Old Ideas - Various Chart Positions

dharma · Post by **dharma** » Mon Jan 30, 2012 11:13 pm

I thought it might be fun to have a thread where folks from around the world can post the chart position of Old Ideas in their local country.

I was looking on Wikipedia and LC's highest placed album on the UK charts was for Songs From A Room which reached #2 in 1969. Songs of LC reached #10 and Songs of Love & Hate reached #4. Recent Songs is the only LC album never to have charted in the UK. I'm Your Man reached only #48.

It's looking like Old Ideas is vying with Lana Del Ray's brilliant new album Born To Die for the UK's top spot on Sunday.

Exciting stuff! It could be LC's first ever UK number one!

Mirek · Post by **Mirek** » Mon Jan 30, 2012 11:24 pm

Today - Jan, 30 in Poland
EMPIK.com - #3 (just started selling - day 1)
http://www.empik.com/top50/muzyka
merlin.pl - #7 (haven't started selling yet!)
http://merlin.pl/muzyka/bestsellery/bro ... eks/4.html

LisaLCFan · Post by **LisaLCFan** » Tue Jan 31, 2012 12:28 am

This link gives iTunes store chart positions from around the world:

http://www.apple.com/euro/itunes/charts ... lbums.html

yentek · Post by **yentek** » Tue Jan 31, 2012 12:46 am

Those iTune Top 10 Album reports are absolutely remarkable - LC has never had an album perform close to this before. I do remember when Songs of Love and Hate reached #4 in the UK.

yentek · Post by **yentek** » Tue Jan 31, 2012 12:55 am

Maybe we need to start lobbying for an appearance on Saturday Night Live!

JudasPriest · Post by **JudasPriest** » Tue Jan 31, 2012 1:05 am

Interesting. Recent Dylan albums have similarly soared high in the charts (even higher than Old Ideas) but they drop off very quickly. Let's enjoy it while we can because I suspect it will sink like a stone within a week or two. Great to see him up there in any event.

LisaLCFan · Post by **LisaLCFan** » Tue Jan 31, 2012 1:32 am

JudasPriest wrote: Let's enjoy it while we can because I suspect it will sink like a stone within a week or two.

The positive attitude you continue to express towards Leonard and his work is so refreshing.

JudasPriest · Post by **JudasPriest** » Tue Jan 31, 2012 1:56 am

Chart placings have very little to do with his work in my book. In case that line needs labelling, it's positive by the way.

Evie B · Post by **Evie B** » Tue Jan 31, 2012 4:40 pm

I'm with you, Dharma, bit of harmless fun tracking the listings. On Amazon in UK and US he is at No.1 and their website is updated every hour. At HMV he is No.2. On iTunes he is at No. 3 in UK, No. 4 in France, nowhere in US. Not knowing the release dates in various countries it is difficult to assess all the info.

It would be great if he could be at No. 1 in the album charts here in UK by the end of the week, even if as JudasPriest says it drops off after that.

What has been nice here is that the BBC have embraced this album and have brought its release to the attention of the general public over the last few weeks, including it daily in play lists and having items about it and Leonard in quite a few tv and radio shows, when it might otherwise have taken the public longer to gradually become aware of its existence.

Evie B

yentek · Post by **yentek** » Wed Feb 01, 2012 8:42 pm

Old Ideas is now #4 on the Apple iTunes USA sales per the link given above - and #1 in several other countries.

If that US ranking carries over from Apple into US sales as a whole, it will be LC's best US chart performance by a mile - I seem to recall that no other album of his has gone above #48 or so in the US.

LisaLCFan · Post by **LisaLCFan** » Wed Feb 01, 2012 10:37 pm

Who the heck is Lana Del Ray? If it weren't for her, Leonard Cohen would be #1 in most countries (on iTunes)!

(Of course, Leonard is always #1 with me!)

panjandrum · Post by **panjandrum** » Wed Feb 01, 2012 11:35 pm

LisaLCFan wrote:Who the heck is Lana Del Ray? If it weren't for her, Leonard Cohen would be #1 in most countries (on iTunes)!

(Of course, Leonard is always #1 with me!)

Lana Del Rey is amazing. Been alternating her new album (born to die) and Old Ideas all day today. I sure hope she doesn't self-destruct (I hope she was just nervous, but she looked stoned or drunk or both on SNL recently. Shades of Amy Winehouse)...

I do think that Cohen fans might enjoy her. I certainly do. Been following her work for a while now (born to die is not actually her first album; her first album was digital only and is no longer available as far as I can tell). It's very hard to describe her. Maybe imagine a modernized Billy Holiday? I don't know, like Leonard, there is simply no way to peg her down to a specific genre or style. Lyrically she isn't as deep or complex as Leonard, I don't think many of her songs would stand as "amazing poetry" without the music, but they are compelling and interesting. Also, she either has, or is cultivating the image of having, a deeply naughty side that reminds me a lot of Leonard.

yentek · Post by **yentek** » Thu Feb 02, 2012 12:09 am

Leonard is also #1 right now on Amazon - but it looks as if Amazon is not selling Lana Del Rey because she does not appear.

tomsakic · Post by **tomsakic** » Thu Feb 02, 2012 2:58 am

Well, Leonard's team couldn't know in the Fall that Lana Del Rey debut will be slated for the same release date (the date was confirmed in December only) , otherwise I am sure LC's date would be different. I believe that he is hurting her sales (or at least she did not get many "album of the week" label as Old Ideas got that) and she is surely hurting his sales and hype around the new CD. To have two most hyped about albums to be released the same day hasn't been seen for a long time.

It is interesting how some magazines decided to have Lana Del Rey on January cover, and Leonard on February cover, like Inrockuptibles. And newspapers who run Lana Del Rey review last week and Leonard's review this week.

And yes, she quotes LC among her heroes, at least according to her FB page.

Bird off the Wire · Post by **Bird off the Wire** » Fri Feb 03, 2012 3:19 am

I agree with Tom, however there are very few weeks in any year in which it is 'safe' to issue an album i.e. when there won't be some serious opposition. It would be nice for Leonard to finally have a No. 1 in one or both of the major markets (US or UK), but if its not to be ... The best artists don't make albums 'to sell'; rather their motivation is producing something artistically satisfying to themselves and something that they can be proud of (unlike the pop and xfactor types for whom chart success is everything.)