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The Essential Leonard Cohen
''The Essential Leonard Cohen'' is a career-spanning collection of Leonard Cohen songs released in 2002. It is part of Sony BMG's ''The Essential'' series. The songs are arranged in chronological order; all studio albums released before 2002 are represented, except the 1977 album '' Death of a Ladies' Man''. All tracks were digitally remastered by Leonard Cohen and Bob Ludwig. All songs on the compilation were chosen by Cohen himself. The album was re-released in August 2008 with an extra disc of previously not included tracks (presented as the selection of "fans' favorite" songs). Track listing Disc one #" Suzanne" – 3:48 #"The Stranger Song" – 5:00 #"Sisters of Mercy" – 3:34 #"Hey, That's No Way to Say Goodbye" – 2:54 #" So Long, Marianne" – 5:39 #"Bird on the Wire" (misspelled as "Bird on a Wire" on track list) – 3:25 #"The Partisan" – 3:25 #"Famous Blue Raincoat" – 5:09 #"Chelsea Hotel #2" – 3:06 #"Take This Longing" – 4:06 #"Who by Fire" – 2:34 #"The ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Leonard Cohen
Leonard Norman Cohen (September 21, 1934November 7, 2016) was a Canadian singer-songwriter, poet and novelist. His work explored religion, politics, isolation, depression, sexuality, loss, death, and romantic relationships. He was inducted into the Canadian Music Hall of Fame, the Canadian Songwriters Hall of Fame, and the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. He was invested as a Companion of the Order of Canada, the nation's highest civilian honour. In 2011, he received one of the Princess of Asturias Awards, Prince of Asturias Awards for literature and the ninth Glenn Gould Prize. Cohen pursued a career as a poet and novelist during the 1950s and early 1960s, and did not begin a music career until 1967. His first album, ''Songs of Leonard Cohen'' (1967), was followed by three more albums of Contemporary folk music, folk music: ''Songs from a Room'' (1969), ''Songs of Love and Hate'' (1971) and ''New Skin for the Old Ceremony'' (1974). His 1977 record ''Death of a Ladies' Man (album), ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Famous Blue Raincoat
"Famous Blue Raincoat" is a song by Leonard Cohen. It is the sixth track on his third album, '' Songs of Love and Hate'', released in 1971. The song is written in the form of a letter (many of the lines are written in amphibrachs). The lyric tells the story of a love triangle among the speaker, a woman named Jane, and the male addressee, who is identified only briefly as "my brother, my killer." Background The lyrics contain references to the German love song "Lili Marlene," to Scientology, and to Clinton Street. Cohen lived on Clinton Street in Manhattan in the 1970s when it was a lively Latino area. In 1994 Cohen said that "it was a song I've never been satisfied with". In the 1999 book, ''The Complete Guide to the Music of Leonard Cohen'', the authors comment that Cohen's question, "Did you ever go clear?", in the song, is a reference to the Scientology state of " Clear". In the liner notes to 1975's ''The Best of Leonard Cohen'', which includes the song, he mentions that the ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Take This Waltz (song)
"Take This Waltz" is a song by Canadian singer-songwriter Leonard Cohen, originally released as part of the 1986 Federico García Lorca tribute album ''Poets in New York'' and as a single. The song was later included in Cohen's 1988 studio album '' I'm Your Man'', in a slightly re-arranged version (with addition of violin and Jennifer Warnes's duet vocals, both absent from the 1986 version). The song's lyrics are a loose translation, into English, of the poem "Pequeño vals vienés" (Little Viennese Waltz) by the Spanish poet Federico García Lorca (one of Cohen's favorite poets). The poem was first published in Lorca's seminal book ''Poeta en Nueva York''. The song reached number one in Spain in 1986. Covers Actor/singer Sven Wollter recorded a version of the song with lyrics translated into Swedish on his 1989 album ''Nån sorts man''. The title of the song is "Tag min vals" ("Take My Waltz"). Zorán Sztevanovity covered the song in 1991 with Cohen's original music but wit ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ain't No Cure For Love
