Leonard Cohen – Songs of Leonard Cohen
Feel like discovering some music from the 60′s. Ok then.
I first heard of Leonard Cohen when Jennifer Warnes released a cover album of Leonard Cohen songs and had a minor hit with, First we take Manhatten. I purchased that single but soon preferred the B side which was Famous Blue Raincoat.
I ams sure that many fans of Cohen probably hate the notion of Jennifer Warnes attempting to sing his songs but it had the effect on me of wanting to know more about Leonard Cohen. It eventually lead me to the debut effort of Leonard Cohen entitled, “Songs of Leonard Cohen”. Lucky the CD contained his songs else I would have been disappointed. It would have made a great musical joke if the album contained no songs at all.
The album was released in 1967 and features mostly accoustic guitar to the sound of Leonard’s unique voice. The voice is deep and croaky but somehow it actually suits the gentle guitar. In many ways the guitar fades into the background as the verbosity of the lyrics with that voice carry you through.
“Hey, thats no way to say goodbye” and “One of us cannot be wrong” are highlights and truly are best listened to in gentle contemplation. I won’t quote the lyrics but encourage introduction to Cohen with these 2 tracks. Cohen was a poet prior to releasing music.
So Long Marianne is an exception to the accoustic set. Cohen starts to sound a bit Dylanesque. I like the lyrics and the melody but what is the deal with those background vocals. It basically leaves the song sounding clunky which is a tad disappointing
One other annoyance is the religious references peppered throughout some of the tunes. Not necessary but then, who am I to correct a great lyricist like him.
Some people find Leonard Cohen depressing or even morbid. Without knowing a lot about Nick Cave I get the feeling there might be some musical roots obtained from this album. Personally, I find songs manage to lift and deflate at the same time which probably can be attributed to the composers own diagnosed Bi-polar condition.
Overall its a good introduction to Leonard Cohen and back in 1967 it was everyones introduction as this album is his debut. I’d have to say that this intro is probably far better then my original intro which was the covers album.
If you like Bob Dylan, Simon and Garfunkel or even Karen Dalton then give Leonard Cohen a go.