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Thanks for your interest in this. I was out of town much of the time since my earlier posts, hence my disappearance from the message board. I have since played the acetate, here's what I found:

It is Leonard Cohen, on both sides of the record (side two is simply marked "n/g" in grease pencil on the label area. I believe this is the sound engineer's shorthand for "no good"). Despite one skip (which may have had to do with some movement near the turntable) and a fair bit of crackle, the mono sound is rich and all there. Just LC, closely miked, with guitar. The vocals sound much deeper and more resonant than the early lp’s—possibly this was helped along by my turntable running slow. In many cases he announces the titles of the songs before playing them.

As I'm not expert in Leonard Cohen's catalogue, I'm basing some of my conclusions below on lyric searches that I did using the Leonard Cohen concordance online. I suspect that some of the familiar songs may have different lyrics from the eventually recorded versions, but I haven't been able to compare in most cases.

SIDE 1 (labeled “side four” and "Asylum Records")

1. “It’s My Own World Now” Unreleased song

It’s my own world now/ It’s my own world now/I don’t know where/I don’t know why/ and I don’t know how/you say you are my friend/well let me travel to the end…

2. “Nancy” This seems to be an unreleased song, though part of the chorus was used in “Diamonds in the Mine.”

Nancy, where have you been sleeping?/Your doctor phones me everyday/And your mother wants to see you in safekeeping/and your mother wants your father to pay/oh there are no letters in the mailbox/and there are no grapes upon the vine/and there are no chocolates in the boxes anymore/there are no diamonds in the mine…

3. “Love is the Item” (Cohen first announces this as “You can’t give your pain away,” a line from later in the song). Unreleased song.

Love is the item that is moving fast in the fire sales all over town/ and darling I regret/this offer’s got to last/no payments and nothing down…

4. “Works of Charity” Unreleased song.

Explaining to me why you’re late/That’s just another way to wait/I don’t care about your works of charity/reading all the telegrams you get/from all the fishes in your net…

5. “The Storeroom”—Unreleased song that appears at least one concert bootleg. I don’t know whether there are any differences between this version and that one.

SIDE 2 (no label. “n/g” is written in grease pencil)

1. “The Stranger Song”
2. “Last Year’s Man”
3. “Suzanne”
4. “Everybody’s Child” (unreleased song)
5. “Master Song”
6. “Tonight Will be Fine” (Substantially different lyrics from released versions.)

If Mr. Cohen is willing to provide any further information or opinions about these recordings, I'd be very appreciative. (And I hope he has no objection to my posting these short excerpts from his lyrics.) Why is the Asylum records name on the disc? Why is it side four--was a two or three record set planned?

If any of you spot where I've mis-identified anything, or if you have any insights into the history of these recordings, please post them here. I know you folks would love to hear these, but I don't think it's my place to distribute this. I do hope that something can eventually be worked out that will allow these recordings to surface, though--I suspect that many people would find these intimate performances preferable to the lushly produced versions on the early records.

BT

What a find and precious jewel you have in your possession, BT. Very interesting selection of lyrics you've put here. Interesting also to me is that Leonard wrote a short story, Luggage Fire Sale [a fire sale in one of his lyrics here]. Hard to imagine that "n/g" would mean "no good" with the songs mentioned primarily having been later recorded, and your saying that the sound of your vinyl is quite pleasing. What made for the connection between "n/g" and "no good" for you? I sure wish I could hear these songs. I hope something can be worked out for that to happen for all of us. Thanks for the information you've provided. Did you record your first playing of it?

~ Lizzy

I once worked on the post-production of a movie, where I encountered sound editors using "n.g." to label things like broken equipment. Of course, it could mean something else entirely.

If I'm right, I presume the use here is for technical reasons about the master, not any comment on the songs or performances: maybe the volume was a little too high and distorted at some point, or maybe it was that skip I mentioned (which did occur on the n/g side). Possibly a more technically acceptable acetate master of that side (and two others?) was pressed.

OK. Thanks for your clarification on all that, BT. Makes sense from what you've described. So, did you record your first playing of it, in case it begins to deteriorate?

So, BT are you going to pass on a cdr of this recording so that it can be shared amongst us?

finaly a straight forward question we all wanted to ask.
we'll now know all the BT's motives...
is it love - or money?

so, which one is it, BT?

I hope it is the former Jurica. I am really looking forward to hearing this long lost acetate.

Either way, we are the winners. One way we get it free (almost), the other, we have to pay. It should surface as a CD, asap..........
Georges

Dear BT,

We all appreciate the information you shared with us.
However, I am sure that I speak for most of us when I say that we really really really want to hear these songs. I don't think you can imagine how very much we want to hear them.
So If you didn't want to share the songs with us, you shouldn't have told us about them in the first place!
I hope that you recorded the acetate to a more stable media (CDR). That's the least you could have done.


This post probably seems a bit hostile. It wasn't meant to be hostile.

OK, it probably was meant to be a little hostile, but that was just to get your attention and to make you rethink your whole "not my place to distribute this" idea.

Nobody is asking you to take care of the whole distribution! All we are asking is that you make a copy of the recording for one of us (why not me?) and we would take care of further distribution.

Heh, I guess that was hostile too...

OK, to stop with the hostility let me just say...

...please?

Hello again. I'll try to answer your questions about "all the BT's motives."

