering.
And to have U2 serving as BACKUP band while Cohen himself sings one of the greatest songs ever written about love and music simultaneously? -- Who'da thunk it.
This CD tries admirably to put it all together, and the artists participating clearly get it about Cohen. The direction they're all headed may not be clear, and they may not be there yet, but one perceives that there is something well worth aiming for, "a hundred floors above me, in the Tower of Song."
Free Music Review: Old fan with renewed interest
Hit: 4 Stars
I bought this CD soundtrack after seeing the video on television. It contains more songs than the video, including "Tower of Song" done my Martha Wainright. I've been a Leonard Cohen fan since the 60s, but lost interest in him when his career seemed to wander and eventually he seemed to disappear. But the video renewed my interest. The video was excellent, and I think the CD soundtrack is really a good selection of his songs as well. It introduced me to Rufus and Martha Wainright and the McGarrigles, singers that had previously escaped my intention. It also introduced me to Beth Orton, who sings "Sisters of Mercy" on the video and CD. So my comment is that it renewed my interest in Leonard Cohen and now I have names of artists I'd never heard of before to follow.