Songs Of Leonard Cohen
1967, Columbia Studio E (NY), Columbia Records
http://www.esquire.com/cm/esquire/im...g-32301326.jpg
1. Suzanne
2. Master Song
3. Winter Lady
4. The Stranger Song
5. Sisters of Mercy
6. So Long, Marianne
7. Hey, That's No Way to Say Goodbye
8. Stories of the Street
9. Teachers
10. One of Us Cannot Be Wrong

Having graduated from McGill University in Montreal, Leonard Cohen spent most of a lot of his life as a young adult pursuing his literary ambitions. This saw the publication of several volumes of his poetry as well as a couple of novels, all meaning that Cohen entered the world of music at a much older age than usual, seeing as he would have been 33 when this, his debut, was released. Besides his age, given that he was already fairly well-known in his native Canada as a poet and novelist, we had a somewhat unusual kind of personality announcing its arrival on the music scene of the time. Hell, it'd be a bit weird these days too. Despite all that, this isn't to say he was a literate bore with no musical training at all. Throughout the earlier parts of the 60s he'd been a fringe figure within Andy Warhol's Factory crowd and performing solo at various folk festivals.

In fact, some reckon it was watching Nico sing in clubs which had an affect on the stylings of his earliest work, and certainly in places it wouldn't exactly be jumping the gun to think so. If any of you readers are the lucky owners of Nico's Chelsea Girl album, you'd probably be able to fish out a few stylistic similarities with this album. Having seen Judy Collins make his song, Suzanne, as massively popular as it was, Cohen took to the studio with producer John Simon, the backing band Kaleidoscope and backing vocalist Nancy Priddy to capitalise on this the way only a full-length album can. The result of the New York sessions was the shaping of a down-to-earth folk album although, laden as it with Cohen's terrific lyrical talent, it became a slightly darker variation than folk lovers had been used to. The richly evocative and poetic lyrics, not to mention a whole album's-worth of original material, saw this album become part of the groundwork for generations of folk music to come (along with the debuts of other singer-songwriters such as Tim Buckley, Neil Young and Joni Mitchell). The Dylan-inspired folk movement of which Cohen chose to become a part of could be seen as another corner of the music scene's reaction against the Sgt Pepper's-instigated psychedelic album rock which was dominating the airwaves in that very year.

There are still elements of 60s production styles on the album despite Cohen's effort to remove his album's sound from the popular music of the day, but they were still very subtle and barely noticeable ones like instruments panning from channel to channel and such. The album is still dominated by a very lo-fi and intimate approach to folk, with the majority of the songs having Cohen's voice and acoustic guitar right at the front of the mix. Given the senses of despair and observations of character in the lyrics, this approach does the product a whole world of good. It's what raises this album and a lot of Cohen's earlier, lo-fi works above mediocrity - the notion of a very literate selection of lyrics grabbing your attention and not letting it go for a second, all the while backed up by a very smooth, low key and non-intrusive musical backing. It's what makes a good folk song a good folk song for me, and also makes this one of my favourite such albums. There is a definite focus for the album's sound which carries the message of each song across majestically, what with the very sparing use of overdubs and augmentations of any kind which aren't of Cohen's doing.

All of this makes for a very fine good album indeed - a very strong opening statement from one of the world's finest singer-songwriters. It all gives off such a gentle, dreamy, kind of wintry atmosphere which makes for a terrific downtime album. There isn't quite enough variation in sound for me to rank this with my all-time favourite albums though, as there are a few weaker moments on show. A few of the songs though (particularly those in the videos below) are among Cohen's finest, which definitely makes this a very worthwhile listen. All in all, a sublime debut. Not a classic, but definitely worth a go.

8/10

Songs From a Room
1969, Columbia Studio A (Nashville TN), Columbia Records
http://www.kevchino.com/graffix/rele...rom-a-room.jpg
1. Bird on the Wire
2. Story of Isaac
3. A Bunch of Lonesome Heroes
4. The Partisan
5. Seems So Long Ago, Nancy
6. The Old Revolution
7. The Butcher
8. You Know Who I Am
9. Lady Midnight
10. Tonight Will Be Fine

Considered too dark to be deemed a commercial success in the most obvious sense of the phrase, the Songs Of Leonard Cohen, while largely being a commercial failure, did earn Cohen a sizeable cult following among folk's audience of the day, particularly in the UK where it beat the odds to peak at #13 in the album charts and then remain there for over a year. Upon the buzz about it fading, it was high time to record the followup.

