one toe in the water

[iheardsomething]

dear all,

having attended my first ever leonard cohen gig last week in bratislava and being totally overwhelmed by its sheer brilliance ,im now not only wondering ive been musically for the last 3 decades ....im looking now for a bit of help-i know its subjective- but what would you reccomend as being a good starting point for say 5 albums for me to buy? i have the the live in london...to be honest thats where i stepped on this bus, - and also id really like to buy a good biography if there is one to be had....i know i could google some of this stuff but i think its better to get reccomendations..its like sort of the flip side of bob dylan really........if you went to a dylan concert not knowing anything about his work you would probably have to be dragged kicking and screaming to buy a cd of his, -what a terrible shame as hes done some brilliant stuff - ive come in on Leonard cohen when he seems just wonderful id hate now to go and buy one or two albums find them hard work and be put off- as im sure he must have done one or two albums that werent so good or took a detour in his career to somewhere else that was a temporary lapse.. ive checked out you tube, watched a couple of good interviews on norwegian tv, and im really looking to find out more.....quite exciting.........its like having a new girlfriend everythings great and she looks great but you ve got your fingers crossed behind your back as that blouse get unbuttoned......



btw , very friendly site.. thanks for reading.....

[seadove]

You have to take Cohen step by step. Leonard Cohen between 1967 till 1982 and again the same Leonard Cohen from 1982 and upto this day. They are not the same leonard Cohens. You will notice that in the latter his voice changes to a kind of trubador voice, a deep half bass half tenor that hypnotises you when you listen to him.

On the other hand the songs that were written and sung prior to 1982 are solid gold ones, each and every one of them. You will love to listen to all this material whilst taking in mind these two periods in your head, it will be fun to compare the two styles of Leonard Cohen as you go along and listening to his material.

I will say to you go and buy all his records. You might as well dive into the water in a splash. You won't regret it.

[iheardsomething]

thanks seadove for that qick reply, i looked at some old you tube clips and i see what you mean re his voice...... also looking at some of his early interviews he seemed rather prickly ,not a barrel of laughs, yet its obvious he has a nice sense of humour, and seems a very gentle soul, maybe he grew into his skin, or thats what the intervening 30 years and its experiences does to a person..which was one of the reasons i was looking for a good biography..if someone actually knew him and had written one, if you are lucky to get a good genuine biography you can often get a good insight to the person...of course people write nonsense to make a quick buck too...

[LisaLCFan]

Hey there! I will offer a suggestion of five albums, to start you out on your Leonard Cohen journey: I'm Your Man, The Future (these first two will have the voice and sound of the current Cohen, and lots of songs from the current tour), Songs of Leonard Cohen (his very first album, a masterpiece!), Best of Leonard Cohen (for a nice selection of the early songs, be sure to get the first one from the mid-70s with the yellow-ish cover, and many of these songs are on the current tour, so it will be neat to hear the original versions), and Field Commander Cohen (a live album from late 1970's concerts, to provide a nice contrast with Live in London). Of course, you will eventually want to get all of his albums (only 11 studio albums and four live, in total)!

The only biography I've read is called "Various Positions: A Life of Leonard Cohen" by Ira Nadel. I though it was good, it seems to provide a lot of detail about Leonard's life, and some small insight into him as a person (Nadel met with Leonard throughout the writing of it, so he did have some direct contact with The Man).

Also, you might like Leonard's first novel, called "The Favourite Game" (from the early 60s), it is lyrical, poetic, funny, and just a great read! (And, depending on who you talk to, somewhat autobiographical, which Leonard denied in early interviews, but the evidence seems to suggest otherwise, espcially if you read Nadel's biography!)

I hope you have fun on this journey of discovery, and I hope you come to appreciate and love Leonard and his wonderful artistry as much as many of us here on the Forum! Enjoy!

[E.A.Hill]

This is a good movie about him from 1965: http://nfb.ca/film/ladies_and_gentlemen ... ard_cohen/

[iheardsomething]

thanks all for taking the time to respond, i bought 'im your man' yesterday after work .enjoying it this morning ....not a huge selection here in Czech republic ..i dont like to download ....but im back in ireland in 6 weeks so this will keep me going until i can find more..... thanks all for steering me in the right direction..i was talking about the bratislava concert at work and a colleague said 'leonard cohen , dont know much about his music...but i have a book of poetry of his i can lend you' so i shall hopefully be borrowing that next week...