Leonard Cohen: Hallelujah: A New Biography [Paperback]

Tim Footman (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: November 1, 2009

Chronicling the highs and lows that have punctuated the life of a musical genius, this in-depth biography reveals new insight into the legendary songs of Leonard Cohen. Covering each stage in his prolific career—his early years as a poet and author in Canada, his relocation to New York City and subsequent impact within the folk and rock scenes, his years spent in a Buddhist monastery, and his recent rediscovery by a new generation of fans—this definitive history combines perceptive research with previously unpublished photos. Balancing his literary and musical influences with themes of religion, depression, sex, politics, and complex interpersonal relationships, fresh perspectives are highlighted through interviews with colleagues who have never before gone on record. His recent release of new music, current revival in popularity, and first tour in 15 years are fully detailed and cited as one of the most dramatic periods in the life of this eloquent songwriter.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Tim Footman is the author of several biographies on bands, including Blink 182: The Unauthorised Biography in Words and Pictures, Global Assassins: The Limp Bizkit Story in Words and Pictures, Radiohead: A Visual Documentary, and Radiohead: Welcome to the Machine. He is the former managing editor of the Guinness Book of World Records and has contributed pieces on music and pop culture to the Encyclopedia of Popular Music, the Guardian, and Time Out.

Product Details

• Paperback: 300 pages
• Publisher: Chrome Dreams (November 1, 2009)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1842404725
• ISBN-13: 978-1842404720
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 6 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (12 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #650,768 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #5 in Books > Biographies & Memoirs > People, A-Z > ( C ) > Cohen, Leonard

More About the Author

In addition to his books, Tim Footman has written for The Guardian, the BBC, CNN, Mojo, Time Out, Prospect, the Bangkok Post, the Sunday Post, Plan B, Zembla, Twill, Drowned in Sound and the International Journal of Baudrillard Studies. His English accent is almost as good as Gwyneth Paltrow's.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

50 of 55 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars I Don't Like Books That Overuse the Word Eponymous, November 21, 2009

By 

Lightman (New York) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Leonard Cohen: Hallelujah: A New Biography (Paperback)

This one is no exception.

Also priapic. It appears repeatedly as Tim Footman editorializes about Cohen's amorous exploits. Why choose an obscure word that MS Word returns as a spelling error?

Beats me.

Who is this guy (Footman) anyway?

Apparently the former managing editor of the Guiness Book of World Records has morphed into a cultural oracle of surpassing significance.

Or at least that's what he would want us to believe.

The problem with this book is that the author really doesn't seem to have very much to say. The florid and pompous prose seems designed to confer a kind of intellectual gravitas and draw attention away from this lack of thoughtful content.

Here are some examples of this pretentious gobbledygook:

* He realized that becoming involved in Zen practice was compatible with his Jewish identity and beliefs, and even with his enjoyment of the bacchanalia that constituted life as a rock musician.

* For the moment, however, Cohen's rutting urges were sublimated into his growing interest in literature and music.

* Romantically unattached when he arrived on Hydra, Cohen was at first an amused observer of the coital merry go round on the island, until he met a Norwegian named Marianne Ihlen.

* Which leads into problematic territory, where we ask, whether some performers of some genres of music are to be classed as priests, while others are merely supplicants.

* As he powers through his eighth decade - and he's still singing Hallelujah on tour, he wouldn't be permitted to leave it out - new generations are waking up to the particular charm of that deep, growly miaow; an acclamation of a special kind.

"Particular charm of that deep, growly miaow"? Come on, gimme a break.

There are also what appear to me as astounding editing blunders. For example in the discussion of Cohen's novels The Favorite Game and Beautiful Losers, references to "The Beautiful Game" and "Beautiful Strangers" inexplicably crop up. Maybe I'm missing something (if so let me know with a comment) but this looks like flagrant errors.

Cohen is a great artist. He deserves better.

So don't waste your time with this book. If you're looking for a good biography of LC read Various Positions: A Life of Leonard Cohen by Ira Bruce Nadel instead.

23 of 24 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars "So This Is Between You and Me, the People Who Care", November 21, 2009

By 

H. F. Corbin "Foster Corbin" (ATLANTA, GA USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Leonard Cohen: Hallelujah: A New Biography (Paperback)

In the "Conclusion: End of My Life in Art" Tim Footman in the new biography of Leonard Cohen says the question is not how good Leonard Cohen is but rather how great he is and wonders if we can even ask that question. After all there are those who would say "it doesn't matter what anybody thinks anyway; that nobody's opinion is more important than anybody else's. .. we should just enjoy what we enjoy, right?" Not really. Mr. Footman concludes that persons who think that way wouldn't be reading this most informative biography of Leonard Cohen anyway. "So this is between you and me, the people who care." (I couldn't agree more.) He then goes on to enumerate some of the qualities that make Cohen great: he is a brilliant lyricist in the company of Bob Dylan and even the likes of Cole Porter, he is extremely well read (a lover of William Butler Yeats and Lord Byron), and he is often quite funny in spite of his dark lyrics. Footman quotes as an example the lyrics from his favorite Cohen song:

"Well my friends are gone and my hair is grey.
I ache in the places where I used to play."

There is a wealth of information about Cohen in Footman's biography. The essential details are all here: Cohen's birth in 1934 in Montreal, his early beginnings as a writer, his poetry, his novels, his travels, his relationships with women, his time spent in a monastery, his highly successful concert tour in 2009. Although it is obvious that the writer is besotted with Mr. Cohen, he presents him with all his warts-- his drug use, his not-always-successful relationships: "I was very poor at relationships. . . I wasn't good at marriage, and I wasn't good at husbandhood or fatherhood."

In addition to what one would expect in a biography, Mr. Footman includes as list of his 10 favorite Cohen songs, a chapter on the popularity of "Hallelujah," a discography that includes bootlegs and a list of practically everyone who has ever recorded a Cohen song, a list for further reading that includes Nabokov's novel PALE FIRE and finally a chapter comparing Bob Dylan and Cohen. Footman concludes that in a hundred years from now Dylan will be the artist who defines the second half of the 20th century. Leonard Cohen, on the other hand, is loved. "And Cohen and surely Dylan as well--knows which is more important."

The people who care about Cohen will find much to like in this biography.

15 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars see it for what it is, November 28, 2009

By 

T. Legras "beachsider" (cayucos, CA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Leonard Cohen: Hallelujah: A New Biography (Paperback)

I would not call this a good book, yet I would not say it is entirely unworthy of reading. I found myself enjoying it despite myself, sort of like fast food or a microwave TV dinner. After the difficult bit of swallowing the introduction, the rest went down with no trouble. I just settled into the reality that is was not a novel or literary masterpiece. It was alot of bits of information, placed in chronological order about an artist I admire, and it included some details of his 2008/2009 tour and life. I learned things I did not know beforehand and left with new references to explore more in the life/art of Leonard Cohen. For that reason, I do not regret reading this book and that is where I found value in it.

Otherwise, it had the flavor of someone quickly putting it all together in order to capitalize on Leonard Cohen's recently successful return to the public. While reading it I wondered if Mr. Cohen had read it or endorsed it? I also wondered about the age of the author, as it had a "green" (NOT as in the evironmental sense . . .) feeling about it.

One of the other reviews stated that Leonard deserves better, and I would agree. Although, a better product will require some time and thoughtfullness, so I am confident that something of that nature is around the corner for us.