"Ain't No Cure for Love" is a song written by the Canadian singer-songwriter Leonard Cohen. It was first released by the American singer Jennifer Warnes on her 1987 Leonard Cohen tribute album ''Famous Blue Raincoat "Famous Blue Raincoat" is a song by Leonard Cohen. It is the sixth track on his third album, '' Songs of Love and Hate'', released in 1971. The song is written in the form of a letter (many of the lines are written in amphibrachs). The lyric tells ...'' and subsequently appeared as the second track on Cohen's 1988 studio album ''I'm Your Man''. Theme and lyrics As its title suggests, the theme of the song is a common and traditional one for a love song. However, the lyrics of Warnes' and Cohen's recorded versions of the song are significantly different from one another. At the length of 3:22, compared to Cohen's 4:50, Warnes' 1987 recording contains five verses, compared to Cohen's six, only the first two of which it shares with Cohen's recording of 1988. Referenc ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
I'm Your Man (Leonard Cohen Album)
''I'm Your Man'' is the eighth studio album by Canadian singer Leonard Cohen, released on February 2, 1988 by Columbia Records. The album marked Cohen's further move to a more modern sound, with many songs having a synthesizer-oriented production. It soon became the most successful album which Cohen had released in the US, and it reached number one in several European countries, transforming Cohen into a best-selling artist. Recording ''I'm Your Man'' was recorded in Los Angeles, Montreal and Paris, and while it was the first studio album where Cohen took sole credit for the production, three contributing producers participated: Roscoe Beck, Jean-Michel Reusser and Michel Robidoux. The LP would give Cohen an updated, contemporary 80s sound, featuring songs composed primarily on keyboards and delivered in Cohen's increasingly gravelly rasp. Cohen's sound had started to evolve on his last studio album ''Various Positions'' (1984) but it is more fully realized on this album. Fellow Mo ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Various Positions
''Various Positions'' is the seventh studio album by Leonard Cohen, released in December 1984 (and February 1985). It marked not only his turn to the modern sound and use of synthesizers (particularly on the opening track), but also, after the harmonies and backing vocals from Jennifer Warnes on the previous ''Recent Songs'' (1979), an even greater contribution from Warnes, who is credited equally to Cohen as vocalist on all of the tracks. Background After recording ''Recent Songs'', Cohen did not record again for five years and published no new writing until ''Book of Mercy'' in 1984. Asked by ''Mojo''s Sylvie Simmons about this period of inactivity in 2001, the singer replied, "My children were living in the South of France and I spent a lot of time visiting them. The pieces in ''Book of Mercy'' were coming and I was, slowly, writing the album that ended up as ''Various Positions''." Cohen did write and star in the 1983 made-for-TV musical ''I Am a Hotel'', which featured s ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Recent Songs
''Recent Songs'' is the sixth studio album by Leonard Cohen, released in 1979. Produced by Cohen alongside Henry Lewy, it was a return to his normal acoustic folk music sound after the Phil Spector-driven experimentation of '' Death of a Ladies' Man'', but now with many jazz and Oriental influences. Recording and composition After recording '' Death of a Ladies' Man'' with Phil Spector, a chaotically recorded album that would garner Cohen the worst reviews of his career, the singer decided to produce his next album himself with assistance from Henry Lewy, a German who had previously worked regularly with Joni Mitchell. The album included Gypsy violin player Raffi Hakopian, English string arranger Jeremy Lubbock, Armenian oud player (located in Los Angeles) John Bilezikjian and even a Mexican Mariachi band. Long-time Cohen collaborator Jennifer Warnes appeared prominently in vocal tracks. Members of the band Passenger, whom Cohen also met through Mitchell, played on four of th ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
New Skin For The Old Ceremony
''New Skin for the Old Ceremony'' is the fourth studio album by Leonard Cohen, released in 1974. On this album, he begins to evolve away from the rawer sound of his earlier albums, with violas, mandolins, banjos, guitars, percussion and other instruments giving the album a more orchestrated (but nevertheless spare) sound. The album is silver in the UK, but never entered the ''Billboard'' Top 200. A remastered CD was released in 1995, and in 2009 it was included in ''Hallelujah – The Essential Leonard Cohen Album Collection'', an 8-CD box set issued by Sony Music in the Netherlands. Cover The original cover art for ''New Skin for the Old Ceremony'' was an image from the alchemical text ''Rosarium philosophorum''. The two winged and crowned beings in sexual embrace caused his U.S. record label, Columbia Records, to print one early edition of the album minus the image substituting instead a photo of Cohen. Another early manifestation of the cover art saw an additional a ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Songs Of Love And Hate (Leonard Cohen Album)
