Customer Reviews

Recent Songs

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The Rare Genius of a Maestro

The unmistakable talent of Leonard Cohen was apparent from his early days, but when one looks at his work in chronological order (see below), then his need to break from his almost folksy style occurred after "New Skin for the Old Ceremony" (1974). His first experiment with a different form of expression was Death of a Ladies' Man in 1977, arguably his worst performance, and one that he himself denotes as a "catastrophe". That was also the last time that Cohen had allowed someone else (in this case, Phil Spector) to influence his work.

Recent Songs appeared in 1979, and although not always widely acclaimed, contains some of his best work as an artist. The old Cohen is still there, but the power of his poetry blends extremely well with his beautiful but haunting delivery.

Here is the watershed that is the hallmark of true art - allowing the author to break free entirely from the bonds of method and style, culminating in an exceptional and unique piece of work. In contemporary music there really is no equivalent.

On this record Cohen covers the gamut - from his cynical and outright scary "The Guests" - where he deals with his struggle to understand God - to the "Ballad of the Absent Mare" - which is an absolute testament to the power of the artist. All his work on this album is outright marvelous, but especially the cuts "The Window", "The Traitor" and "Ballard of the Absent Mare" deserves further mentioning. Here Cohen combines reason, rhyme and beauty in an apparent effortless fashion, and proves beyond any doubt why he should be considered as possibly the most outstanding English balladeer of modern time.

The record is a must for the truly discerning mind.

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Releases in sequential order:

1997 - More Best Of Leonard Cohen

1994 - Cohen Live

1992 - The Future

1988 - I'm Your Man

1984 - Various Positions

1979 - Recent Songs

1977 - Death of a Ladies' Man

1975 - The Best of Leonard Cohen

1974 -New Skin for the Old Ceremony

1973 -Live Songs

1971 - Songs Of Love And Hate

1969 - Songs From A Room

1968 - Songs Of Leonard Cohen

Not widely recognized as being a very good Leonard Cohen album, but it, in fact, is. A lovely use of violins throughout and the presence of the band Passenger on several tracks, makes this the best Leonard Cohen album, musically. There are actually fairly-long musical interludes and solos on this album, which is somewhat rare for Cohen... hence, the longer-than-usual running times of the songs on this album compared to previous ones. This is, of course, in addition to his usually brilliant lyrics. They are more poignant here, in fact, than almost any place else. Some of his most beautiful songs lie herein. The opener, The Guests, is a perfectly sardonic way to open the album. Humbled In Love is lyrically similar, in it's delivery, and about as good. Songs like The Window, The Traitor, and The Smokey Life, are excellent, seemingly highly-confessional songs that fit nicely into Cohen's repetoire. However, my personal favorite off the album is Came So Far For Beauty, a poignant, absolutely beautiful touching little piece with a totally appropriate musical backing. The cover of the Lost Canadian is also a nice addition. The allegerical Ballad of The Absent Mare brings the album to a triumphant close. A must-own.

This is the first LC album I've ever heard, and I've got a bad feeling that I'm going to do something crazy tomorrow -- LIKE BUY THE REST OF HIS ENTIRE CATALOG IN ONE SHOT -- because "Recent Songs" is absolutlely masterful. And beautuiful. And haunting. And every thing else affecting Art should be. ...

My favourite Leonard Cohen album of all time is "Songs of Love and Hate". And it wasn't until I heard "Recent Songs" that I found an album that matched "SOL+H"'s lyrical and musical beauty.

After his ridiculous collaboration with Phil Spector - "Death of A Ladies Man" - , "Recent Songs" was a wonderfully welcome return to form. Among my favourites songs on this album are "The Window" - a beautiful song in the tradition of "Last Year's Man"; "Un Canadien Errant", sung entirely in French by the Montreal born Cohen; "The Guests", "The Gypsy's Wife", and "Ballad of the Absent Mare".

This is a must-own for any Leonard Cohen fan. And it should also be pointed out that this is the last album Leonard Cohen recorded before his voice transformed into the gravely sound which has been his trademark since "Various Positions".

I don't know how to describe this album. The songs it contains are beatiful, but somehow intangible. I am moved by the music and the words every time I listen, but when the album isn't on, I find them hard to recall. I guess I would say it's like a pleasant dream that evaporates upon waking. And that's not a bad thing.

