Buckley.
Yeah, Bono just butchered that song.
Absolutely.
Agreed. I just brought him up since no one else had mentioned him.
Buckley. To say otherwise is heresy.
**jar[/]- are you a witch? cause we’d hate to have to burn you…
I’m voting Rufus, LOVE his version.
Another member of the Rufus fan-club here. Of the three mentioned in the original OP…his version invoked the most emotional response in me…simply heartbreaking.
From the imdb notes of the movie Shrek:
“HALLELUJAH”
Written by Leonard Cohen
Performed by John Cale
From the amazon.com listing of the soundtrack:
- Hallelujah - Rufus Wainwright
So what’s up with that? I noticed that for the movie they cut the first line of the last verse (“Now maybe there’s a god above”) and I suspect Mr. Cale was not amused.
Also note that on Amazon the “Editorial Review” says:
“Rufus Wainwright, the Proclaimers, and especially the Eels all pen winsome, longing tunes.”
Apparently without realizing that Rufus neither wrote the song nor sang it for the film.
Jeff. Hands down.
Seems like I read somewhere that Cale did the song for the movie, but Rufus had a CD coming out that they wanted to promote, so they put him on the soundtrack. I’ll see if I can dig up a cite.
It’s already been stated, but remember, if you’re voting for the Shrek version, that’s not Rufus.
My vote goes for Cale.
Buckley 11
Wainwright 8
Cale 6
Cohen 6
Ah, thanks for the recommendation. 
Will keep it in mind…I have, after all, gotten some of my favorite CDs thanks to recommendations on this board.
And after extensive replays, I’ve decided that perhaps Wainwright’s version and Buckley’s version are tied in my opinion now. Buckley’s voice is wonderful, but I love the emotion in Wainwright’s version. Hmm…indecision, indecision.
Leonard Cohen wrote a beautiful, brilliant song, but his voice sounds disinterested and bored. Big points off. The backing choir on the chorus is also quite cheesy.
Bono should be drawn, quartered, tarred, feathered, and smacked in the head for what he did to the song. I mean, it was terrible. I seriously thought he was making fun of it the first time I heard it.
I heard the John Cale version when I went to see Shrek with my girlfriend. I disturbed the entire theater with my “What the FUCK is this supposed to be?!” My girlfriend apologized for me, but I muttered about it for hours. I hated his version of it.
Rufus, ah, Rufus. An online friend of mine IM’ed me with a breathless, "Have you heard Rufus Wainwright’s version of Hallelujah? “Yes,” replied I. “Have you heard Jeff Buckley’s?” “No,” quoth she.
I made her listen to it, and she promptly agreed with me that…
Jeff Buckley owns Hallelujah, now, and for any foreseeable future. I mean, he put that tune to bed so authoritatively and with such grace (heh!) and panache that I literally never get tired of hearing it. The aforementioned “indrawn breath” at the beginning, the torturously-held penultimate “Hallelujah” that just makes you want to beg him to take a breath. I saw him perform that song at a music festival at Stone Mountain, Georgia in ummm…1994? A rowdy, outdoor, muddy music festival at which Jeff was nowhere close to top billing (Lessee, the lineup included Mike Watt with Pat Smear and Eddie Vedder, G. Love and Special Sauce, Indigo Girls (in Atlanta? No!), and several others) and by the time he wrapped up Hallelujah, the entire arena was silent and pressed hard against the stage.
It was, and is, pure magic.
I prefer the Wainwright version, because I’m a fan of the piano and like that I can kind of sing along to it. However, I can agree that the Buckley version is overall better.
Buckley edges out Wainwright in this contest for me. The Cohen version is OK, but I think Buckley captured the spirit of the song’s lyrics better than anyone else that I’ve heard.
Fortunately, I have managed to avoid hearing the Bono version.
Jeff Buckley by a country mile. Absolutely.
There aren’t many singers that have the ability to give me goosebumps every time I listen to them. Jeff is one of them.
Bono’s version, on the other hand, made my ears bleed.
I’m not baggin’ on your tastes here, but I just listened to them end-to-end too, and it boggles my mind. It seriously sounds to me like Rufus is just sawing his way through it. I don’t hear all the emotion everyone always says is there.
Now Jeff’s version, on the other hand…
Buckley! No question in my mind.
Gotta agree with Ogre. I don’t hear any great emotion in the Wainwright version–he’s just blasting his way through it. Jeff shows much more emotional range and subtlety.
Gotta give credit to Cohen for writing a beautiful song, but I just don’t think his performance of it is any great shakes.
another vote for Cale
Eh, I hear different sorts of emotions in Buckley’s version and Wainwright’s version. I prefer the emotion in Wainwright’s version, overwrought or not, though I feel it strongly in both.
Of course, I’ve been a Rufus Wainwright fan for a while, so I’m quite biased in the matter.