Leonard Cohen - Songs from a Room
hxxp://rapidshare.com/files/40253487/Songs_From_A_Room.rar.html
This man is my hero. I know there is already a lot of love for him on this board, but I don't think he has his own thread yet.

I dig Leonard.

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I'm Your Man is one of the greatest albums ever.

Hell, I was just gonna say that.
Lenny is one of the best songwriters ever; top five with me.
Brilliant lyricist.

I'll be goddamned if "I Can't Forget" isn't one of the best songs ever written and recorded.

"Everybody Knows" resonates way more now than when it was recorded, thanks to that chimp that's loose in the Oval Office.

Name your three faves from I'm Your Man---

"Everybody Knows" had me spellbound back on 89 or 90...thanks to Pump Up the Volume, which in itself is an awesome movie.

Next two faves from the album would be "Take This Waltz", an interpretation of a Garcia Lorca poem, and the immortal "First We Take Manhattan". Can't not mention "Ain't No Cure For Love", which is particularly subversive, sucking you in with MOR schmaltz and leveling you with his most passionate lyrics ever.

It would have to be "I Can't Forget" "Tower of Song" and the title track.

I'm with "Everybody Knows", "Tower of Song", and "Ain't No Cure for Love", but these are tough choices. I had a lengthy conversation with one of his back-up singers once, (Julie Christenson I think her name is, but I'll google later); we were talking about working together, but it never materialized. I think she was twelve-steppin, and fairly adament about working with sober musicians, so, ya know, that was the end of that.
I really regret not pumping her for LC anecdotes, whaddaschmuck.

And another thing---
you wouldn't think so, but I'm Your Man is a great fuckin album, I mean, a great album for fucking. My beautiful blonde millionairess girlfriend Stephanie---best girlfriend ever (until Mrs. Coolrock, of course) and I tamped down a lotta goose feathers to that one.

I've got Songs of Love and Hate and it's pretty ace.

We can talk about the widespread critical praise of his early work but I like this chat about his latter day work.
Take The Future for instance. That song Closing Time with it's strange tempo and psychedelic imagery gets me every time.

Ah we're drinking and we're dancing
and the band is really happening
and the Johnny Walker wisdom running high
And my very sweet companion
she's the Angel of Compassion
she's rubbing half the world against her thigh
And every drinker every dancer
lifts a happy face to thank her
the fiddler fiddles something so sublime
all the women tear their blouses off
and the men they dance on the polka-dots
and it's partner found, it's partner lost
and it's hell to pay when the fiddler stops:
it's CLOSING TIME
Yeah the women tear their blouses off
and the men they dance on the polka-dots
and it's partner found, it's partner lost
and it's hell to pay when the fiddler stops:
it's CLOSING TIME

Ah we're lonely, we're romantic
and the cider's laced with acid
and the Holy Spirit's crying, "Where's the beef?"
And the moon is swimming naked
and the summer night is fragrant
with a mighty expectation of relief
So we struggle and we stagger
down the snakes and up the ladder
to the tower where the blessed hours chime
and I swear it happened just like this:
a sigh, a cry, a hungry kiss
the Gates of Love they budged an inch
I can't say much has happened since
but CLOSING TIME

I swear it happened just like this:
a sigh, a cry, a hungry kiss
the Gates of Love they budged an inch
I can't say much has happened since
CLOSING TIME

I loved you for your beauty
but that doesn't make a fool of me:
you were in it for your beauty too
and I loved you for your body
there's a voice that sounds like God to me
declaring, declaring, declaring that your body's really you
And I loved you when our love was blessed
and I love you now there's nothing left
but sorrow and a sense of overtime
and I missed you since the place got wrecked
And I just don't care what happens next
looks like freedom but it feels like death
it's something in between, I guess
it's CLOSING TIME

Yeah I missed you since the place got wrecked
By the winds of change and the weeds of sex
looks like freedom but it feels like death
it's something in between, I guess
it's CLOSING TIME

Yeah we're drinking and we're dancing
but there's nothing really happening
and the place is dead as Heaven on a Saturday night
And my very close companion
gets me fumbling gets me laughing
she's a hundred but she's wearing
something tight
and I lift my glass to the Awful Truth
which you can't reveal to the Ears of Youth
except to say it isn't worth a dime
And the whole damn place goes crazy twice
and it's once for the devil and once for Christ
but the Boss don't like these dizzy heights
we're busted in the blinding lights,
busted in the blinding lights
of CLOSING TIME

The whole damn place goes crazy twice
and it's once for the devil and once for Christ
but the Boss don't like these dizzy heights
we're busted in the blinding lights,
busted in the blinding lights
of CLOSING TIME

Oh the women tear their blouses off
and the men they dance on the polka-dots
It's CLOSING TIME
And it's partner found, it's partner lost
and it's hell to pay when the fiddler stops
It's CLOSING TIME
I swear it happened just like this:
a sigh, a cry, a hungry kiss
It's CLOSING TIME
The Gates of Love they budged an inch
I can't say much has happened since
But CLOSING TIME
I loved you when our love was blessed
I love you now there's nothing left
But CLOSING TIME
I miss you since the place got wrecked
By the winds of change and the weeds of sex.

Underrated Cohen track: "Closing Time". Another great example of that poppy/dark contradicion in much of Cohen's work.

