Cohen could be harsh before his Spector collaboration
Pieter | Johannesburg | 08/22/2008
(5 out of 5 stars)
"Other musician seem to like these songs more than Cohen does; for the collection Essential Leonard Cohen he selected only one track from this album, Famous Blue Raincoat. Among those who highly esteem Songs of Love and Hate is Jennifer Warnes who covers Famous Blue Raincoat on her album of the same name which also contains a duet with Cohen on a longer version of Joan of Arc.
On the soundtrack album Leonard Cohen: I'm Your Man The Handsome Family interprets the same song whilst Tori Amos performs it on Tower of Song:The Songs of Leonard Cohen. Famous Blue Raincoat is very popular as Judy Collins included it on her Cohen tribute album along with Dress Rehearsal Rag and Joan of Arc. And on the appealing 1991 tribute I'm Your Fan, there is a French version of Avalanche by Jean-Louis Murat.
Sing Another Song Boys is Cohen at his bitter best, its harsh chorus atypical of the of the poetic folkie's 1960s sound, pointing to later songs like Lover Lover Lover on 1974's New Skin for the Old Ceremony. The fierce uptempo Diamonds in the Mine rocks in the same vein, where the celestial female vocals are particularly effective in balancing Cohen's raw voice on this tale of striking imagery. In tone, theme and delivery Diamonds in the Mine and Sing Another Song Boys are not too remote from tracks like Iodine, Paper-Thin Hotel or Don't Go Home with your Hardhat on his much-criticized Death of a Ladies' Man (1978), produced by Phil Spector.
The bonus track is a second more produced version of Dress Rehearsal Rag with full instrumentation. The rest of the original songs is typical early Cohen. With astonishing elegance and simplicity, the haunting melodies, melancholy lyrics and ragged voice have a way of establishing themselves in the consciousness of the listener. Few other musicians touch the strings of the soul in the way that Cohen does. Dylan can do it; Nick Cave does, as do Nick Drake, Lou Reed, Richard Thompson and definitely Swans on their more gentle songs. Songs of Love and Hate is another jewel in Cohen's crown of ageless music.
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Track Listings (9) - Disc #1