Sings Leonard Cohen [Original recording remastered, Import, Best of]

 

 

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When I first heard "In My Life" and "Wildflowers" two classic albums of Judy Collins recorded in the late 60's I was introduced to the songs of Joni Mitchell and Leonard Cohen. Her interpretation of their songs and so many other great songwriters is always very beautiful and I hear something more everytime I listen to them but she must also be credited with helping in great part to bringing their music to a much wider audience as well. Very few other vocalists could make such a great tribute album collecting together as it does all of her recordings of Leonard Cohen's song from her Elektra years with three new recordings and one live recording from her own label Wildflower Records on a cd called "Live at Wolftrap" (Song of Bernadette) all sequenced with not a whisper of the plus 30 years of time and change from her first recording "Suzanne". Her voice in the new recordings is as satisfying as it ever was and her personal interpretations as intriguing and evocative as Leonard Cohen's poetry suggests. All of the early recordings are brilliantly remastered here and I especially enjoyed the sound of recordings she did with the music of arranger/conductor Joshua Rifkin. I could only wish that Elektra would invest in remastering those early albums to the same clarity as these present on this Leonard Cohen songbook. Thanks to Alan Silverman for the mixing, remastering and engineering of this CD. He has worked with Judy Collins on a number of recording projects among them the retrospective "Forever" and Judy's "unplugged" version of her own wonderful songs on a CD called "Voices". This CD will remain, along with Jennifer Warnes "Famous Blue Raincoat", in my collection of very favourite interpreters of the songs of Leonard Cohen and as one of many Judy Collins CDs that always please.

This tribute album contains previously released tracks from 1966 to 1999 plus new recordings: Democracy, A Thousand Kisses Deep and Night Comes On. The old material is drawn from her albums In My Life (1966), Wildflowers (1967), Who Knows Where The Time Goes (1968), Living (1971), Bread & Roses (1976) and Live At Wolf Trap 1999.

The blend of the old and the new is a definite plus, as it ensures variety in the arrangements and instrumental mix. For example, the title track with its marching beat, piano and keyboards is followed by the lovely acoustic guitar textures of Suzanne, whilst Hey That's No Way To Say Goodbye is quite atmospheric with its enchanting flute.

In my opinion, the songs Dress Rehearsal Rag and Priests do not work so well, but they've never been amongst my favourite Cohen compositions. Her version of Night Comes On is a real masterpiece, as is this elegant rendition of Sisters Of Mercy with its intricate instrumentation.

Just like Emmylou Harris slightly altered the lyrics of Dylan's Every Grain Of Sand on her Wrecking Ball album, Collins tweaks a word or two in her version of Story Of Isaac, a song with a very pertinent message for our time. Probably to reflect their personal beliefs in both cases. The song is embellished with beautiful organ and harpsichord.

Bird On A Wire has a distinct country flavour with full instrumentation including pedal steel guitar. In contrast, Famous Blue Raincoat gets an intimate treatment with sparse acoustic guitar. Produced by Arif Mardin, Take This Longing has a delicate recorder flute in the mix, whilst three backing vocalists assist on Joan Of Arc. The album concludes with a live version of the evocative Song Of Bernadette, co-written by Jennifer Warnes.

The CD booklet contains Judy's account of her meeting with Leonard and his enduring influence on her career. Amongst the black and white pictures there is one of them performing together onstage. There is also a dedication from LC and the complete lyrics of Democracy.

As far as LC tribute albums go, Democracy is a huge success. I also recommend Famous Blue Raincoat by Jennifer Warnes and I'm Your Fan with its great variety of contributors. The one titled Tower Of Song is not quite as memorable as the aforementioned although it does contain a gem or two.

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