New live unauthorised CD

[rainbow123]

I just came across a new live CD on amazon. This is a recording of a concert in Iceland. Would anyone have any news of this release?

[Goldin]

Welcome to the Forum!

The recording of the only LC concert in Iceland (24 June 1988) is a well-known bootleg (and the one truly aclaimed by the Cohenites!)
You may easily find the complete audio recording on YouTube.
9 songs were broadcasted at TV; fragments of this broadcast are included into a documentary "Leonard Cohen á Íslandi": https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Snx0ewhGUkI

24 June 1988 - Leonard Cohen a Islandi - Reykjavik, Iceland
TV programme featuring concert and interview footage: Joan Of Arc, Dance me to the end of Love, Hallelujah, The Stranger song, Bird on the wire, So Long Marianne, Take This Waltz. The film includes original drawings illustrating the songs Joan Of Arc and Hallelujah.

I doubt that this Amazon item is an official release; rather, it's a non-sanctioned unofficial bootleg, similar to those mentioned here: https://www.leonardcohenfiles.com/bootleg2.html, or here: http://www.cohen.ugu.pl/bootlegs/cd+trudno.htm (this list even contains the Icelandic concert).

[Goldin]

I've found a post somewhere with links to 3 Amazon stores:

Amazon USA
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B087FGZ3KJ/?tag=imwan-20

Amazon Canada
https://www.amazon.ca/dp/B087FGZ3KJ/?tag=imwanca-20

Amazon UK
https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B087FGZ3KJ/?tag=imwan-21

Well. 1st and 2nd links lead to nowhere already. The British one is still working:

Reykjavik 1988 (2cd)
Price: £12.14

Audio CD (5 Jun. 2020)
Number of Discs: 2
Label: Leftfield Media
ASIN: B087FGZ3KJ

Funny enough, these Leftfield bootlegers used (for a rare performance from the Icelandic capital, all in caps in the description) a photo from... Venice! It's blurred there, but you can recognize it at once...

P.S. That's a photo by a Venetian photographer Graziano Arici.
That's a link to search results for "Leonard Cohen" on his website: https://grazianoarici.momapix.com/searc ... 332C34227D (pages 1-2: 1992; pages 2-4: 2009).

[WiTS]

Thanks Goldin for those info.

I compared this to the previous 3CD eidition. It seems this new 2CD version has cutted down a bit audience applause and a 36min interview.

3CD version

[rainbow123]

Thanks so much for all the information. I was actually getting tempted to order this straightaway. But I now know this is already available online.

I have all of LC's officially released live material but could anyone let me know if there is a place where I can get links to all full concerts that are available online. I believe that a lot has been unofficially released as CDs and some are available on YouTube or other platforms.

I am sure this has been discussed in the forum. Sorry for such a naive question but would be grateful for any advice. I am a big fan of live concert recordings.

[Goldin]

I've answered via email.

[rainbow123]

Thanks so much

Meanwhile the C D has disappeared from Amazon

[its4inthemorning]

I purchased the unauthorized Reykjavik concert CD, but haven't really gotten around to listening to it until recently. Today I just gave the first half of the concert a good, uninterrupted listen. I was quite fascinated, and this from someone who has listened to many concert CDs, released and otherwise.

The production quality is extremely good, much better than on any other unauthorized concert recordings I have heard. Not only is it quite clear, but the mixing was superbly done, all the voices and instruments blend perfectly.

But beyond the production values, what really enthused me were the performances themselves. Aside from the usual ways that Cohen reinterpreted his songs over time--such as the much slower pace of "Dance Me to the End of Love" at Reykjavik as opposed to the faster tempo later on--here there are marked differences in his guitar work as compared to 2008-2013. This was most pronounced on "Avalanche" and "The Stranger Song," either Cohen added something, or another musician did. I am not advising everyone to buy this product (in fact, it may no longer be available), but I can say that many would find it worthwhile to listen to songs from the Reykjavik concert on youtube where I understand they may be available.

This concert seems to have been special, starting from the fact that (I surmise) Iceland was not a normal stop on concert tours back in the 1980s. I am wondering if there are other forum members out there who have heard this unauthorized release and have comments. Or even better, it would be great to hear from any forum members who were lucky enough to have actually attended the 6/24/88 Reykjavik concert.

4

[Tinmar]

Hello everyone,
I have the 3CD version of this concert which has sound problems on three songs (Coming back to you, Suzanne and So long, Marianne).
Can someone tell me if this problem has been solved on this new 2CD version.
Thank you in advance for your response.