Have you heard Dear Heather?

[tomsakic]

Ahh. It's so nice to be 25 years old, as I am, and not be bothered but such things as old Leonard Cohen with the "real instruments". I mean, hello people That's becoming boring, all that crap about "hey, late Johny Cash with just acoustic guitar, it's so great", and all that "real band stuff". I don't have problems with recent LC's albums, quite contrary. And I DO NOT LIKE Bob Dylan so much.
Also, I don't think we can blame Leanne Ungar or Anjani or that pure Sharon Robinson (I like that, "Leonard's Yoko Ono" ) for the arrangements; they're LC's own choice, from I'm Your Man to using Sharon's demo tape of Ten New Songs instead of the real band as she - as producer - was planning.

Dear Heather is great, I thibk, but in the end it's just - as LC said about New skin For The Old Ceremony - "a nice little gem". The real stuff - like Ten New Songs - is yet to come.

[tomsakic]

I have no problem with him addressing his own mortality, or even that of his friends, but he seems to focus on the latter a little too much perhaps. Im some way, all of Cohen's records have been about him. Him in relation to othe rpeople, elements of society, history, faith etc, but a decent dose of him, too. All except Dear Heather.

Maybe you missed the point (although this is not Ulysses - well, what IS?). "All except DH" is exactly about what this album is about - I don't wanna make you crazy now with talking about Zen or something, but erasing of his personality and feelings started long ago in his songs, and now we have something like post-monastery non-depressed Cohen and his probably first not self-indulgement record. I particularly see that when it somes to The Letters and There For You, Robinson's collaborations: they sound to me as from other planet on Dear Heather (or at least as from the world which Ten New Songs inhabited).

[tomsakic]

By the way, I am big fan of late Cash albums, I even bought Unearthed. I just don't like that hip craziness about "please somebody introduces Leonard Cohen to Daniel Lanois or Rick Rubin".
LC did met one of those guys (I forgot which one) in early 1990s, and after one day he walked off. That's saying something about LC.

[Jonnie Falafel]

I listened quite intently to Dear Heather yesterday and it struck me that the unifying theme (if there be one) would be the acknowledgement of teachers, mentors, muses and inspirations. It's there in the lyrics, it's there in the dedications and it's there in the choice of musical collaborators, melodic references etc....

[linda_lakeside]

I can't believe that anyone could feel that TNS is "the real stuff". For me, "the real stuff" was recorded long ago. On vinyl.

[tomsakic]

Well, Linda-by-the-lake, there are some people I prefer CDs to vinyl also

[linda_lakeside]

Well Tom Sakic, I prefer Cds to vinyl as well. What I meant was I didn't think 10 NS was all that great an album. I can't comment on Dear Heather as I haven't heard it in its entirety but I do,for the most part, prefer Leonard's older material. 10 NS just didn't do it for me. What I have heard of Dear Heather sounds as if Leonard is making a mighty effort to vocalize-the lyrics worked though. For the most part. For some reason I always think your name is Joe.

[3Cees]

I was told a few messages back to keep posting regardless, but yet again the perhaps-you-missed-the-point brigade are on my back. Yes. That's right. I'm obviously not clever enough to understand this album. Or maybe even Leonard Cohen. I have never, ever spent time with people analysing why I did or didn't like a record before. Perhaps this shows that I really do care about Len, and desperately want to enjoy what he does now.

I'm not going to go through the motions explaining that not liking it isn't the same as not understanding it, nor am I going to bother explaining that those who enjoy the record hold absolutely no intellectual highground over those who didn't. Despite what they say.

[Henning]

TOM wrote: "Ahh. It's so nice to be 25 years old, as I am, and not be bothered but such things as old Leonard Cohen with the "real instruments". I mean, hello people That's becoming boring, all that crap about "hey, late Johny Cash with just acoustic guitar, it's so great", and all that "real band stuff". I don't have problems with recent LC's albums, quite contrary. And I DO NOT LIKE Bob Dylan so much."

I thought: "This is so true".

But I must admit that sometimes I also feel the need to hear songs like those on love and hate. What I do then is I simply put on "Songs of love and hate". It mostly works.

[linda_lakeside]

Henning, you nailed it.

[Dylan]

Songs Of Love and Hate is my favourite 3am in the morning after too much brandy album. I love it.

I'm still addicted to Dear Heather though. It's my blanket at the moment.

[linda_lakeside]

3Cees - you don't have to explain yourself to anyone about anything if you don't want to. I didn't know that you felt as though the "perhaps you missed the point brigade" was on your back. Music is a matter of taste. It is subjective. You like 10 NS, me? not so much. That's all.

I haven't been in a situation where I've analyzed songs with people either. However, that is what this Forum is all about, so I guess that's what we're here to do. That and appreciate Leonard for everything he's written whether it is to our personal taste or not.

[tomsakic]

Henning, I didn't say I don't care about early Leonard, quite contrary! I just don't get that movement about "the old stuff" and "the new stuff" - I think that's the part of "the golden age" projection. ("You know, in our time, that was real music!" - something like that) The same goes for the Dylan lovers, all that talks about the odl Dylan and the new Dylan; I myself find his early album very old fashioned and uninteresting, but I think Time Out Of Mind is the masterpiece. Leonard, on the other side, always was in progress, and I don't see his late efforts much different from the old ones, although more mature and deeper - you know, he's something like Petrarca, coming from the carnal love for Laura to the spritual love for Lady, or for Thee.
As for need to hear the old songs - I listen to them almost every day; The Essential is the best album for my CD walkman, or I change Songs Of, FFC with TNS and DH.

3Cees, I like you review and I think there's something what people usually don't get about Leonard in such hate against his music: that you can like it or you can dislike it. (He once said that it's strange that so much people has that need to talk against him.) That's what I am looking for from people: democracy; I like it, you don't like it; and you like somthing what I don't but I respect your opinion. I think we both like Leonard Cohen, and it seems to me that you don't dislike Dear Heather so much. There's no reason for nrgative feelings at all, I actually like this because you made a good discussion here.
I see only one not so good thing in your attitude, and that is:

>>I'm not going to go through the motions explaining that not liking it isn't the same as not understanding it, nor am I going to bother explaining that those who enjoy the record hold absolutely no intellectual highground over those who didn't. Despite what they say.<<

I don't know where you got this impression, and also I find your notion Well, people this is not Ulysses to be exactly that what you're inflecting on somebody else.

[Jonnie Falafel]

For goodness sake 3Cees, it's just one bloody review at the end of the day - it's not Ulysees is it? No-one's telling you you "don't get it" - just that they get something else. It all adds to the richness of the listening experience.

[Stevie T.]

In reply to Tom Sakic's allusion above to an '...erasing of his personality and feelings..'.

Why 'Tenessee Waltz'? I was happy with my Self-obsession until that Teacher-friend came along...?

Thirty-seven years an LC fan, and still lagging behind...[/quote]