114. Leonard Cohen - Songs of Leonard Cohen

1. Suzanne*

2. Master Song*

3. Winter Lady

4. The Stranger Song

5. Sisters of Mercy

6. So Long, Marianne*

7. Hey, That's No Way to Say Goodbye

8. Stories of the Street

9. Teachers

10. One of Us Cannot Be Wrong

A-

This is a dark, pretty, and admirably strange album. Apparently Cohen was unhappy with the production, but the contrast between his simple classical guitar and restrained, deadpan vocals with the odd assortment of choral and instrumental overdubs gives the whole thing a sort of queasy beauty. The first thing anyone talks about when it comes to Leonard Cohen is his lyrics, but it's important not to overlook this album as a piece of music. The songs feature dark, spacey arrangements, anchored by minimalist guitar work. Some of the choices are quite odd - the backing vocals threaten to drown out Cohen on "Suzanne" and "So Long, Marianne", and then there's things like weird electronic skitterings, what sounds like a calliope doubling the vocals at one point, and the bizarre wordless crooning that wanders around the back half of "One of Us Cannot Be Wrong". The whole thing is an obvious point of departure for a whole host of singer-songwriters (I have a feeling it was a big influence on Nick Drake, for example). It's also worth noting that Cohen has a way with crafting off-kilter but memorable, understated melodies. 

But on to those lyrics. And, well - they're both the best and worst thing about the album. "Suzanne", for example, is the sort of poem set to music they should be teaching in university courses. "Master Song" is unrelentingly bleak. But the problem is that the lyrics are so bafflingly cryptic most of the time that I couldn't make head or tails of them. Possibly this is because I simply don't have the kind of life experience reflected in most of these songs. I've never been a drug-addled bohemian living and loving on the edge of society. Most of these songs are dark examinations of love, loss, betrayal and subjugation. In one song Cohen even says the duty of lovers is to tarnish the Golden Rule. That's just depressing, even if it does sort of ring true. In any case, the imagery and use of language is very beautiful, but I don't really know what Cohen is on about. Then again, when you can write a song as catchy and stirring as "So Long, Marianne", it probably doesn't matter.

Of the three Cohen albums I've heard - this, Songs from a Room, and Songs of Love and Hate - this is probably my least favourite. I think Cohen's song writing became more focused and intelligible as he went along, resulting in astonishing songs like "Hallelujah" and "Famous Blue Raincoat". But this is still a very good album. It's very dark and mysterious and pretty, and you could dedicate a lot of time and effort to trying to unravel its secrets. It's definitely the sort of album you have to listen to carefully the whole way through. It's also one of those albums that should come pre-packaged with half a pack of smokes and a cheap bottle of red wine.