2009年 Apr 8日 Wednesday, 15:54

Leonard Cohen – Songs Of Leonard Cohen

After several listens and several moments of (slightly) wet eyes I can only conclude this is one of the most beautiful albums ever made.

Leonard Cohen is a master with words. He can put the things so beautifully, but not in a straightforward way. He often goes into abstract comparisons (or sideways about Jesus) so you sometimes have no idea what he's talking about, but the whole time you're surrounded by an atmosphere of melancholy and beauty. With his guitar and the importance of the lyrics of his songs, Leonard Cohen could seem like Bob Dylan, but that's not the case. Bob Dylan's lyrics are more ironic and smarter ("Look what I can write!") whereas Leonard Cohen's lyrics excell in their simple beauty and their emotional nature.

On three of the songs (Suzanne, So Long, Marianne, and Hey, That's No Way To Say Goodbye) Leonard Cohen is accompanied by a female singer Nancy Priddy, whose crystal clear voice matches perfectly with Leonard Cohen's not so perfect voice… Shivers!

This is an album that each singer-songwriter dreams of making. From the first until the last minute just perfect. And so, so, so beautiful.

(Allemaal perfect, vooral: Suzanne, The Stranger Song, So Long, Marianne, Hey, That's No Way To Say Goodbye, Teachers, One Of Us Cannot Be Wrong, Blessed Is The Memory (bonus track on the cd))

Some pieces:

And you wrap up his tired face in your hair
and he hands you the apple core.
Then he touches your lips now so suddenly bare
of all the kisses we put on some time before.
(Master Song)

Well you know that I love to live with you,
but you make me forget so very much.
I forget to pray for the angels
and then the angels forget to pray for us.
(So Long, Marianne)

I loved you in the morning, our kisses deep and warm,
your hair upon the pillow like a sleepy golden storm,
yes many loved before us, I know that we are not new,
in city and in forest they smiled like me and you,
but let's not talk of love or chains and things we can't untie,
your eyes are soft with sorrow,
Hey, that's no way to say goodbye.
(Hey, That's No Way To Say Goodbye)

We are so small between the stars, so large against the sky,
and lost among the subway crowds I try to catch your eye.
(Stories Of The Street)

Some girls wander by mistake
into the mess that scalpels make.
Are you the teachers of my heart?
We teach old hearts to break.
(Teachers)

And then I confess that I tortured the dress
that you wore for the world to look through.
(One Of Us Cannot Be Wrong)