Recommended albums for a new Leonard Cohen fan?

Lost81 · « **on:** 24 Jul 2004, 05:14 pm »

Hi guys / gals,

After being exposed to Cohen in the soundtrack of "Natural Born Killers" (i.e. "I've seen the Future, and it's murder"), as well as covers, i.e. "Perfect Day" by Duran Duran, "Dance me till the end of time" by Kate Bush in "Strange Days," and "Hallelujah" by the late Jeff Buckley, I thought it will be nice to find out more about the master himself.

Any recommendations for the noviate?

Thanks!

Cheers,
-Lost81

Hantra · « **Reply #1 on:** 24 Jul 2004, 06:55 pm »

I'm Your Man is a good one.

I am reading a cool book about Dylan and Cohen that just came out. It's pretty good reading in case you're interested. .

Dylan And Cohen

Tonto Yoder · « **Reply #2 on:** 24 Jul 2004, 07:46 pm »

Wouldn't "Essential Leonard Cohen" be, well, uhm, essential??

http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/B00006NSH8/ref=pd_sim_music_3/103-8051617-4717430?v=glance&s=music

I didn't actually know they had compiled this disc, but it looks tempting even for someone familair with Cohen.

Christof · « **Reply #3 on:** 24 Jul 2004, 10:34 pm »

If you are looking for any other artists which are similar, you might give Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds a try. They are certainly dark & vocal oriented. 10 New Songs by L.C. is a nice recording in addition to those mentioned by others in previous posts.

Have fun
Christof

Hantra · « **Reply #4 on:** 25 Jul 2004, 02:47 am »

Quote from: Christof

If you are looking for any other artists which are similar, you might give Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds a try. They are certainly dark & vocal oriented. 10 New Songs by L.C. is a nice recording in addition to those mentioned by others in previous posts.

Have fun
Christof

I would have to warn you that I was told the same thing, but Nick Cave was far beyond anything I could imagine. It was so dark, I contemplated suicide like 38 times before the end of the first track.

Seriously though, Nick Cave is HARD CORE, and I thought the Cure was dark. . .

lonewolfny42 · « **Reply #5 on:** 25 Jul 2004, 03:04 am »

For a slightly different take on Cohen songs, check this cd out....excellent !!

.... http://www.leonardcohenfiles.com/cover1.html

Lost81 · « **Reply #6 on:** 26 Jul 2004, 06:57 am »

Thanks for all the leads, guys / gals!

I got the "Best of", and "More Best of."

His voice does take getting used to, but the lyrics are awesome.
Only when he did "Famous Blue Raincoat" did I realize Tori Amos did a cover of it.

-Lost81

Tonto Yoder · « **Reply #7 on:** 26 Jul 2004, 02:09 pm »

Quote from: Lost81

His voice does take getting used to, but the lyrics are awesome.
Only when he did "Famous Blue Raincoat" did I realize Tori Amos did a cover of it.
-Lost81

Tori's version is on "Tower of Song" which is a good CD to get. As with all tribute albums, it's a bit of a mixed bag but there are enough good covers to make it worthwhile. Bono does a quite different version of "Hallelujah" than Buckley. BTW, Judy Collins did a cover of "Famous Blue Raincoat" that I think I prefer to either Tori's or Jennifer Warnes' versions.(It was that song that got me interested in Cohen).

mcgsxr · « **Reply #8 on:** 29 Jul 2004, 01:13 pm »

I have "The Future", "I'm Your Man", and "Ten New Songs".

Ten New Songs is a demo disc for me, I absolutely love track 7, for the mix of voices, air, and thunder...

If you don't own this disc of his, his first after a number of years in a Zen temple, then you have not heard how far he has come, in terms of artistic presentation of his poetry, set to melody, and gloriously recorded.

A gem.

Mark

Thump553 · « **Reply #9 on:** 29 Jul 2004, 08:57 pm »

A suggestion from left field. Rent "McCabe and Mrs. Miller." Cohen's music mesh's with this movie perfectly.

Jon L · « **Reply #10 on:** 29 Jul 2004, 09:15 pm »

My current favorite Leonard Cohen album is "Songs of Love and Hate," recorded in 1971 but re-issued in 1995.

His more recent albums are more polished and have more production value, and more "modern," and I have them all. But "Songs of Love and Hate" is unadorned, raw, powerful album that just kicks A^&%.

THEN, when you want to expand on the ultra-rich male vocal magic in similar veins, pick up Tom Wait's recent albums, "Mule Variations" "Alice" and "Blood Money." Outstanding sound quality as well as artistry like I've never heard...

Lost81 · « **Reply #11 on:** 30 Jul 2004, 06:02 am »

Wow... the more I listen to Leonard Cohen, the more I agree that his voice is perfectly suited to his brand of lyrics...

Nick Cave sounds really interesting...
I am going to check him out...

Thanks for the recommendations!

-Lost81

Tonto Yoder · « **Reply #12 on:** 30 Jul 2004, 11:02 am »

Quote from: Lost81

Wow... the more I listen to Leonard Cohen, the more I agree that his voice is perfectly suited to his brand of lyrics...
-Lost81

I forget the original source, but Cohen has been described as "Music to slit your wrists by."

Tonto Yoder · « **Reply #13 on:** 2 Aug 2004, 06:36 am »

The newest K.D. lang CD has two Cohen songs on it--"Hallelujah" & "Bird on a Wire." Just came out July 27th. The CD will be featured on XPN Monday
http://xpn.org/feature.php

Hallelujah --

http://www.wea.com/b2b/perl/clip.pl?file=075597984729_006_G2.ram

doug s. · « **Reply #14 on:** 2 Aug 2004, 09:55 pm »

i would recommend any leonard cohen album that is instrumental...

doug s.

Lost81 · « **Reply #15 on:** 17 Aug 2004, 01:51 pm »

Quote from: Hantra

Quote from: Christof
If you are looking for any other artists which are similar, you might give Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds a try. They are certainly dark & vocal oriented. 10 New Songs by L.C. is a nice recording in addition to those mentioned by others in previous posts.

Have fun
Christof

I would have to warn you that I was told the same thing, but Nick Cave was far beyond anything I could imagine. It was so dark, I contemplated suicide like 38 times before the end of the first track.

Seriously though, Nick Cave is HARD CORE, and I thought the Cure was dark. . .

Wow, you guys were not kidding about Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds.
Track 2: "No More Shall We Part" was gut-wrenching...

I got myself "No More Shall We Part" and "The Boatman's Call."
Man, and I thought Jeff Buckley's version of Cohen's "Hallelujah" was about as depressing as you can get...

-Lost81

Corbin Johnson · « **Reply #16 on:** 26 Aug 2004, 02:11 pm »

My favorite is Cohen Live, which is a great live recording and has some of his best selections. This is one of my all time favorite CD's.

Corbin

Tonto Yoder · « **Reply #17 on:** 26 Aug 2004, 09:26 pm »

Quote from: lost81

Wow, you guys were not kidding about Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds.
Track 2: "No More Shall We Part" was gut-wrenching...

You might also check out Ute Lemper's "Punishing Kiss" which features Cave -penned tunes. Her/his "Little Water Song" seems on the surface to be a sweet love song revolving around the cliche "You take my breath away", then you listen closer and it's the woman singing about being drowned by her lover, all in this gorgeous voice.

http://www.musicomh.com/albums/ute-lemper.htm

rosypup · « **Reply #18 on:** 27 Aug 2004, 01:22 am »

The essential cd is a 2 cd set and it's phenomenal.

Also check out Jennifer Warren's the Songs of Leonard Cohen cd.