Exactly what I was going to say, almost word for word.
Okay, I just listened to Cohen, Buckley, and k.d.'s versions of “Hallelujah.” Holy shit, can k.d. sing. I understand why I can’t sing very well; she got all my, and a bunch of other people’s, talent.
Leonard Cohen version - okay. Terrible voice, but good song.
Jeff Buckley version - eh. Weird voice.
k.d. lang version - misting up at points during the song. I think we have a winner.
I hate to “me too,” so I’ll just say “moi aussi.” 
In none of the other artists’ versions can you hear the raw emotion that Buckley puts forth. I don’t care how old he was; he experienced a lot. The man was bipolar, lived in hell, and met with an untimely death. Some say suicide, others say accident. I tend to lead towards the former, considering that he had only divulged his disorder the day before his death.
This was a man who felt raw pain more clearly than any of us will hopefully ever know. He also had a four-octave vocal range.
Buckley’s is clearly the definitive version, and the only one than can make me shed a tear.
Indeed, when I recently met with a Unitarian official about joining the church, I thanked her for her time by handing her a CD with a single song on it - Buckley’s version of “Hallelujah.”
Never heard of him.
is there a good Cohen cover disk? I like both versions I’ve heard of Everybody Knows, as well as covers of Hallelujah and Lover Lover Lover, but the one disc I’ve heard (dont remember the name, springsteen was one of the singers) was sort of bad. Is there a better one?
Agreed. An album of fantastic songs, almost ruined by the God-awful cheesy arrangements and production. That needed a stark, spare, early Cowboy Junkies feel to it, not bin lid drum machines and lurex backing singers. That it still manages to be one of my favourite albums is testimony to Cohen’s songwriting. I like the old bugger’s voice, too.
How can anyone not like - love - Jeff Buckley’s Hallelujah? Hauntingly beautiful, it just doesn’t get better than that.
Have you heard REM’s version of this? It is simply fantastic, staggeringly good. Having said that I’ve not heard Cohen’s own version.
I don’t know if you’d like it, of course, but I’m Your Fan includes the REM version of “First We Take Manhattan”, which I also think is very good.
Some of Cohens work is very funny, in a ribald, misogynistic way - “Don’t go Home With Your Hard On” and “Fingerprints” from “Death of A Ladies Man”, “Diamonds in The Mine” from “Songs of Love and Hate”, “There is A War” from “New Skin for The Old Ceremony”, “Ain’t No Cure For love” and the title track of “I’m Your Man”, “The Captain” from “Various Positions” even his dry and fateful look at “The Future” are a lot more sprightly than he is given credit for.
And some of his songs are flat out beautiful - “One of Us Cannot Be Wrong” “Coming Back To You”, “Bird On A Wire”, “Came so Far For Beauty”, “You Know Who I Am”, “So Long Marianne” and try not singing along to the chours of “Lover Lover Lover”…
See, there’s a pretty good Cohen Sampler CD right there!
mm
Oh and count me with those who don;t like Buckley’s “Hallelujah”. To me it was to Grace what "Yellow Submarine"was to Revolver. However, Bono’s version is much much much much worse - but, as bad Cohen versions go, even this cannot hold a candle to the horror, the abomination before God which is Don Henley’s version of “Everybody Knows” augh! the ear goggles, they do nussing!
mm
What does this mean, exactly?
One of the finest voices on the planet, and the skill to use it. I don’t care what she’s singing, I’ll listen. Notice that whenever they have those “all the famous rock stars do a tribute” get-togethers, k. d. is always one of the backup singers–usually along with Bonnie.
If you’re gonna do a bakeoff, you need to add Rufus Wainwright (Shrek soundtrack) and John Cale* (from the Shrek movie and my personal favorite) to your list.
*It’s on “Fragments of a Rainy Season”
I hate Leonard Cohen with the passion of a thousand suns.
Funny story, though, my parents played him when I was a kid and they were braced for us asking “What does ‘Don’t Go Home With Your Hard-On’ mean?” Somehow we never did.
Another vote from me. I tried out Buckley’s version when somebody recommended it, and I found it boring.
I liked the Wainwright version better, partly because of the piano background. But then, as a pianist, I could be biased. 
Thanks – wasn’t sure who actually did the singing of it in the actual movie, but it sounded like a different voice than the Wainwright recording. I’m with you – I like that one (in the movie) better.
Okay - added Rufus and John to the list. Let’s hear…
Rufus Wainwright - cool. Simple, moving; quite different from the k.d. version, but very good in a different way. Rufus sounds a little bit like John Denver.
John Cale - Rougher voice. Arrangement very similar to Rufus’ version. The difference between these two would mostly be the preference of a smoother voice to a rougher one.
k.d. is still the winner, for the sheer beauty of her version. It’s a testament to how good a songwriter Leonard Cohen is though, that this song can be re-made so well so many times.
Thanks, by the way, for turning me on to k.d.'s version of “Hallelujah.” Not just misting up this time - tears running down my face. She just hits those notes - perfectly. Absolutely perfectly.
OK, you all have piqued my interest. I’m only familiar with LWIII’s version of Hallelujah from the Shrek soundtrack. Anybody got links to the other contenders?
I’m a huge fan of her: Pullin’ Back the Reins absolutely rocks. She ain’t a torch singer - she’s a flamethrower singer.
I think it comes down to the fact that Leonard Cohen isn’t for everyone, but it’s not like he’s forced on you from the time you get into your car in the morning til you finish your grocery shopping at night. If I heard anyone else singing ‘The Future’ (“I’m the little Jew who wrote the Bible”), I’d think it was extremely odd, but Lenny makes it make sense. Songs of Love and Hate is one of the best records ever released, too. Again, I’d cringe if someone else, particularly someone with a smooth voice, had a go at ‘Let’s Sing Another Song Boys’ or ‘Avalanche’.