''Songs of Love and Hate'' is the third studio album by Canadian singer-songwriter Leonard Cohen. Produced by Bob Johnston, the album was released on March 19, 1971, through Columbia Records. Recording and composition Cohen reunited with producer Bob Johnston, who was at the helm for the singer's previous album ''Songs From a Room'', and also brought back guitarist Ron Cornelius, who acted as leader of Cohen's new crew of backing musicians, christened The Army. The album was mainly recorded in Columbia Studio A in Nashville, between September 22 and 26, 1970. "Sing Another Song, Boys" was recorded at the Isle of Wight Festival on August 30, 1970. Further recording took place at Trident Studios in London. The album title is descriptive, outlining its main themes; it features several of Cohen's most famous compositions, including "Joan of Arc", "Avalanche", and " Famous Blue Raincoat". In the 1996 book ''Various Positions'', Cohen biographer Ira Nadel confirms that many of the song ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Songs From A Room
''Songs from a Room'' is the second album by Canadian musician Leonard Cohen, released in 1969. It reached No. 63 on the US ''Billboard'' Top LPs and No. 2 on the UK charts. Background The recording sessions for ''Songs From a Room'' began in Hollywood in May 1968 with David Crosby as producer. That didn't work out, and the album was eventually produced in Nashville, Tennessee, with producer Bob Johnston (two of the tracks from the Crosby sessions are included as bonus tracks on the 2007 remastered version). Johnston and Cohen had wanted to work together on Cohen's first album, but the studio had assigned Johnston elsewhere. After his experiences with Crosby, Cohen was not keen to continue the project, but after speaking with Johnston, he agreed to carry on as Johnston was prepared to work on achieving the spartan sound Cohen considered appropriate for his songs after the disputes he had with John Simon during the mixing sessions of '' Songs of Leonard Cohen''. At the time, John ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Songs Of Leonard Cohen
''Songs of Leonard Cohen'' is the debut album by Canadian folk singer-songwriter Leonard Cohen, released on December 27, 1967, on Columbia Records. Less successful in the US than in Europe, ''Songs of Leonard Cohen'' foreshadowed the kind of chart success Cohen would go on to achieve. It reached number 83 on the ''Billboard'' 200. It peaked at number 13 on the UK Albums Chart, spending nearly a year and a half on it. Background Cohen had received positive attention from critics as a poet and novelist but had maintained a keen interest in music, having played guitar in a country and western band called the Buckskin Boys as a teenager. In 1966, Cohen set out for Nashville, where he hoped to become a country songwriter, but instead got caught up in New York City's folk scene. In November 1966, Judy Collins recorded " Suzanne" for her album ''In My Life'' and Cohen soon came to the attention of record producer John Hammond. Although Hammond (who initially signed Cohen to his contra ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Tower Of Song (song)
"Tower of Song" is a song written by Leonard Cohen that appears on his 1988 album '' I'm Your Man''. In a 2014 reader's poll, ''Rolling Stone'' listed it as the 8th favorite Cohen song. The genesis of "Tower of Song" is described in Ira Nadel's 1996 Cohen memoir ''Various Positions'': :"Tower of Song" is the keynote work of ''I'm Your Man''. With it, Cohen wanted to "make a definitive statement about the heroic enterprise of the craft" of songwriting. In the early eighties, he called the work "Raise My Voice in Song." His concern was with the aging songwriter, and the "necessity to transcend one's own failure by manifesting as the singer, as the songwriter." He had abandoned the song, but one night in Montreal he finished the lyrics and called an engineer and recorded it in one take with a toy synthesizer. Cohen revised the song, which contains the rumination, "I was born like this, I had no choice/I was born with the gift of a golden voice." Ever mindful of his reputation as ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
