Songs of Leonard Cohen

Infobox Album |
Name = Songs of Leonard Cohen
Type = Album
Artist = Leonard Cohen


Released = December 27, 1967
(limited release);
February 1968
Recorded = August 1967
Columbia Studio E, New York
Genre = Folk
Length = 41:09
Label = Columbia Records
Producer = John Simon
Reviews =
*Allmusic Rating|5|5 [http://www.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&sql=10:yhdsyl5jxpeb link]
*Music Box Rating|5|5 [http://www.musicbox-online.com/reviews-2007/songs-of-leonard-cohen.html April 2007]
*Pitchfork Media (9.6/10) [http://www.pitchforkmedia.com/article/record_review/42630-songs-of-leonard-cohen-songs-from-a-room-songs-of-love-and-hate link]
*"Rolling Stone" (mixed) [http://www.rollingstone.com/artists/leonardcohen/albums/album/225550/review/5946925/songs_of_leonard_cohen link]
Last album =
This album = "Songs of Leonard Cohen"
(1967)
Next album = "Songs from a Room"
(1969)

"Songs of Leonard Cohen" is the debut album of Canadian musician Leonard Cohen.

It foreshadowed the future path of his career, with less success in the United States and far better in Europe, reaching #83 on the Billboard chart but achieving gold status only in 1989, while it reached #13 in UK and spent nearly a year and a half in the UK album charts.

Album information

Cohen's lonely and all-too-human songs were informed by his literate approach, part and parcel to a burgeoning singer/songwriter movement in popular music. Seen by later critics as a reaction against the psychedelic band-oriented styles (as were the country-rock developments of 1968 and 1969) enjoying a vogue in 1967, determining whether indeed the singer-songwriters were 'reacting against' the baroque tapestries of "Sgt. Pepper" or the San Francisco bands is problematic. Instigated by the work of Bob Dylan, singer-songwriters appeared to be folk singers on the surface, but were not allied to the folk movement's politics or repertoire, instead performing original material in styles at times reminiscent of the folk singers of the late 1950s and early 1960s. "Songs of Leonard Cohen" was one of the first in this new sub-genre, along with the debut albums of Laura Nyro, Tim Buckley, Neil Young, and Joni Mitchell, propelling the approach to an eventual position of dominance in the early 1970s. Judy Collins, one of the first of the 'traditional' folk singers to champion new writers such as Mitchell and Cohen, along with actor Noel Harrison previously had hits performing the song "Suzanne" (in 1966 and 1967 respectively).

Cohen and John Simon, producer and musical director, managed to give the album a distinct sound while also relying on typical sixties effects such as instruments panning from channel to channel. Although Cohen was granted much freedom in the recording process, they did not always agree on how the record should be mixed. Finally, Simon departed for his Christmas holiday and left the final mix to the artist himself. In a 2001 interview Cohen told British music magazine "Mojo": "We did have a falling out over the song "Suzanne." He wanted a heavy piano syncopated and maybe drums and I didn't want drums on any of my songs, so that was a bone of contention."

On some of the tracks Cohen was backed by strings, the band Kaleidoscope and Nancy Priddy's vocals. The original producer was John Hammond, who signed Cohen to Columbia, but he was replaced by Simon because of health problems.

"Suzanne", which begins and ends as an ode to a "half-crazy" woman capable of personal connection, contains an unconventional discussion of Jesus in the second verse which has been removed in at least one cover of the song, "Suzanne" was ranked 41 on Pitchfork Media's 'Top 200 Songs of the 1960s'. The track "So Long, Marianne" was ranked 190 on Pitchfork Media's 'Top 200 Songs of the 1960s'.

Three of the album's songs, "Winter Lady," "The Stranger Song," and "Sisters of Mercy," were used in the 1971 Robert Altman film "McCabe & Mrs. Miller".

"Songs of Leonard Cohen" was released on CD in 1989, while a digipak edition was released in some European countries in 2003. A remastered version, with bonus tracks, was released in the United States on April 24, 2007, and in Japan on June 20, 2007. The Japanese version was a limited edition replica of the original record album cover with lyric card insert.

On the vinyl and remastered versions is a picture of Saint Bernadette of Lourdes [ [http://lcngarc.twoshakesofalambstail.com/2003/07/2003070081.html Cover of "Songs of Leonard Cohen"] ] in a fire looking towards heaven. According to the liner notes, apparently Cohen had collected the picture when he was much younger.

Track listing

All songs written by Leonard Cohen.

ide one

#"Suzanne" – 3:48
#"Master Song" – 5:55
#"Winter Lady" – 2:15
#"The Stranger Song" – 5:00
#"Sisters of Mercy" – 3:32

ide two

#"So Long, Marianne" – 5:38
#"Hey, That's No Way to Say Goodbye" – 2:55
#"Stories of the Street" – 4:35
#"Teachers" – 3:01
#"One of Us Cannot Be Wrong" – 4:23

Bonus tracks on 2007 reissue

#"Store Room" – 5:06
#"Blessed Is the Memory" – 3:03

elected cover recordings

Peter Gabriel recorded a syncopated version of "Suzanne" for the Leonard Cohen tribute album "Tower of Song", and Geoffrey Oryema performed it on the earlier tribute "I'm Your Fan". Italian singer Fabrizio de André sang an Italian version of the song on his CD "Canzoni". The British experimental rock group The Flying Lizards released a version with detached, cold vocals sung over dark samples on their 1984 LP "Top Ten".

The song "Sisters of Mercy" was the inspiration for the name of the Gothic rock band The Sisters of Mercy, who also took a line from the song "Teachers" as the title of their 1992 compilation album "Some Girls Wander By Mistake". Sting and The Chieftans performed a Celtic music-influenced version of the song on "Tower of Song".

Brian Hyland released "So Long, Marianne" as a single in 1971, while the britpop group James recorded it on "I'm Your Fan". Indie rock band Straitjacket Fits also covered it on their 1988 debut.

"Hey, That's No Way to Say Goodbye" was performed by Ian McCulloch on "I'm Your Fan".

"Hey, That's No Way to Say Goodbye" was performed by Michael Monroe (singer of Hanoi Rocks) on his "Whatcha Want" album as a tribute to his late wife, Jude Wilder. This version is noted for the emotional vocal delivered by Michael.

The Vogues recorded the song "Hey, That's No Way to say Goodbye", in 1970.

Harvey Milk covered "One Of Us Cannot Be Wrong" on the album Courtesy And Good Will Towards Men.

Judy Collins recorded "Sisters of Mercy" and "Hey, That's No Way to Say Goodbye" on her 1967 hit album "Wildflowers"; the album is better known for her hit single "Both Sides Now" by Joni Mitchell.

External links

* [http://leonardcohenfiles.com/album1.html The Leonard Cohen Files: the album lyrics]
* [http://phobos.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/viewArtist?id=189785604 Songs of Leonard Cohen by Will Taylor and Strings Attached]