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like minds huh Sask

Hah, nice.

The Future is a great album too. Anthem is fantastic.

I always thought of "Closing Time" as describing a really kicking AARP social.
If I ever got a tattoo it would be that hummingbird and heart from the album cover, just like the lady in the video.

never got into songs from a room, but out of his 60s albums songs of leonard cohen is my favourite. probably like in the top 5-10 albums of the 60s for me right now. i love the atmosphere of that album. it sounds so lost in time, sort of. i always imagine someone singing those songs 300-400 years ago. amazing album. i think, "so long, marianne" got me hooked first, and then i fell in love with the rest of the album.

songs of love and hate is great too. i know many people pick put "famous blue raincoat" as one of their favourite songs of all time, and for a right reason. i'm your man is very good. very decadent or something. sounds lright out of 80s euro restraunts, i think. these 4 albums are the only ones that i've heard, wouldn't mind hearing more. anyone got the recent reissues/remasters?

This is exactly how I discovered Leonard Cohen. I was mesmerized by that song and I had to find out more about the artist.



I also really love "Take This Waltz." It's gorgeous. My third favorite would be "Tower of Song."

I'm probably going to be the only one who feels this way, but I don't care too much for I'm Your Man. Lyrically, it's brilliant, but I think the music feels very dated. It's far too synthesized and I don't care for the female back-up vocals. I can't even listen to "Jazz Police." It sounds like it's from a bad 80's musical.

I'll take Songs From a Room and Songs of Love and Hate over I'm Your Man any day. Somehow, his older music feels far less dated than his later stuff.

With Sharon Robinson and Anjani whatever her name is taking a more active role in his music, I can see how you'd prefer the older stuff to his latest albums. But to me the cheesy synthesizer stuff is a big part of why it's good. I'm Your Man probably sounded out of date the day it was released. That's kind of the point: there's no need to pretty-up Leonard's songs with great arrangements because the words should be the focus. I believe most of the backing tracks on these last two albums were only supposed to be demos but Leonard decided to stick with them.

Plus you can't beat the tacky bump and grind on "Boogie Street."

"Dress Rehearsal Rag" is the best off SoL&H. I always liked "Don't Go Home Wih Your Hard-On," by the way.

Billy Joel did a terrific version of 'Light As The Breeze'. Great song.

So if the music was good we wouldn't focus on how great the lyrics are??? I don't get this logic. If I felt that way I'd just go read a book of poetry.

I don't know what to tell you. It's Cohen's logic. Even on the earlier stuff the music wasn't that great. And as great as his voice is, it's an acquired taste. It's not what made him famous.

And if you'd prefer to read poetry than listen to it, go ahead, but poetry is meant to be heard aloud.

after seeing this man in montreal last week i bought his entire catalogue. this is probably the greatest thing that has happened to me musically in i don't know how long... his poetry is just so outstanding

Good for you. I 've been a fan since elementary school. Nice to see people discovering Cohen even now.

One of the absolute highlights of Glastonbury for me.

pretty sure he will be doing a Massive tour of the States in the fall.

Shame BBC didn't film it.

also, expect a live disc to come out. likely from one of the Montreal shows.

it was absolutely transcending... i can't believe i've overlooked him for so long...



i was wondering the same. too bad...




would be amazing.

He's bringing it out on DVD so they couldn't.

didn't know about the dvd. but still, would've loved to see him with the glasto crowd.

First We Take Manhattan music video

YOUTUBE LINK

I'll never forget when they showed this on 120 Minutes.

"Hey, That's No Way To Say Goodbye" might be one of the most beautiful songs ever written.

ESSENTIAL LISTENING.

oh thank you. i haven't touched his live recordings, but will definitely get them too.

Discovered a lot of later period Cohen from this thread.
"Closing Time" is fantastic.
Was listening to last.fm neighbor radio and "Alexandra's Leaving" came on.
Beautiful song. Nobody mentions Ten New Songs.
How's the rest of it?

it's great, but i do love everything he's done

He's playing his first US show on February 19 in New York. Full tour to be announced.



The DVD will be released in March. Amazing news!

Awaiting the US tour schedule. I'm quite certain he won't play Cleveland so this is a show I'll definitely make every attempt to travel to see.

he's been playing most of the major cities so cleveland should be in his schedule. i'm shocked to see how much he can tour at his age. never mind that he sings for almost three hours every night. this will be expensive, but definitely worth it.

The setlists look amazing. I can't wait.

He was pretty much ready to retire but then he lost all of his money because of a shady manager or something. Good for fans, bad for Leonard.

yes, bad for him indeed. i couldn't understand how you could ignore the court order and not pay the money. a really weird story.

i'm very happy to have tickets to the show on February 19. hopefully, more dates to follow.

Has anyone read Beautiful Losers? I just started it the other evening. It's a little hard to get into the rhythm of it at first, in part because I found the "A***** tribe" and "F." thing a little distracting, but I got past that and have enjoyed it. I wouldn't call it a favorite or anything, but it's colorful, to say the least. I believe Cohen himself described it as heatstroke in novel form, having written it back when he was living in relative isolation on a Greek island. I can sense that in spots, yes.

it was a difficult book to get through but it has it's flashes of brilliance sprinkled about.