Kaleidoscope on "Songs of Leonard Cohen"

General discussion about Leonard Cohen's songs and albums
majime
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Kaleidoscope on "Songs of Leonard Cohen"

Post by majime »

This may or may not be common knowledge, but I learned recently that the LA band Kaleidoscope (which included David Lindley & Chris Darrow) contributed to the sessions of Leonard's first album. Not long ago Leonard kindly confirmed for me that they backed him on "So Long, Marianne" & "Teachers." Evidently he was very grateful for their help, & recorded a very gracious thank you to them in his journal.
I don't myself have a copy of the original LP, just the CD reissue, & don't know if Kaleidoscope were collectively or individually credited on the album. A very minor factoid, of course, but as I'm currently writing about Kaleidoscope for a book project, little factoids such as this suddenly take on importance ;-)
I'd be very grateful if anyone possessing a copy of the LP could confirm whether or not the musicians were credited either on the cover or the inner sleeve (if there was one).
best regards,
David Biasotti
glyn
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Post by glyn »

I feel quite sure that no-one was credited other than John Simon as the producer. Personally I never like the way that some of that lp was done and Kalidescope just about sums it up.
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tomsakic
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Post by tomsakic »

There's no any other credits on CD, true. But I read about this backing band (credited only for So Long Marianne there) in Jim Devlin's book In Every Style Of Passion. They were descibed as psychedelyc, or somethink like that. I will check.
There's no any informations about any musician for early albums in any CD I have.
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Kaleidoscope on "Songs Of"

Post by majime »

Thank you, Tom. I'm not at all familiar with the existing literature on LC & thus am not acquainted with the Devlin book you mention.
I do remain curious about the credits as they appear on the original LP. The CD credits John Simon, I know. But, according to Leonard, John Hammond was originally the producer. He had a heart attack & John Simon took over. (There may have even been another producer involved, but of that I'm not sure.)
best regards,
David
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Post by Tony »

There is no inner sleeve with details on and there is nothing other than John Simon's name on the outer cover of my LP version (apart from a few notes). It seems that the minimalism of the content was reflected on the packaging!
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Post by majime »

Thanks, Tony. Though it's not a big deal one way or the other in the grand scheme of things, I was curious if any musicians (or producers, other than Simon) had been credited on the original LP.
A postscript: Not so long ago, Chris Darrow (a member of Kaleidoscope) was in "downtown" Claremont & ran into LC, who apparently was down for the afternoon from the Zen Center. According to Darrow, after all those years, LC very graciously thanked him & Kaleidoscope for helping him out on the first album.
best regards,
David
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tomsakic
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Post by tomsakic »

Hi David,
I checked the book I have - that information is not from J. Devlin, but from Prophet Of The Heart by Dorman and Rawlins, 1990, page 193: "On the album the backing vocal is played by the psychedelic group Kaleidoscope, which highlights the mood, if not the depths of the relationship." (So Long, Marianne). That's the only mention of the group, there's nothing in Devlin's book or Ira Nadel's biography. But various sources mentioned "female backing group" on So Long Marianne and Teachers.
Only sleeve credit are John Simon's - as musical director and producer, and photo taken by Machine. As I said, there's no any other info about early albums, unfortunately, except those mentioned in various books, especially in Devlin's.
Maybe the best way would be looking for the original articles from 1967 and 1968 - check Marie Mazur's site.
John Hammond started the album, but withdrew after 1) he had heartattack, 2) he got ill 3) his wife got ill - the first probably correct.
John Simon (Janis Joplin producer) took over and "try to make [my] songs into music" (Cohen). There were Simon's piano on Suzanne and many violins during the record, but LC made the final mix as good as he could with 4-track tapes, although the arrangements remained Simon's.
There was 1 producer more involved in LC's debut album, but that was before he met John Hammond - in 1966 LC made even demos in Vanguard Studios. But I forget the possible producer, I remeber it was somebody famous, from The Band.
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Post by majime »

Thanks, Tom. I appreciate your taking the time to look that up. You're right. LC told me by e-mail that Hammond had suffered a heart attack. I'd also heard from one of the ex-Kaleidoscopes that there'd been possibly a third producer involved. I wasn't taking notes at the time, but I think he may have mentioned Bob Johnston. I wouldn't swear to that, though.
The Dorman & Rawlins is a little off in saying Kaleidoscope was involved in backing vocals, though. On "SL, M" they're evident on fiddle, mandolin, bass, guitar & drums. On "Teachers" Solomon Feldthouse is playing either a bouzouki or a caz. (He himself doesn't remember which.)
Thanks also for the tip on Marie Mazur's site.
best regards,
David
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tomsakic
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Post by tomsakic »

hi david,
i never heard before about bob johnston being involved in the first record, although he produced the second and third. but the original articles are still the best choice,
Tom
RLJ
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Post by RLJ »

Does anyone have a clue as to who those female backing vocals (so predominate on So Long, Marianne and Sisters of Mercy) belong to? I have always found them to be quite lovely and would be curious to know if the women have recorded anything on their own or have backed up others.


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Re: Kaleidoscope on "Songs of Leonard Cohen"

Post by merton »

Hi,
Over the last while I’ve been listening to Songs of Leonard Cohen and it struck me that the musicians on the album were not credited – not even on the re-issue. So today I pre-ordered a soon to be released collection of stories by Ry Cooder. And in a roundabout way I arrived at David Lindley, only to discover that he played on the Songs of... So I searched through the deep recess of the Forum Files and uncovered this thread. It might be of interest to some.