For the Nashville sessions in October '68, Cohen opted to hire Bob Johnston (who'd work with Dylan, Cash, Simon and Garfunkel over the years) instead of reacquainting himself with John Simon (with whom he'd had a bone or two to pick regarding the mixing of his debut). Despite what I'd call the success of the fuller, more well-honed sound of his debut, this was in a bid to give Cohen's second effort a more uncluttered, rootsy and kind of spartan appeal. So it was that, armed with a dozen-odd new songs, a host of suitably subtle session musicians and the expectation of his new audience, Songs From a Room was recorded.

What results is a good enough although not spectacular album in my opinion. In a musical sense, all the songs from a room bar the magnificent Lady Midnight have that very sedated feel that one could easily expect from any lo-fi, late-60s folk album, in this case even more so given the fact that Cohen ditches the more lavish production style of his debut. Clocking at a mere 35 minutes, things do fall a little on the short side too, which makes it clear from the outset that this is where Cohen, being a published poet at the time and all, wanted melody, extended instrumental breaks and all that mumbo-jumbo to take a back seat to the messages he wanted to get across.

So, basically, the strength of this album isn't in the heart-warming style and lush delivery like the Songs Of Leonard Cohen, but instead the focus is on the lyrics that Cohen sings gently over the top of some very reined-in backing tracks. Seeing as what tends to catch my attention in a piece of music is some kind of musical hook more than an eloquent lyric, this made this album quite a tough pill to swallow for me at first. On the first listen then, besides the smooth-as-bread-and-butter guitar on Story Of Isaac, the ear-opening parallel between the acoustic and bass guitar on You Know Who I Am and the bright chords that underpin Lady Midnight, not a lot really stuck in my head after finishing with it. In that way, then, it's not really an album I'd recommend to those who don't really have an ear for a lo-fi acoustic folk. It definitely does reward repeated listening though, as the story of the suicidal Nancy Challies of Montreal in Seems So Long Ago Nancy, the biblical reference of Story Of Isaac, the beauty of the Partisan and the flair of the lovesong Tonight Will Be Fine unravels as the album starts to make that much more sense as a unit.

All in all, Songs From a Room makes for a very sedated listen, and goes well with an airing in the dead of night. Seeing as the strengths and hooks are in the lyrics and not always the music though, I don't think this'll hit the spot if you don't have a lot of patience for its sound. At least not immediately anyway - while I do appreciate it a lot more than I used to, I'd say the following rating does it justice, at least the way I see it.

7/10

Originally Posted by Zarko (Post 728395) To be honest, you're a wanker for giving me 'Dear Heather' and 'Ten New Songs' when I asked for recommendations a while back, rather than SOLC and SOLH. :p: Recent convert, even though you tried to stop me ;) Top reviews ey!

Originally Posted by Bulldog (Post 728405) Well, at least you've got a copy of 1000 Kisses Deep now eh. Good to hear you've seen the light anyway - all you've gotta do now is get into Scott Walker :D Oddly enough, I forgot this thread even existed. I'm only two entries from finishing the Gram Parsons one, so I'll be going through the rest of Lenny C's stuff with a fine tooth comb soon enough.

Originally Posted by Zarko (Post 728409) Dunno about Walker, not a fan of his vocals atm but will give it a go... No rush as long as you don't abandon it.

