Monday, January 12, 2015

Leonard Cohen: Songs from a Room (1969)


I really hate that enormous "Nice Price" sticker that covers up so much of the album jacket. For some reason, my copy is an import from Holland.

Bird on the Wire (often misrepresented as Bird on A Wire - even on cover versions) has never been a favourite LC song of mine. I like it, but its success has always puzzled me. There are other more interesting songs on this record, like You Know Who I Am, Tonight Will be Fine, Lady Midnight, etc., etc. I think Allmusic is correct is saying that this record is not nearly as good as the first Cohen record, but I think they sell it short. It is a very very good album. The last line of the Allmusic review is a bit more charitable: "...[the album's] strongest moments convey a naked intimacy and fearless emotional honesty that's every bit as powerful as the debut, and it left no doubt that Cohen was a major creative force in contemporary songwriting"[source].

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