Leonard Cohen - Essential Leonard Cohen
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Free Music Notes for Essential Leonard Cohen
Free Music Review: Better Late than Never
Hit: 5 Stars
My only regret as I listened to "The Essential Leonard Cohen" over and over is that I didn't really discover this magnificent artist until 35 years after his recording career started. I knew the name, remembered vaguely the soundtrack from "McCabe and Mrs. Miller", and enjoyed the Austin Lounge Lizards parody song "Leonard Cohen's Day Job" (I now understand many more of the jokes), but it wasn't until I came by some "mad money" in September of this year and bought the 1975 "Best Of" that my eyes and ears opened to this unbelievably talented songwriter and vastly underrated singer. His lyrics are continually challenging and humorous at the same time. His vocals and arrangements have become richer and more complex over time, which in no way denigrates the simple beauty of such early classics as "Suzanne" and "Bird on the Wire". I soaked up "Best Of" for 3 months and then asked my wife for "more Leonard Cohen" for Christmas. She came through with the newly-released "Essential", which moves from the car to my computer as I go through my days. My favorites among the songs that aren't on "Best Of" are the uproarious "Everybody Knows", "Tower of Song" and "Closing Time". "I'm Your Man" relates pretty well to anyone whose "friends are all gone" and who "aches in the places where he used to play." Upon hearing "Hallelujah", I started searching my memory for where I'd heard the song--finally it dawned on me--"Shrek". And "Democracy" is an amazing look at the "USA" by one of our very perceptive neighbors to the north. The line about what goes on in the kitchen to determine who will serve and who will eat cracks me up every time. "Ain't No Cure For Love" is great too; it's all great stuff! I strongly recommend that anyone with an ear for singer/songwriters who doesn't already know Cohen to pick up "Essential" with your next mouse click or trip to the CD store.Free Music Review: Gnawing Masterpiece
Hit: 5 Stars
As a compilation, it can't have the coherent feeling of an era, but what it has is the best of Cohen, not just the essential parts, and for that reason I call it a masterpiece of compilations.
I can understand how generational distortion causes a lot of people nowadays to dismiss Cohen, because they don't see the Cohen origins of so much they think are "better" versions of his genre or stylistic flourishes --or even his own songs. When I first heard Cohen's work, a good long time ago, it didn't strike me immediately, either. And though I am not the king of ears, I think it is true that even some experienced listeners don't always get Cohen right off. But there is a wonderful creativity and genuineness about his songs that begin to come out and gnaw at you a bit with every listening. There is an acoustic aspect to the recordings on this album of perfect songs, much akin to that of Simon and Garfunkel's best work, Van Morrison's masterstroke (Astral Weeks), or even Pink Floyd's long-forgotten, but starkly fascinating sound and recording experiment, "Umma Gumma". Unlike Pink Floyd or Van Morrison's Astral Weeks, however, ...wine... and your special someone are probably the perfect accompaniement to this album, but not completely neccessary. Just close your eyes or stare at the sky and watch the clouds drift and float a little with him and you may, if skeptical at first, begin to understand that you do like what's occuring and that this album is MAGICAL at worst.
Free Music Review: Is There Such a Thing as Non-Essential Leonard Cohen?
Hit: 5 Stars
LC, I'm your fan. Have been since I first heard Suzanne going on four decades ago. I used to sing it walking down Telegraph Avenue in Berkeley; it was a phenomenal song then and it still is. This 31 song double CD covers Cohen's career from Suzanne taking your hand and leading to the river to Alexandra leaving with her lord. There is nothing that should not be on this collection, unlike many so-called Essential collections when there is almost always one or more "what the heck is THAT song doing here" moment. My only complaint is that it could easily have had 7 or 8 more cuts; Songs from a Room is badly underrepresented -- where is the unbelievably sad Seems So Long Ago, Nancy and the Hours-like Tonight Will Be Fine, with its lyric that captured Cohen then and does now as well, "I choose the rooms I live in with care/the windows are small and the walls almost bare?" And while I'm mighty happy to have Cohen's version of Famous Blue Raincoat, why not his definitive Joan of Arc? Oh, well, enough carping. Those who have most or all of Cohen's work may not need this -- although popped into the CD player it is a magnificant overview of how consistently strong his work has been for decades, none of the Dylan peaks and valleys. But for those who have only a couple of the albums or are looking to get introduced, this CD is definitive and, oh, yes, essential.Free Music Review: Cohen's Raw Truth
Hit: 5 Stars
This is an excellent compilation of some of the best work by this great artist. For many people it will be all they need. It contains one of my all-time favorite lyrics by anyone - in the song A Thousand Kisses Deep: : "The ponies run, the girls are young, the odds are there to beat. You win a while, and then its done, your little winning streak. And summoned now, to deal, with your invincible defeat. You live your life, as if its real, a thousand kisses deep". Leonard unflinchingly looks at the reality of the shortness of life, regardless of how good it sometimes can be. It reminds me of these lines from my favorite Leonard Song, Closing Time: "And I lift my glass to the awful truth, which you can't reveal to the ears of youth, except to say it isn't worth a dime". These 2 passages always make me think of my mortality. The only one who holds the power over death is Jesus. By believing in his sacrifice on the cross you can have peace about the fact that your life here must soon end. "For God so loved the world that He gave his only begotten son, that whoever believes on him should not perish but have everlasting life" - John 3:16. I encourage you to read the Bible. You need God; you can pretend that you don't, but in your heart you know it is true. God will be found by those who seek Him.Free Music Review: Great Compilation, Excellent Introduction
Hit: 5 Stars
Leonard Cohen is one of the greatest artists of the last half century, but his albums are often uneven, meaning that he is better served by compilations than many musicians. This is the only two-disc set covering his whole career except the later Dear Heather, which is probably his worst album and is not missed. Every other album is represented except the notorious Death of a Ladies' Man - a generous thirty-one tracks spread over more than two and a half hours. It is easy to quibble, and I certainly can. It puzzles me that there is only one track from Songs of Love and Hate, one of Cohen's best albums, while great works like "The Master Song" are missing. I would also remove some relatively minor cuts like "Night Comes On." Others are bothered by the inclusion of numerous recent songs, but they are among my favorites, and I am glad for them. This leads to the important point that such things are inherently subjective; the bottom line is that this is an excellent compilation by any reasonable standard. It has the best-known songs and most of the best, all chosen by Cohen himself. This will hopefully lead neophytes to more Cohen, though some will be fully satiated, and it is certainly a great place to start.