First, I'm doing my best to preserve the record and the music on it. (Yes, Lizzytish, I taped the playthrough in case of disaster with the acetate.)

Second, I don't think it is my place to distribute copies without permission--I own the acetate, but I don't hold the rights to it (do I?).

At this point, I'm not sure what I'm going to do with the acetate, beyond treating it with respect. About money, I could use some. If it turned out there is a way to participate in a commercial release with LC's blessing, I'd be interested. Maybe I'll eventually sell the acetate, or donate it to a library--I honestly don't know, I haven't yet thought this through.

I understand that it frustrates you all to learn of the existence of this record and not be able to hear it immediately. I'd like to do right by the various interests at play here, including Leonard Cohen's (and who-knows-who-else: does some record company own the rights to those recording sessions?). As I said earlier, I hope that something can be worked out so that everyone is able to hear this record, but I don't think that decison is entirely mine, and in any case it may take a while.

Again, I thank the group here for helping me to figure out what this record is, and I appreciate any further insights you have into the history of these recordings.

Huh, that was a little scary...

We posted our messages at the same time...

Yes, Matjaz, that was a little surprising.

It certainly was never my intention to cause anyone grief by describing the contents of the record...

Ah, don't worry. My post was not all that serious.

Here are the words to The Storeroom (from the web). Don't know if everybody has already seen it.


Storeroom
----------------------------------------------
I love you
Without really caring
Whom you love:

Yeah my hands below the belt;
Or my hands above;

In the arms of other men;
Or in my bed again.

Just a man
Taking
What he needs
From the storeroom.

Oh, I love to see you sitting there upon your golden throne.
Your little preachers
All around you
Being born.

And your prophet, straight and tall,
To undermine it all.

Just a man
Taking
What he needs
From your storeroom, Storeroom!

Yeah ol' Shakespeare - he said it all,
And he said no more.

And he left me
Feeling just like
A two bit whore.

Well the silence -
It broke my heart;
'Till I
Spread my legs apart.

Just a man
Taking
What he needs
From the storeroom, Storeroom!

Oh, my love, let us continue what has been begun -
Praying for:
The mother and the father,
The daughter and the son.

But should one refuse to come, no, {'count notes'??}
It does not subtract the sum.

Just a man
Taking
What he needs
From the storeroom, Storeroom, StoreRoom, STOREROOM!

It's not a wind
That keeps you up,
It's not the snow,
It's not the moon -

Coming like a headlight
Through your window;
It's not the thumbnail on the screen
That scrapes away your dream;

It's just a man
Taking
What he needs
From the storeroom, storeroom, Storeroom!

And the news of all these burning towns - you don't
Really mind -
Just a spool that you turn,
And you turn -
And he won't unwind.

You know these wars - that you did not start -
They do not tear your sleep apart -

Just a man
Taking
What he needs
From the storeroom, Storeroom, STOREROOM!

I loved you, without really caring
Who it is you love:
My hands below the belt;
Or my hands above;

In the arms of other men;
Or in my bed again.

He's just a man
Taking
What he needs
From the storeroom, Storeroom.

ahh....

Yes, Store Room and Everybody's Child were never oficially released, but they were regularly performed on 1976 "Best Of" tour.

BT, you must know there's nothing about money with Leonard Cohen. Here we are - trhe fans and collectors. Here you have Jarkko - Leonard's webmaster. Must I tell you that h never heard of that recording, and that (it seems) Leonard Cohen has not copy of it? That Leonard Cohen's biographers, which had access to the Leonard Cohen Archive in NYC did not see or hear for that recording, so there's no trace of it in any (it seems ever written) Leonar Cohen reference? Anyway, this may increase your thought about the importance of this recording. Back to topic: here are some real Leonard Cohen fans, I know there are some people reading this thread and waiting for your reply about 1 month, they all are fans, admirers, some of them made Leonard Cohen even some kind of half-time profession. We have some of most rare recordings, concerts, interviews. One of greatest thing which happened was when the unique show from 1975, when Leonard performed songs from his much rumoured & abandoned album "Songs For Rebecca", emerged on tape (recorded from audience) and when we get that on CDR. We are not talking here about illegal bootleg, or anything about LC would not been informed by Jarkko. Did you see how quick Leonard sent the answer about your vinyl? We are talking here about that you can make a copy of tape you made from vynil, and send it to LEONARD COHEN'S WEBMASTER. You can do that as a friend, you can get from him or some of us some other good & rare recordings. And if one day Sony will made re-issue of this recordings (small possibility - we are talknig about Leonard Cohen, after all, when in Sony look under file "not commercial - forget even DVD"), well, if your copy is only one left, lucky you... Anyway, after all, I hope I did not say anithiny you can find offensive. Maybe it is hard because you are not so big LC fan. Believe me , my first thought is when I get something rare, to distribute it to friends. During this year, I got 3 rare shows, which I remastered to CDRs, and right now I have more 2 interviews I get from Jarkko.
Believe me, if I had money - which I have not - I will be first to offer you as much I can. But I am not sure would you get so much from anyone else. If you decide to give your vyinil to some place where it could be preserved: I suggest you to ask Cohen here if he need it, or give it to Jarkko, or give it to Leonard Cohen Archive in New York (Robert Bower is the chief). Leonard Cohen's office is in LA - miss Kelley Lynch is chief.
I - and others - will not asking you for tape. I think the man for contact is our webmaster here. Take care & all good things
Tom Sakic