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Leonard Cohen - Songs of Love and Hate Audio CD

A fair review of the Leonard Cohen "Songs of Love and Hate" Audio CD. Please note that the below review is the views of the authors, and authors only. You can get a complete list of all Leonard Cohen reviews here, or go back to the Leonard Cohen tabs.

Leonard Cohen Band: Leonard Cohen
Title: Songs of Love and Hate
Rating:
Release Date: 1995-02-07
Media: Audio CD

Tracks: 1: Avalanche 2: Last Year's Man 3: Dress Rehearsal Rag 4: Diamonds in the Mine 5: Love Calls You by Your Name 6: Famous Blue Raincoat 7: Sing Another Song, Boys 8: Joan of Arc

from this broken hill...
Words of Leonard Cohen seem to have stayed with me deeper then most others.
I think that music has contributed greatly to the development of a person I am today. I remember listening to the music of Leonard Cohen exclusively for weeks in various decades of my life. Songs Of Love And Hate is my most favorite album of his. Decades ago I had that tape with Songs Of Love And Hate on one side and New Skin For Old Ceremony on the other, and I know for a fact that tape was moved around from side a to side b by me more than any other tape ever. All of his early albums all the way to and including Various Positions are very dear to me. Back in 1996 I have compiled my favorite songs of Leonard Cohen and called it (using his words) From This Broken Hill:
1. Love Calls You By Your Name
2. The Law
3. Take This Longing
4. . . . Avalanche IV (awesome cover by Jean-Louis Murat)
5. Avalanche
6. The Guests
7. Who By Fire
8. Joan Of Arc
9. . . . Suzanne (by Peter Gabriel)
10. Hallelujah
11. So Long, Marianne
12. Dance Me To The End Of Love
13. edit
14. A Singer Must Die
15. Suzanne
16. If It Be Your Will
.


Classic Cohen
Remastered in 1995, a few of the songs are recorded live, but most are studio recordings. This is a definitive collection of Leonard Cohens early songs. The CD contains the beautiful & classic FAMOUS BLUE RAINCOAT and JOAN OF ARK. There is DRESS REHEARSAL RAG, a brutally frank portrait of a junkie at the end of the line. AVALANCHE and LAST YEAR'S are fantastic samples of the poet's unique style contrasting the spiritual and the physical, the daemonic & the divine. DIAMONDS IN THE MINE is a live song and it's a pity that the women's vocals aren't emphasized more because they sound very, very good. Sometimes on this particular song Cohen's singing becomes almost self-parody. It's the only song I didn't care much for--but 1 out of 8 isn't bad at all, particularly considering the value of the CD as a whole.

FYI: Since first writing this review I see that the CD is no longer available directly from Amazon. However, other sources are listed & you can usually trust this option, particularly from sellers with a 100% customer approval rating. While using this option does not qualify for an Amazon shipping discount, Amazon still guarantees that you will receive what you ordered--providing you order from this website. I have taken advantage of this option for 4 or 5 CDs & have been totally satisfied with the product, and actually received my order sooner than expected.

Songs of Leonard Cohen
More Best of Leonard Cohen
The Best of Leonard Cohen
Leonard Cohen - Greatest Hits.


The Rain Falls Down on Last Year's Man
Avalanche is just what it sounds like. The first song sets the tone for the album. . . a man's life caving in on top of him sung with bitterness, bile and sarcasm, his trademark guitar propelling the ballad forward, stark and primal. And it only gets better from there. Cohen's voice is raw and powerful on every track, often framed by the celestial chorus of women's voices that offer a sharp contract to his. Well know songs on the CD include Famous Blue Raincoat and Joan of Arc. But the lesser known songs are gems in their own right. Especially gloomy are the self-mocking Last Year's Man and suicidal fantasy Dress Rehearsal Rag, both with brilliant lyrics.

Deservedly the CD continues to grow in stature over the years. This music is sure to be a party killer, but perfect to listen to when you're alone, depressed, angry, smoldering with love and hate. . . . an anthem to the dark genius of Cohen.


One of Cohen's best, IMHO
This is Cohen at his peak. Can't get this on iTunes since it is an import. If you have no Leonard Cohen - give this one a try!.


Dark and Brilliant
It's alone music. This is not the kind of album you want to put on when having a cocktail party. But it is a harrowing, brilliant album. Songs of Love and Hate begins with Cohen's trademark flamenco guitar and winds it's way through stark children's choruses and spine-tingling string accompaniments. But Cohen's startling lyrics take center stage. He is a poet on caliber with Bob Dylan. This album is so uncommercial, however, that it is out of print. I got my copy on eBay. The album hits a peak with track 4, "Diamonds In the Mine" a raucous, fun number where Cohen sounds dangerously unhinged. Just as it sounds like he's lost control, we return to his solo acoustic guitar on track 5, "Love Calls You By Your Name. " The towering, depressing "Famous Blue Raincoat" is featured on every Cohen retrospective and tribute album (of which there are several). It starts out with the poet intoning, "It's four in the morning, the end of September, I'm writing you now, just to see if you're better. . . " There's something about being awake at four in the morning. It's not the night, and it's not really the morning either. Most people are not awake at this hour. Only tortured loners like Leonard Cohen. SOLAH concludes with the elegiac "Joan of Arc" which, if you haven't slit your wrists by then, will send you off with the feeling that you have just heard something raw and painfully honest from a great songwriter. The album has a very cohesive quality, as if it could have been recorded all in one night. The mood captured is consistently somber but it has the feeling of a stark, emotional moment in time that was as rare as it was brief. .


You can see a complete list of all Leonard Cohen discography, or go back to the Leonard Cohen tabs. There is also a good guide on how to read guitar tabs here.

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