"Book Project" (Part 2)

crazytigerrabbitman

Feb 12

Okay, time to dial things back just a tad for the next portion of the afternoon.

Also, I'm switching to cassettes rather than vinyl (No, there's no "Cassette Sunday" posts coming in the near future) and instead going with this reclaimed 'Songs of Love and Hate' album by Leonard Cohen.

This album is one of Cohen's -- himself one of Canada's foremost poets -- most emotionally intense albums, which given the nature of Cohen's body of work, is no small statement.

Also, it's been in my closet for nearly three decades.

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While the title 'Songs of Love and Hate' (1971) sums up the album's themes accurately enough, it's hardly as simple as that description might lead you to expect -- in these eight songs, "love" encompasses the physical ('Last Year's Man'), the emotional ('Famous Blue Raincoat'), and the spiritual ('Joan of Arc'), and the contempt in songs like 'Dress Rehearsal Rag' and 'Avalanche' is the sort of venom that can only come from someone who once cared very deeply.

The sound of the album is clean and uncluttered, and for the most part the music stays out of the way of the lyrics, which dominate the songs. Thankfully, Cohen had grown noticeably as a singer since his first two albums, and if he hardly boasts a range to rival Roy Orbison here, he is able to bring out the subtleties of 'Joan of Arc' and 'Famous Blue Raincoat' in a way his previous work would not have led you to expect.

'Songs of Love and Hate' captured Cohen in one of his finest hours as a songwriter, and the best selections (especially 'Famous Blue Raincoat', 'Joan of Arc', and 'Love Calls You by Your Name') rank with the most satisfying work of his career.

If this album isn't Cohen's best album, it comes close enough to be essential to anyone interested in his work. If you can't be creative listening to Leonard Cohen, you're very likely brain dead already.

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