“Songs From a Room” will always be Cohen’s seminal work to me.
“The Partisan,” “Bird On a Wire,” “The Old Revolution,” and “The Story of Isaac” (my favorite.)
Killer album.
If Cohen had only written “Bird on the Wire” he would be remembered. That is one amazing song.
I also like “Seems So Long Ago.”
[QUOTE=Intelligently Designed]
The most painfully beautiful video ever made.
[/QUOTE]
Oh my God, that’s incredible! Thank you for posting the link. I’ve loved Leonard Cohen since the 60s but lost touch with his later songs. This is achingly beautiful, pure Cohen magic, the heart just melts before it, the eyes water up. Wonderful.
k.d. lang’s cover of “Hallelujah” is one of the best, IMHO.
From her album “Hymns of the 49th Parallel”, which covers material by Cohen, Joni Mitchell, Neil Young, and Bruce Cockburn and other Canadian artists. Magic.
I like R.E.M.'s cover of First We Take Manhattan, which can can be found on the I’m Your Fan compilation. Track listing:
- First We Take Manhattan - R.E.M.
- Hey That’s No Way To Say GoodBye - Ian McColloch
- I Can’t Forget - Pixies
- Stories Of The Street - That Petrol Emotion
- Bird On A Wire - The Lilac Time
- Suzanne - Geoffry Oryema
- So Long Marianne - James
- Avalanche IV - Jean-Louis Murat
- Don’t Go Home With Your Hard-on - David McComb & Adam Peters
- Who By Fire - The House Of Love
- Chelsea Hotel - Lloyd Cole
- Tower Of Song - Robert Forster
- Take This Longing - Peter Astor
- True Love Leaves No Traces - Dead Famous People
- I’m Your Man - Bill Pritchard
- A Singer Must Die - Fatima Mansions
- Tower Of Song - Nick Cave And The Bad Seeds
- Hallelujah - John Cale
Apologies if someone has already mentioned it in this thread, but Leonard Cohen’s among this year’s inductees in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.
[QUOTE=Intelligently Designed]
The most painfully beautiful video ever made.
[/QUOTE]
Damn it. I had originally wnated that to be our first dance when Mrs Jophiel and I got married but she backed out.
If I had been able to show her that video, it would have been a lock.
[QUOTE=Annie-Xmas]
If Cohen had only written “Bird on the Wire” he would be remembered. That is one amazing song.
[/QUOTE]
Agreed; I had part of that song in my head for years before I found out who wrote it.
Didn’t Willy Nelson do a great cover some years back?
[QUOTE=Das Glasperlenspiel]
k.d. lang’s cover of “Hallelujah” is one of the best, IMHO.
[/QUOTE]
I’ll suggest Jeff Buckley’s cover, and let the Gentle Listener decide.
His death broke my heart.
I’m Your Man is probably my favorite Cohen album.
Cohen’s voice goes perfectly with the songs on this album, and he blows away the many covers that have been attempted.
You just aren’t going to improve on Everybody Knows, I’m Your Man, or Tower of Song.
After that, Songs of Love and Hate, Songs of Leonard Cohen, and Songs from a Room are outstanding.
[QUOTE=Das Glasperlenspiel]
k.d. lang’s cover of “Hallelujah” is one of the best, IMHO.
From her album “Hymns of the 49th Parallel”, which covers material by Cohen, Joni Mitchell, Neil Young, and Bruce Cockburn and other Canadian artists. Magic.
[/QUOTE]
I agree that the k.d. lang version is the best I’ve heard. Somehow it’s the only version that (IMHO) actually has emotion behind it! Actually, the one I’ve heard her sing was the one at the Junos: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P_NpxTWbovE
[QUOTE=Das Glasperlenspiel]
k.d. lang’s cover of “Hallelujah” is one of the best, IMHO.
From her album “Hymns of the 49th Parallel”, which covers material by Cohen, Joni Mitchell, Neil Young, and Bruce Cockburn and other Canadian artists. Magic.
[/QUOTE]
**Exactly **what I was going to say… I had chills go down my spine the first time I heard kd’s version of Hallelujah.
I swear I have put that song on repeat more than once and listened to it 10 times in a row. I love the whole album, but that song stands out.
[QUOTE=MikeG]
His latest album Ten New Songs is simply amazing.
[/QUOTE]
I have good news for you: Ten New Songs isn’t his latest album, it’s Dear Heather, which he released around 2004. It’s supposed to be good too. I have it, but haven’t got around to listening to it yet. I like Ten New Songs a lot too.
I think there’s an album where he wrote all the songs but a female singer sang all of them.
[QUOTE=Talon Karrde]
I think there’s an album where he wrote all the songs but a female singer sang all of them.
[/QUOTE]
Famous Blue Raincoat, by Jennifer Warnes, mentioned in post #8.
[QUOTE=Contrapuntal]
Famous Blue Raincoat, by Jennifer Warnes, mentioned in post #8.
[/QUOTE]
Actually the one I was thinking of wasn’t a tribute album, all the songs were new
here it is. I guess he just wrote the lyrics, not the music.
All right, I just put in a request for “Essential” and “Ten New Ones.”
You Dopers have turned me on to Terry Pratchett, “Donnie Darko” and Futurama, so I suspect y’all be right on this one, too.
Membership on this board’s costing me a lot of money, you know. Not that I’m complaining 
[QUOTE=pesch]
All right, I just put in a request for “Essential” and “Ten New Ones.”
You Dopers have turned me on to Terry Pratchett, “Donnie Darko” and Futurama, so I suspect y’all be right on this one, too.
Membership on this board’s costing me a lot of money, you know. Not that I’m complaining 
[/QUOTE]
Total Hijack- I hope you’re spending as much on the DVD’s of The Wire as I am. And loving it as much as I am.
MiM
WABC 710 Radio had this conversation this morning on the 6:30 news:
News Reporter giving list of Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Inductees:
And finally, Leonard Cohen is being inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Finally he gets in.
DJ Joe Bartlett: Who is Leonard Cohen?
News Anchor: You don’t know Leonard Cohen?
DJ: No.
NA: He is a fantastic songwriter from the 60’s.
DJ: Oh.
NA: Fantastic songwriter. Not much of a singer, but he wrote some good songs.
DJ: Never heard of him.
And I thought of this thread
Just in today:
unless I missed it earlier in the thread. He’s 73!?
I got introduced to Leonard Cohen through Wim Wenders’ movie Land of Plenty
http://www.wim-wenders.com/movies/movies_spec/landofplenty/land-of-plenty.htm
Minor hijack, I highly recommend Wenders’ films
From the I’m Your Man dvd my favorite song is Antony’s version of If It Be Your Will
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1MDlMdu2gjw
fantastic lyrics, fabulous rendition