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43 of 43 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Leonard Cohen's debut album is an unqualified masterpiece, 19 May 2007
Leonard Cohen first musical offering came out in December 1967, when the artist was already 33 years old (he was born the year before Elvis Presley.) This release coincided with the very beginning of the singer/songwriter movement, which favoured a more literary approach to the songs.
Cohen's first steps into the music world came at the urge of John Hammond, Sr. who caught him performing at a time when some covers of his songs (notably those by Judy Collins) had already received a lot of exposure and acclaim.
This opus deals with love, the heart and its travails, lust, loneliness, travel, and acute melancholy.
A refined, mature and concise literary approach infuses the songs, which often feature quite nice melodies (which partly explains why so many tunes were covered by other singers.). Their musical qualities were often overlooked in favour of text analysis (although the strength of Cohen's lyrics also validated the latter approach.)
John Simon's relatively spare production enhances the tunes, giving the tracks a distinct, appealing tone (although Cohen and Simon ultimately had a falling-out over these arrangements.)
Despite being originally perceived as an acquired taste, Cohen's vocal delivery has stood the test of time. Indeed, with the years passing by, Cohen's non-commercial voice has made him very endearing to many music fans. Similarly, the songs have aged gracefully.
There is not a single weak track on the album. Highlights, for me, include "Suzanne" (probably his most well-known composition), "Master Song", "Sisters of Mercy", "So Long, Marianne", "Hey, That's No Way to Say Goodbye" and "Teacher."
Forty years after its release, this album has become far more important than anybody ever thought it would be.
The original 10 tracks are so embedded in the popular consciousness that they have taken on a life of their own.
Moreover, with hindsight, it has also become increasingly clear that Cohen is the strongest interpreter of his own songs.
Endowed with such qualities, Cohen's debut now rightfully ranks with the most significant albums of the past century.
The new CD release includes two outtakes produced by John Hammond (before he had to back down because of ill-health.) Cohen's voice is much less stark here whilst the drums, mixed forward on "Store Room", make this song noticeably lighter. The latter two songs are not as essential as the previously released ones, but are enjoyable nonetheless.
The sound is much better than on the early CD release. The packaging is excellent, including lyrics and notes (although, alas, still no musicians credits.)
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17 of 19 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
A masterpiece enhanced, 13 Jun 2007
Cohen's timeless debut has been enhanced by the addition of 2 extra tracks. The lilting poetry of Suzanne lures the listener into his world of romantic despair while introducing the essence of his sound: a deep monotone framed by sublime female backing vocals over simple but engaging melodies.
Master Song, Winter Lady and Stranger Song reinforce the desolate landscape although the melodies are less immediate. Cohen's genius shines brightly on the immortal Sisters Of Mercy, a strange mixture of the spiritual and the sensual that must be one of the most beautiful musical poems in the English language.
This delicate gem is followed by the powerful and evocative So Long Marianne and the understated Hey That's No Way To Say Goodbye, both masterpieces of words, melody and arrangement - the female vocals on Goodbye is especially impressive.
Stories of the Street appears as a poem in one of Cohen's 1960s poetry books: Selected Poems 1956-1968 and deals with a visit to Havana during of just after the revolution. Interesting fact: The line "some girls wander by mistake" from Teachers was later used as an album title by the goth band Sisters Of Mercy: Some Girls Wander By Mistake
One Us Cannot Be Wrong addresses the beloved in a series of strange images before moving on to melodic whistling and ending with bitter shouted la la lahs. For those interested in other artists' take on Cohen: Suzanne has been beautifully covered by inter alia Judy Collins Sings Leonard Cohen: Democracy and Geoffrey Oryema: I'm Your Fan, while Sting and the Chieftains' celtic version of Sisters Of Mercy is available on the Tower of Song: The Songs of Leonard Cohen tribute album.
On the I'm Your Fan tribute there are interesting interpretations of Hey That's No Way To Say Goodbye by Ian McCulloch, Stories Of The Street by That Petrol Emotion and So Long Marianne by James.
This reissue booklet includes liner notes by Anthony DeCurtis, three black & white photographs of LC and two full-color paintings by the artist. Both extra tracks were originally produced by John Hammond and for reissue by Bruce Dickinson. The second, Blessed Is The Memory, is the more immediately appealing with its lovely organ flourishes.
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16 of 18 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
My Favourite Album, 15 Sep 2007
This, without a crumb of doubt, is my favourite album of all time. I know every word, every note on the guitar, I could recite it all backwards if you asked me to. I first was made aware of its existence one late, drunken night watching 'McCabe And Mrs. Miller' on the box, in the days before video, Channel 4, all of it, and the moment I heard 'The Stranger Song' I felt like I had opened the Book Of Revelation. That next day being saturday, I was on the train to Penny Lane in Chester to find that soundtrack. I stopped off at my girlfriends on the way home and sat on my own listening to the opening chords of 'Suzanne' and I was blown away, and to this day I remain blown by all of it - every album, every lyric, the novels, the poems - the man is just phenomenal. I had always loved Bob Dylan, from the age of about 13, but not even Bob engages me on the deep emotional level that Cohen does. The only other artist I know who does is Gram Parsons. Van Morrison, Marvin Gaye, Tim Buckley, Jeff Buckley, Tom Waits, Bob Marley, John Lennon, Richard Hawley, Hank Williams Snr., Brian Wilson, Arthur Lee, Kevin Rowland, Fred Neil, Shane MacGowan, Christy Moore: there are lots who've come extremely close, but there's such a depth of humanity to both Cohen and Parsons, I find it hard to talk about their music, and what I love about them, without touching upon the things it reveals about my own deepest feelings. That said, just go and buy this album and delight in its infinite joys. It is like a book of the heart opened up for inspection, and the tunes are all lovely and timeless. It may not even be the best Cohen album at the end of the day, and it may not be the greatest album of all time: I'm not making that claim. What I am saying is: this is my favourite album of all time. If I can be buried with only one, make it this....
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~ Leonard Cohen
~ Leonard Cohen
~ Leonard Cohen
~ Leonard Cohen
~ Leonard Cohen