All the best,
Merton

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MaryB
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Re:

Post by MaryB »

RLJ wrote:Does anyone have a clue as to who those female backing vocals (so predominate on So Long, Marianne and Sisters of Mercy) belong to? I have always found them to be quite lovely and would be curious to know if the women have recorded anything on their own or have backed up others.RLJ
This was posted in the News section by Allan/DrHGuy. This might answer your question and also provide a few sources that might give more insight into the questions being asked.
viewtopic.php?f=3&t=30815#p289810
viewtopic.php?f=3&t=30822
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tomsakic
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Re: Kaleidoscope on "Songs of Leonard Cohen"

Post by tomsakic »

No, this is not the answer... This is so old thread that both Kaleidoscope and first albums' singers were researched and commented later somewhere else on the forum. The backing singers on first album are another great mystery, together with Kaleidoscope's involvement.

On first albums vocals were by Nancy Priddy (mother of that blonde girl from Married With Children, Christina Applegate), we solved that here on the forum few years back (somebody wrote a letter to Mojo), and Kaleidoscope.

As Kaleidoscope is in question, the group members Chris Darrow and Chester Crill are interviewed in recent Anthony Reynolds biography "Leonard Cohen, a Remarkable Life", from page 69 and further. David Lindley is mention on page 70 as the third band member. Next pages describe the production of So Long Marianne and Master Song and Teachers, mostly through Darrow's and Crill's recent recollections.
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tomsakic
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Re: Kaleidoscope on "Songs of Leonard Cohen"

Post by tomsakic »

I cannot find the Forum thread about first album's singers, but here's the info copied to my website at http://www.leonardcohencroatia.com/glaz ... album1.php

Please note that the album entries and credits at http://www.leonardcohencroatia.com/glaz ... ski-albumi are not updated with all the info from Antony Reynolds book. (The last researches in earl Cohen work were done in 2008.)
Released: February 1968 (unofficialy December 27, 1967)
Reissued: April 2007, digipack, remastered and with 2 bonus tracks (Legacy)
Chart position: UK #13, US #83
Gold: UK (1973), USA (certified 11.10.1989!)
Producer: John Simon

01. Suzanne (3:49)
02. Master Song (5:58)
03. Winter Lady (2:18)
04. The Stranger Song (5:07)
05. Sisters Of Mercy (3:35)
06. So Long, Marianne (5:41)
07. Hey, That's No Way To Say Goodbye (2:56)
08. Stories Of The Street (4:37)
09. Teachers (3:02)
10. One Of Us Cannot Be Wrong (4:28)
Tracks 1-10 recorded 1967
Originally issued as Songs of Leonard Cohen Columbia CS 9533
Produced by John Simon
11. Store Room (5:04)
12. Blessed Is The Memory (3:03)
Tracks 11-12 recorded 1967
Previously unreleased outtakes from the early sessions for Songs of Leonard Cohen
Produced by John Hammond
Mixed 2006 at Sony Music Studios by David Swope

All songs written by Leonard Cohen

Tracks 1-10 originally released 1967
Tracks 11-12 originally recorded 1967 & released 2007
All rights reserved by Sony BMG Music Entertainment

Original Album Credits:
John Simon: Musical Director and Producer
Cover Photo by Machine

Reissue Credits:
Produced for Reissue by Bruce Dickinson
Mastered by Mark Wilder
Legacy A&R: Steve Berkowitz
Project Direction: Penny Morgan
Art Direction: Howard Fritzson
Design: Jeff Schulz / Command-Z-Design
Liner Notes: Anthony DeCurtis
Photography: Bob Cato

Additional music, photos and artwork provided by Mr. Leonard Cohen

Thanks: Lisa Zbitnew, Jarkko Arjatsalo, Anjani Thomas, Ed Sanders, Robert Kory, Michelle Rice, Adam Block, Richard Bowe, Tom Burleigh, James Devlin, Mandy Eidgah, Jeremy Holiday, Jeff Jones, Dave Toomey

Uncredited & reconstructed credits:
Recorded: August 1967 (John Hammond), October and November 1967 (John Simon)
Venue: Columbia Studio E, New York
Original album notes by William David Sherman
Backing vocals: Nancy Priddy (Suzanne; So Long, Marianne; Hey, That's No Way To Say Goodbye)

Comments:
Nancy Priddy (married Applegate) confirmed her contribution in her letter to November 2005 issue of Mojo magazine. Many thanks to Jim Williams for asking the Mojo in the first place.
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tomsakic
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Re: Kaleidoscope on "Songs of Leonard Cohen"

Post by tomsakic »

The original threads:
viewtopic.php?f=9&t=3827&p=129542
viewtopic.php?f=9&t=4689
Jim Williams wrote:Here's the full text of Nancy's letter:

A friend of mine saw an Ask Fred question concerning the voices behind Leonard Cohen on his first three albums. Well I don't know about the second or third but I certainly do about the first, which contained Hey, That's No Way To Say Goddbye, Suzanne and So Long, Marianne.

At that time I was writing with John Simon, the album's producer, who was a very good friend. When Columbia informed him that they would put no futher money into the project, John told me we'd have to finish the album together. I was delighted to do that - so I provided the female voice on the record. I believe John song with me on So Long, Marianne, but I certainly did Suzanne and Hey, That's No Way To Say Goddbye.

John and I loved Leonard's songs, and when we played our additional vocals to him he seemed to love our work in return. I often think about the first time John played Leonard's work for me in that darkish studio, late night in New York. Little did any of us know what would happen with those songs - especially the record label!
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