Leonard Cohen
Live in London
Sony
I went out one night with a friend, got a little too drunk and had to pass out at her house. The only thing I wanted to do was listen to my Leonard Cohen album as I drifted off to sleep in a foreign bed that I soon found out had been visited often by my former ex-lover. Sadly, it couldn’t have been a more perfect soundtrack. Mr. Leonard Cohen was thirty-three when he released his debut album in 1967. Late start, yes, but goddamn his talent! He’s not only a passionate poet but one of the world’s most heartbreaking singers.
At seventy-four he is still going strong, still singing with his weathered and deepened voice, still making women of all ages swoon over his seductive and spellbinding lyrics. It’s been fifteen years since his last tour and thankfully for you someone recorded everything. Live in London was recorded in July of ‘08 and puts his most compelling songs spanning his entire career into one place for your sad and lonely ears to enjoy. Cohen is supported by a trio of female backing vocalists and full band. You can only tell it’s a live album when you hear clapping and people shouting in between songs and Cohen tenderly talking and cracking jokes with the audience. The quality of the album is precise. The songs sound even more haunting with age. It seems that his once high baritone voice has matured like wine into a low bass baritone. Handsome to say the least.
And just like how you never really understand something until years down the road, it looks as if Leonard finally truly feels the words in his heart because the emotions are so raw, up front and out there. In every song you feel the isolation, the everyday battles of being human, candid thoughts on sex and love and personal relationships. “If you want a lover/ I’ll do anything you ask me to/ and if you want another kind of lover/ I’ll wear this old mask for you/ If you want a partner/ take my hand/ and if you want to strike me down in anger/ here I stand.” Leonard Cohen is your man.
Leonard Cohen: http://www.leonardcohen.com