Originally Posted by Bulldog (Post 710539) ^ I'm so good at sticking to my word :D Songs From a Room 1969, Columbia Studio A (Nashville TN), Columbia Records http://www.kevchino.com/graffix/rele...rom-a-room.jpg 1. Bird on the Wire 2. Story of Isaac 3. A Bunch of Lonesome Heroes 4. The Partisan 5. Seems So Long Ago, Nancy 6. The Old Revolution 7. The Butcher 8. You Know Who I Am 9. Lady Midnight 10. Tonight Will Be Fine Considered too dark to be deemed a commercial success in the most obvious sense of the phrase, the Songs Of Leonard Cohen, while largely being a commercial failure, did earn Cohen a sizeable cult following among folk's audience of the day, particularly in the UK where it beat the odds to peak at #13 in the album charts and then remain there for over a year. Upon the buzz about it fading, it was high time to record the followup. For the Nashville sessions in October '68, Cohen opted to hire Bob Johnston (who'd work with Dylan, Cash, Simon and Garfunkel over the years) instead of reacquainting himself with John Simon (with whom he'd had a bone or two to pick regarding the mixing of his debut). Despite what I'd call the success of the fuller, more well-honed sound of his debut, this was in a bid to give Cohen's second effort a more uncluttered, rootsy and kind of spartan appeal. So it was that, armed with a dozen-odd new songs, a host of suitably subtle session musicians and the expectation of his new audience, Songs From a Room was recorded. What results is a good enough although not spectacular album in my opinion. In a musical sense, all the songs from a room bar the magnificent Lady Midnight have that very sedated feel that one could easily expect from any lo-fi, late-60s folk album, in this case even more so given the fact that Cohen ditches the more lavish production style of his debut. Clocking at a mere 35 minutes, things do fall a little on the short side too, which makes it clear from the outset that this is where Cohen, being a published poet at the time and all, wanted melody, extended instrumental breaks and all that mumbo-jumbo to take a back seat to the messages he wanted to get across. So, basically, the strength of this album isn't in the heart-warming style and lush delivery like the Songs Of Leonard Cohen, but instead the focus is on the lyrics that Cohen sings gently over the top of some very reined-in backing tracks. Seeing as what tends to catch my attention in a piece of music is some kind of musical hook more than an eloquent lyric, this made this album quite a tough pill to swallow for me at first. On the first listen then, besides the smooth-as-bread-and-butter guitar on Story Of Isaac, the ear-opening parallel between the acoustic and bass guitar on You Know Who I Am and the bright chords that underpin Lady Midnight, not a lot really stuck in my head after finishing with it. In that way, then, it's not really an album I'd recommend to those who don't really have an ear for a lo-fi acoustic folk. It definitely does reward repeated listening though, as the story of the suicidal Nancy Challies of Montreal in Seems So Long Ago Nancy, the biblical reference of Story Of Isaac, the beauty of the Partisan and the flair of the lovesong Tonight Will Be Fine unravels as the album starts to make that much more sense as a unit. All in all, Songs From a Room makes for a very sedated listen, and goes well with an airing in the dead of night. Seeing as the strengths and hooks are in the lyrics and not always the music though, I don't think this'll hit the spot if you don't have a lot of patience for its sound. At least not immediately anyway - while I do appreciate it a lot more than I used to, I'd say the following rating does it justice, at least the way I see it. 7/10 If anyone's wondering, these'll get much longer and more interesting by the time I get to the albums I listen to an insane amount.

Originally Posted by ProggyMan (Post 749312) Nice review and all, even though I disagree, but to call Seems So Long Ago Nancy sedated in any way, and to not praise it the high heavens is ridiculous.

Songs Of Love and Hate
1971, Columbia Studio A (Nashville TN) & Trident Studios (London), Columbia Records
http://www.thewaxfactor.com/images/L...And-299415.jpg
1. Avalanche
2. Last Year's Man
3. Dress Rehearsal Rag
4. Diamonds In the Mine
5. Love Calls You by Your Name
6. Famous Blue Raincoat
7. Sing Another Song, Boys
8. Joan of Arc

Having developed something of a cult following in the US and UK with his first two albums, seeing as both had penetrated the top 10 albums chart in the latter and sold moderately in the former yet not produced any real number of hit singles, Cohen took to the road for a year, writing a handful of new songs in the process before the time to take to the studio came again. Both his albums beforehand, at least under the umbrella of folk music, were albums of extremes - while Songs Of Leonard Cohen represented the more atmospheric side of folk rock (and very well too), Songs From a Room (in the main) had a much more lo-fi and gritty, sedated kind of feel. Seeing as Cohen has, 99% of the time, used music as more of a vehicle for his poetic talents, the next logical move was to combine the two and see how successful both sets of songwriting and production ethics were when done at the same time.

