229. Leonard Cohen - Songs Of Love And Hate (1971)
















Track Listing

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

Review

Cohen is angrier, but you'd like him when he's angry! In this album there is a kind of a shift for Cohen, while until now most of his songs were about love or, even if they weren't, they were quite soothing, here his voice his tinged with hatred. There is a lot of unresolved issues here and the music is all the better for it.

Some people may say that a lot of early Cohen is a bit samey, but fact the variety is not so much musical as in terms of feelings. In Diamonds In The Mine Cohen almost spits his words out with rage while in Last Years Man is hust melancholy.

Just because Lenny is angry it doesn't mean he has got any less depressing. The tracks here are nothing if not melancholy,The angry tracks have a feeling of helplessness, but the music is beautiful. Listen to it, it'll do you good, or make you slash your wrists. Get it from Amazon UK or US.

Track Highlights

1. Famous Blue Raincoat
2. Joan OF Arc
3. Diamonds In The Mine
4. Sing Another Song, Boys

Final Grade

9/10

Trivia

From Wikipedia:

"Famous Blue Raincoat" has been covered numerous times, notably by Jennifer Warnes, who was once a Cohen back-up singer, on her 1987 album Famous Blue Raincoat, and by Tori Amos on the Leonard Cohen tribute album Tower of Song. Warnes also covered "Joan of Arc" on her album as a duet between herself and Leonard.


Famous Blue Raincoat: