Leonard Cohen

Somehow, through some LP's I'd gotten a hold of from various thrift stores, I found myself listening to the works of Leonard Cohen again. He's a singer/songwriter from Canada that found his initial following in the liberal, folky, movements in the early to mid-60's. For some reason though, he's not quite as popular as Dylan, but in the end, I find his lyrics and poetry to be a bit more insightful.

He's also darker, funnier and in some ways, more explicit than Dylan and he eventualy followed Eastern religions rather than moving into liberal forms of Christianity.

So, in celebration of his works and this recent enjoyment, I put together a mix of his music, both past and recent (in fact, "The Letters" comes from his most recent release "Dear Heather") and a couple covers. One, the cover by Jeff Buckley is probably the best known version of one his songs among music listeners, and I tossed in a couple others just to vary things up. The Spanky and Our Gang version was one I heard from one those LP's I obtained, (though the song was orignally performed by Judy Collins, but it's a Cohen original). And finally, who doesn't love the Man in Black?

The Leonard Cohen Songbook

1. Leonard Cohen - The Partisan
2. Leonard Cohen - Waiting For The Miracle
3. Jeff Buckley - Hallelujah
4. Leonard Cohen - So Long, Marianne
5. Leonard Cohen - The Letters
6. Leonard Cohen - Chelsea Hotel #2
7. Spanky & Our Gang - Suzanne
8. Johnny Cash - Bird On A Wire
9. Leonard Cohen - The Future