Fittingly as the song that kicks proceedings off, Avalanche represents this kind of combination of sounds superbly, as over the top of a superb acoustic guitar motif and gently simmering yet foreboding string arrangement does one of Cohen's finest lyrics a whole world of justice, as he fills in the gaps in the sonic picture with his trademark grainy vocal. To put it simply, it's songs like this which sum up Cohen's strength as a songwriter. It's true to say that he's hardly the best singer the world has ever known, but as he sings of stepping 'into an avalanche, it covered up my soul' and how 'you who wish to conquer pain, you must learn what makes me kind' and 'the crumbs of love that you offer me, they're the crumbs I've left behind', he simply doesn't need to be. The words and the almost ambient musical backing just speaks to you in ways that other kinds of music and many, many other artists simply couldn't. Considering who wrote this lyric, it's quite a compliment to say that it's among the man's finest too.

As I said earlier, the album of a whole takes the strengths of the two albums that came before and executes them both perfectly. Last Year's Man, for instance, sounds a lot like one of the better moments of Songs From a Room, and the same can be said of Joan Of Arc - both of which maintain that pensive, lo-fi folk sound, the kind that lets Cohen's poetry alone speak for the music (although the latter does feature an intriguing use of overlapping vocal tracks). There's the occasional strangely lively song here too, like the superb Diamonds In the Mine which, perhaps even more strangely, makes use of quite a memorable and melodic chorus.

So, we see some more conventional and mainstream song structures creeping into Cohen's repertoire too, like the frankly amazing Famous Blue Raincoat. Like Avalanche before it, it's definitely not only one of my absolute favourites from the album (if not of all time), but it's the perfect representation of what the man's got going for him when it comes to being a songwriter. Quite simply one of the most painfully sad yet beautiful songs of all time.

Overall, the album is simply fantastic. Although Love Call's You By Your Name is probably the sole weakpoint, and maybe a studio version of Sing Another Song, Boys would've kept the album flowing slightly better, in being a combination of the sounds of both his earlier albums, Songs Of Love and Hate here definitely outdo them both. As you'll see while this thread continues, there are several tiers to Cohen's discography in terms of quality, and this is definitely in the top one.

9/10

Originally Posted by Schizotypic (Post 751156) So far SOL&H is my favorite Cohen album, but what I've heard from Ten New Songs is also worth mentioning. I have much respect for good old Leonard, easily being within my favorite ten artists. I'm really looking forward to what you have to say, I'll keep an eye on this. =D

Originally Posted by ProggyMan (Post 751450) As your a Cohen fan I'd assume you've read this: A Thousand Kisses Deep

Originally Posted by Bulldog (Post 757046) Thanks :) I've never had the pleasure of seeing him live myself. I do have a bootleg of a performance of his in Gothenburg back in 93 - excellent stuff and well worth hunting down. I'm feeling lazy, so I'll probably get New Skin For the Old Ceremony reviewed in a day or so's time.

Leonard Cohen Live At The Isle Of Wight 1970, Available Now OCTOBER 21, 2009 http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v8...ng_normaal.jpg 600,000 people were in awe as the iconic folksinger-songwriter-poet-novelist Leonard Cohen gave the performance of a lifetime during the Isle of Wight Festival in 1970. The beautiful new film by director Murray Lerner pairs the breathtaking performance by Cohen with interviews of festival attendees and musicians Joan Baez, Kris Kristofferson and Judy Collins, as well as a look at the atmosphere of the weekend-long festival. The accompanying CD includes the complete audio of Cohen's performance: 14 previously unreleased songs, plus the poetry, stories and musings that tamed and awed the incendiary crowd. This package is available in three formats; DVD/CD, Vinyl Double-LP and Blu-ray DVD. The DVD/CD contains the new documentary by Lerner along with the full performance on CD and the Vinyl Double-LP contains the entire performance on 180 gram audiophile vinyl. Leonard Cohen Live At The Isle Of Wight 1970 is available in stores and online now. For a full track listing and purchase details, visit LEONARD COHEN.