Leonard Cohen - Greatest Hits [IMPORT]

Leonard Cohen

Product Details

• Audio CD (November 16, 1998)
• Original Release Date: January 19, 1999
• Number of Discs: 1
• Format: Import
• Label: Sbme Import
• ASIN: B00000G42L
• Also Available in: Audio CD
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #101,245 in Music (See Bestsellers in Music)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description
The distinctive singer/ songwriter's 1975 & first 'best of' collection on a gold disc in a standard jewel case within an embossed, die-cut slipcase cover. 12 tracks, including 'Who By Fire', 'Sisters Of Mercy', 'Suzanne', 'Bird On The Wire' and 'So Long, Marianne'. 1998 Columbia release.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Early Gems, June 10, 2005

By	Pieter "Toypom" (Johannesburg) - See all my reviews (TOP 50 REVIEWER)

This review is from: Greatest Hits (Audio CD)

This is a wonderful collection of Cohen's now legendary early work. Drawn from his classic albums Songs Of Leonard Cohen, Songs From A Room, Songs Of Love And Hate and New Skin For The Old Ceremony, these timeless songs have become part of the serious poetic heritage of the English language. The tracks unique to Live Songs (1973), like Please Don't Pass Me By, are perhaps too anguished so have never found a place on any compilation.

I have no favorites here because each and every track is sublime, from the wistful Suzanne to the aching Take This Longing. From the album Songs Of Love and Hate I would have chosen Joan Of Arc, though, instead of Last Year's Man and would also have included The Old Revolution and Tonight Will Be Fine from Songs From A Room. Perhaps the most impressive version of Joan of Arc is the Jennifer Warnes duet with Cohen on the Famous Blue Raincoat tribute.

The impact of these timeless songs on popular culture is proved by the many cover versions, of which a few of the best include Rita Coolidge's Bird On A Wire plus The Lilac Time's and the Neville Brothers' version of the same song, Sting & The Chieftains' Sisters Of Mercy, James' cover of So Long Marianne, Geoffrey Oryema, Judy Collins and Nina Simone's very different interpretations of Suzanne, and Peter Astor's Take This Longing.

Cohen completists would also be interested in Essential Leonard Cohen, but note that album does not include Lady Midnight or Last Year's Man. What I found especially impressive on listening to this album again, were the brilliant arrangements and especially the siren-like quality of the female vocals so perfectly framing Cohen's voice. These songs just sound better and better as the decades pass.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Nice to Finally have Leonard Cohen on a Gold CD!, August 22, 2006

By	Robert L. Smith (San Francisco, CA United States) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

I am a great fan of gold CDs, for although they have sometimes been criticized as over-priced, their superior sound quality and increased durability make them well worth it for those favorite albums you want to experience as fully as possible. As a long-time Leonard Cohen fanatic, I am delighted to have finally found one of his albums as a gold disc. It was worth the wait, too, since in this instance the remaster is especially good, even for an audiophile disc. This initial hits collection is also a good choice, although any Cohen disc would be worthy of being preserved in this way. Highly recommended!

4 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars leonard like Da Vinci: genious, August 29, 2000

By	Leonardo C. Rocha "leorocha66" (Uberlandia, minas gerais,Brasil) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

in this album, you can find the simple and unforgetable cohen. his music fly away in the eternity