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Product Description
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Though he's long been revered as the brooding writer of some of Canada's most famous contemporary verse, Leonard Cohen's wicked sense of humour has often been overlooked. Rarely is the balance of tragedy and comedy as compelling as it is on 1979's Recent Songs, the low-key follow-up to the Phil Spector-produced Death of a Ladies' Man. A beguiling softness and warmth that recall his earliest recordings replace the aggression of that album. The softly strummed guitars and delicate violin lines perfectly suit the opener, "The Guests" (also the opening song for Cohen's TV special, I Am a Hotel), and bittersweet love songs like "The Window" and "The Traitor." Yet his sense of the perverse is evident in the mariachi arrangement (!) for French-Canadian folk tune "The Lost Canadian (Un Canadien Errant)" and in the conceit of "Ballad of the Absent Mare," in which Cohen likens himself to a forlorn cowboy and his errant lady to a disagreeable horse. Only a great lover could get away with that sort of thing. --Jason Anderson
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Most helpful customer reviews
5.0 out of 5 stars
Poetry In Motion,
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This review is from: Recent Songs (Audio CD)
Not widely recognized as being a very good Leonard Cohen album, but it, in fact, is. A lovely use of violins throughout and the presence of the band Passenger on several tracks, makes this the best Leonard Cohen album, musically. There are actually fairly-long musical interludes and solos on this album, which is somewhat rare for Cohen... hence, the longer-than-usual running times of the songs on this album compared to previous ones. This is, of course, in addition to his usually brilliant lyrics. They are more poignant here, in fact, than almost any place else. Some of his most beautiful songs lie herein. The opener, The Guests, is a perfectly sardonic way to open the album. Humbled In Love is lyrically similar, in it's delivery, and about as good. Songs like The Window, The Traitor, and The Smokey Life, are excellent, seemingly highly-confessional songs that fit nicely into Cohen's repetoire. However, my personal favorite off the album is Came So Far For Beauty, a poignant, absolutely beautiful touching little piece with a totally appropriate musical backing. The cover of the Lost Canadian is also a nice addition. The allegerical Ballad of The Absent Mare brings the album to a triumphant close. A must-own.
4 of 4 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars
Not to be missed!,
This review is from: Recent Songs (Audio CD)
My favourite Leonard Cohen album of all time is "Songs of Love and Hate". And it wasn't until I heard "Recent Songs" that I found an album that matched "SOL+H"'s lyrical and musical beauty. After his ridiculous collaboration with Phil Spector - "Death of A Ladies Man" - , "Recent Songs" was a wonderfully welcome return to form. Among my favourites songs on this album are "The Window" - a beautiful song in the tradition of "Last Year's Man"; "Un Canadien Errant", sung entirely in French by the Montreal born Cohen; "The Guests", "The Gypsy's Wife", and "Ballad of the Absent Mare". This is a must-own for any Leonard Cohen fan. And it should also be pointed out that this is the last album Leonard Cohen recorded before his voice transformed into the gravely sound which has been his trademark since "Various Positions".
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars
A great one,
By
This review is from: Recent Songs (Audio CD)
From the Gypsy Wife to the Smokey Life, this Errant Canadian scores a hit. Every song is fresh, densely packed lyricaly and a variety of musical arrangements give the package a depth.This is an excelent album to "get into" Leonard Cohen.
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