The sound is fragile, almost ethereal, on tracks like The Window, The Guests and Our Lady of Solitude, while Humbled In Love is more earthy and The Lost Canadian (Un Canadien Errant) has a traditional mariachi arrangement with marvelous trumpets. Most outstanding feature is the presence of John Bilezikjian on guitar and Raffi Hakopian on "oud" (oriental lute).

None of these songs has been covered on the brilliant I'm Your Fan tribute, perhaps because they're not as instantly hummable as his well-known classics. Jennifer Warnes, however, does a respectable version of Came So Far For Beauty on her exquisite Famous Blue Raincoat tribute album.

My favourite track on Recent Songs is The Window, an esoteric excursion aglow with symbolism in which Cohen refers to inter alia the 14th century English mystical text The Cloud Of Unknowing. If you like the music of for example Jane Siberry, Nick Drake and Belle & Sebastian, you'll love this album.

Leonard continues to be one the greatest poets/philosophers in the music industry today. In this album, he takes a little bit of a departure from his usual music, but still manages to pound meaning into the ears and mind of every listener he graces the musical presence of. A beautiful album by a beautiful man.

From the Gypsy Wife to the Smokey Life, this Errant Canadian scores a hit. Every song is fresh, densely packed lyricaly and a variety of musical arrangements give the package a depth.

This is an excelent album to "get into" Leonard Cohen.

More melodic than some of his other works. Lots of strings on this one but they are a nice touch (not overpowering). Even though Jennifer Warnes is not my favorite of his backup singers, she does a wonderful job with complimenting Cohen's voice.

Recent Songs of 1979 might well be one of Cohen's most delicately poetic albums in its exquisite rendering of spiritual themes, employment of exotic instruments like the oriental lute & mariachi trumpets and the breathtaking arrangements. Jennifer Warnes duets with him on The Smokey Life and provides background vocals on The Guests and The Window.

Jennifer interprets Came So Far For Beauty with great sensitivity on her album Famous Blue Raincoat; the 20th Anniversary Edition contains Ballad of the Runaway Horse as one of 4 bonus tracks. Why Absent Mare became Runaway Horse is a mystery. None of these songs has been covered on the brilliant I'm Your Fan tribute, perhaps because they're a bit more intricate in arrangement than his well-known classics. Leonard selected only one track, The Guests, for inclusion on the Essential Leonard Cohen compilation.

The sound is fragile, almost ethereal, on tracks like The Window, The Guests and Our Lady of Solitude whilst Humbled In Love is earthier. The most outstanding feature is John Bilezikjian playing "oud" (oriental lute) & Raffi Hakopian playing violin on The Guests, The Window, The Traitor & The Gypsy's Wife plus the Mariachi Band of Luis Briseño on The Lost Canadian (Un Canadien Errant) and Ballad of the Absent Mare with its striking trumpets.

Phrases from spiritual literature in the lyrics include "Why hast thou forsaken me?" and "The spear of the age in your side." In the most moving and poetic composition The Window, Cohen refers to the medieval mystical text The Cloud of Unknowing: "Come forth from the cloud of unknowing/And kiss the cheek of the moon/The new Jerusalem glowing/Why tarry all night in the ruin?" Many other esoteric images adorn this intricate and melodic masterpiece where the voice of Warnes adds a special dimension of beauty.

Un Canadien Errant is a folk song from 1842 about an exile yearning for this Quebec homeland after having fled Canada in 1837 following the failed uprising against the government of Louis Mackenzie and Louis Papineau. Raffi Hakopian's solo violin atmospherically embellishes The Traitor whilst its interaction with the Oud on The Gypsy's Wife is most impressive. The solemn and graceful Our Lady of Solitude has a strong spiritual undertone.

The duet with Jennifer Warnes: The Smokey Life, is slow with a bluesy tone and the album concludes with Ballad of the Absent Mare, an extended ballad with a mid-tempo lilting beat and subtle, understated backing by the Mariachi Band. The delicate Recent Songs is the very opposite of the previous year's Death of a Ladies' Man that contained some very bitter lyrics and Cohen's voice straining against overpowering rock sounds on certain tracks. This 1979 release is refined, soulful and subtly arranged. It may share a quiet air with Ten New Songs of 2001 but the sound is more varied and the songs more memorable.