Today I learned
Leonard Cohen
died. I was stunned! As with all musicians I have loved, I
always thought them immortal. It's a shock each time to realize that he
or she was not. We never seem to remember history. Perhaps that's the
lesson this week is trying to teach us.
I have followed the music of Cohen since his first album in 1967,
Songs of Leonard Cohen.
Suzanne is one of the most unique songs of all times and
Hey, That's No Way to Say Goodbye is a beautiful tune about a sad subject: ending a love affair.
So, out comes my favorite album he did,
I'm Your Man.
I am not alone in that opinion; millions of people feel that way. And
I tried to figure out which song on it was my favorite. That proved to
be an impossible task; they are all brilliantly written and performed.
The title song,
I'm Your Man, is the essence of eroticism due to the husky, raspy,
cigarettes 'n whiskey voice of Cohen. Sensual and dreamy, it oozes seduction.
The bouncy, determined gallop of
Everybody knows
is the essence of the love of your life, and maybe even your life, gone
sour. It vividly expresses the bitter feeling of disappointment and
loss. The song is eerily appropriate for what has happened this week.
The original studio version is on YouTube (
link below).
Ain't No Cure For Love is a nice treatment of a love over and lost.
Aaron Neville does a great country/western with female backup version that is smooth and lovely.
Jazz Police is down-right scary! However, the female harmonies on the choruses are beautifully executed minor keys that are a delight. He has a knack for coating the ugly with beauty.
Take This Waltz
is a gentle, dreamy waltz (what else?) with the feel of days gone by,
perhaps pre-war days. It was originally released as part of the 1986
Federico García Lorca tribute album. There are splendidly shot videos on YouTube of Cohen performing exquisite harmonies on this song as well as
Tower of Love with
Julie Christensen and
Perla Batalla.
Ana Belén does an elegant cover of
Take This Waltz under the title, 'Pequeño vals vienés'.
Enrique Morente also does an excellent cover of
Waltz, as well as a
Bauhaus inspired,
flameco/
hard rock version of
First We Take Manhattan; it's a total stunner!
Even though it is a melancholy album, it is a brilliant one. And it reflects the events and mood of this last week (links to songs on YouTube below).
photo by Roland Godefroy
Cohen was born on September 21, 1934 in
Westmount, Quebec, an
English-speaking area of Montreal. He frequented
Saint Laurent Boulevard, where he went for fun, and ate at places such as the
Main Deli Steak House. According to journalist
David Sax,
the Main Deli was where Cohen and one of his cousins would go to "watch
the gangsters, pimps, and wrestlers dance around the night." Cohen also enjoyed visiting the previously raucous bars of
Old Montreal as well as
Saint Joseph's Oratory, which had the closest restaurant near Westmount where he and his friend Mort Rosengarten could go for coffee and a smoke. After moving out of Westmount, Cohen purchased a place in the previous working-class neighbourhood of
Montrea's Little Portugal
on Saint-Laurent Boulevard where he read his poetry at various
surrounding clubs. It is also during his time there in the small neighborhood that he wrote the lyrics to what would become some of his
most famous songs.
photo by Luke Macgregor/Reuters
Cohen died on November 7, 2016, at his home in
Los Angeles. His death was not announced until the 10th of November. He was 82 years old.
His funeral was held on Nov 10, 2016 in
Montreal, at a cemetery on
Mount Royal, his congregation Shaar Hashomayim confirmed. As was his
wish, Cohen was laid to rest with a Jewish rite in a family plot. A memorial is planned to take place in
Los Angeles at a future date.
Track list:
Side 1:
1
- First We Take Manhattan - Coordinator [Production] Roscoe Beck, Mixed
By [Studio 55, Los Angeles], Frank Wolfe*, Performer, Arranged By
Jeff Fisher - 5:59
2 - Ain't No Cure For Love - Bass –
Peter Kisilenko, Drums –
Vinnie Colaiuta, Guitar –
Bob Stanley*, Keyboards,
Arranged By
Jeff Fisher, Saxophone – Richard Baudet, Vocals [Ad Lib] –
Jennifer Warnes- 4:49
3 - Everybody Knows - Arranged By,
Keyboards –
Leonard Cohen Engineer [Dms Studios, Montreal] – Roger
Guérin*, Mixed By [Rock Steady, Second] – Fred Deschamps*, Oud –
John Bilezikjian, Producer, Arranged By, Keyboards – Michel Robidoux, Vocals –
Jennifer Warnes, Written By Sharon Robinson - 5:33
4 - I’m Your
Man - Coordinator [Production] – Roscoe Beck, Drums –
Tom Brechtlein,
Engineer [Dms Studios, Montreal] –
Roger Guérin, Keyboards –
Leonard Cohen, Producer, Drums [Fill] – Michel Robidoux - 4:25
Side 2:
1
- Take This Waltz - Arranged By, Performer –
Jean-Philippe Rykiel,
Engineer [Stagg Street Studio, Los Angeles] – Kevin Beauchamp, Engineer
[Studio Montmartre, Paris] – Jean-Jacques Peruchon, Mixed By [Studio 55,
Los Angeles] – Frank Wolfe*, Producer – Gean-Michel Reusser*, Violin –
Raffi Hakopian, Vocals –
Jennifer Warnes, Vocals –
Elisabeth Valletti,
Evelyine Hebey*, Mayel Assouly - 5:58
2 - Jazz Police - Drums [Additional] –
Vinnie Colaiuta, Performer, Written & Arranged By –
Jeff Fisher - 3:51
3
- I Can't Forget - Drums –
Vinnie Colaiuta, Engineer [Rock Steady, Los
Angeles] –
Billy Youdelman, Keyboards – Larry Cohen, Percussion –
Lenny Castro, Piano –
Leonard Cohen, Producer, Arranged By – Roscoe BeckSteel,
Guitar –
Sneaky Pete Kleinow, Vocals [With] –
Jennifer Warnes,
Jude Johnstone - 4:29
4 - Tower Of Song - Arranged By, Performer –
Leonard Cohen, Engineer [With] – François Deschamps, Vocals –
Jennifer Warnes - 5:37
Leonard Cohen songs on YouTube:
He's My Man!
