7th April - Leonard Cohen's Songs From a Room

Artist – Album: Leonard Cohen – Songs from a Room

Released:  7^th April 1968               

Sounds Like: The idol is boxed in a room

What a hero Leonard Cohen is. Poet, novelist and one of the most acclaimed and influential singer songwriters of the last five decades, he operates on a higher literary plane than the majority of his folky contemporaries. Not stopping there, Cohen is also an inductee of the American Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, the Canadian Music Hall of Fame, the Canadian Songwriters Hall of Fame, and a Companion of the Order of Canada. He’s a practising Jew with an interest in Buddhism, and he’s had a long standing association with Budhhist monk and teacher Kyozan Joshu Sasaki up at the brilliantly named Mount Baldy Zen Centre. Plus, a friend of a friend of a friend knows him, and apparently he seems like a nice guy.

With such a grand list of achievements it can be easy to forget that at times his music can be hushed and humble. Here, on his second album, it’s even hesitant. With Cohen’s admittedly limited vocals, and the absence of much ornament besides his trusty acoustic guitar, his work is reliant on the quiet confidence he tends to bring, be it on his stunningly realised debut or his later 80s experiments with synths. Here he seems a little constricted, as though he doubts whether the material is worthy of following his first Songs from Leonard Cohen. Perversely, for that very reason, this isn’t his best effort.

On the other hand, it’s still good. Songs like ‘Story of Isaac’, the conversion of a French poem ‘The Partisan’ and the bittersweet romance of ‘You Know Who I Am’ are exceptional works of art, whilst ‘Bird on a Wire’ - not really my favourite, it’s a bit boring – nevertheless seems to be a bit of a headline draw for the fans.

Not Leonard Cohen at his best, but even when the legend isn’t quite at 100% he’s still better than most of his peers.

Albumaday... rating: 7/10

1.       Bird on a Wire – 3:28

2.       Story of Isaac – 3:38

3.       A Bunch of Lonesome Heroes – 3:18

4.       The Partisan – 3:29

5.       Seems So Long Ago, Nancy – 3:41

6.       The Old Revolution – 4:50

7.       The Butcher – 3:22

8.       You Know Who I Am – 3:32

9.       Lady Midnight – 3:01

10.   Tonight Will Be Fine – 3:53

Listen to ‘You Know Who I Am’: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uPkUyPU6nw4

Also released on the 7^th April:

2003: Athlete – Vehicles & Animals

Also released on the 7^th April:

2004: Jens Lekman – When I Said I Wanted to Be Your Dog

19th March - Leonard Cohen's Songs of Love and Hate

Artist – Album: Leonard Cohen – Songs of Love and Hate

Released:  19^th March 1971

Sounds Like: Pure poetry

Leonard Cohen is the lyricist’s lyricist. Bob Dylan is the critic’s choice, his cryptic stream of consciousness and confrontational attitude being the epitome of cool. Paul Simon appeals to hopeless romantics and foppish first year English students alike, with his beautiful character studies far outweighing his awkward nods to hippiedom. McCartney and Lennon are simple and powerful, the lyricists of the masses. Morrissey for the older indie kids. Alex Turner for the younger. But Cohen is a poet. Not just in that his lyrics are poetry, he actually was a poet. I know this because I robbed a book of his poems from my ex-housemate’s parent’s house before they moved to the Isle of Mull.

As a result of his literary leanings, Cohen’s words are very much the defining element of his songs. His baritone voice, though warm and deep like Sam Elliott’s the Stranger in the Big Lebowki, is obviously limited.  His sparsely plucked acoustic guitar is never meant to hold your attention. And so it comes back to his lyrics.

The title of the album gives something of a clue to the content – let’s face it, you don’t get much more Ronseal than a name like Songs of Love and Hate. But they’re not straightforward songs of passion. The most celebrated song, ‘Famous Blue Raincoat’, is about a love triangle between the jilted narrator (”sincerely L. Cohen”), his ex-lover and his “brother”, his “killer”.  ‘Joan of Arc’ is more about spiritual love, as it follows the inner dialogue of the saintly Joan as she burns at the stake. ‘Avalanche’ covers both ends of the spectrum as it details a failing relationship and the efforts made to keep it alive. These are heavy, well-worn stanzas that explore the breadth of human emotion and they could only work under the penmanship of the master, the lyricist’s lyricist.

Albumaday... rating: 7/10

1.       Avalanche – 5:07

2.       Last Year’s Man – 6:02

3.       Dress Rehearsal Rag – 6:12

4.       Diamonds in the Mine – 3:52

5.       Love Calls You by Your Name – 5:44

6.       Famous Blue Raincoat – 5:15

7.       Sing Another Song, Boys – 6:17

8.       Joan of Arc – 6:29

Listen to ‘Joan of Arc’: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KHjnjIbwvGI

Also released on the 19^th March:

1962: Bob Dylan – Bob Dylan

Also released on the 19^th March:

2002: Flogging Molly – Drunken Lullabies