|
|
 |
Leonard Cohen's first album in too many years, Ten New
Songs, was well worth waiting for. Cohen, who had been living in a Zen monastery for the last six years, has come down from the mountain and delivered a solid and poetic vision. Whether dancing close to your partner or mooding out your background, the album is mellow, soothing and philosophical, and is great manna for these troubled times.
It can't be denied, however, that Leonard is getting old -- an interior album cover shot shows Cohen with a full head of white hair; therefore, it may not be surprising that a lot of the vocal energy on this album comes from his long time collaborator Sharon Robinson, who also helped to arrange many of the tracks. All the songs are good. "Here It Is" particularly stands out as a haunting Zen vision of life, with lyrics like "May Everyone Live and May Everyone Die," and "Hello My Love and My Love Goodbye."
~Matt Saha
|
|
|
