LC-OI
Old Ideas, Leonard Cohen – Leonard made us wait eight years this time. That’s almost as long as the nine years between “The Future” (1992) and “Ten New Songs”; “Dear Heather” was released in 2004 and now in 2012 we get “Old Ideas”. With Cohen now 77 years old, the question we all wonder is “is this the last we’ll hear of dear leonard?” Leonard’s getting older, there’s not much time left, but there’s also no sense of urgency from the man, either in his output nor in his delivery. And how can there be?
And what kind of excitement is supposed to be generated by an album called “Old Ideas” anyway? Well, plenty, if the artist is a legend like Cohen (think about it – who else could get away with it anyway?). The songs on “Old Ideas” are indeed very old-sounding, with Cohen trying perhaps to revisit some of the morbid humor witnessed on albums like “The Future”. The opening song “Going Home” starts off with the lyrics “I love to speak with Leonard”, it’s a languid old tune with some thick background vocalists to do the heavy lifting in the harmony section, while Cohen saunters along. “Amen” is a strange bit of Tom Waits-ism, with a gravelly-voiced Cohen in full minimalist scope, with light keyboards, swishing drum brushes and some guitar… then the background vocalists come in. A companion piece to “Hallelujah” maybe? “Show Me The Place” is a very nice piano piece about slaves. “Darkness” is probably the coolest song on the album, with Sharon Robinson’s wicked synth bass sounds opening it up, with some feathery guitar, and the opening lines “I caught the darkness drinking from your cup,” repeated twice for effect. “I said ‘is this contagious?’ You said ‘Just drink it up’”. Great groovy organs, there is a full musical thing happening in this song, great presentation, great production. “I thought the past would last me, but the darkness got that too.” “Anyhow” is a strange, spooky song, Leonard talking and talking, with some more great lines through and through. “I know you can’t forgive me, but forgive me anyhow,” “I know you have to hate me, but could you hate me less?” “Crazy To Love You” is a song that Cohen co-wrote with Anjani Thomas, that appears on her 2006 album “Blue Alert”, this version is just Cohen’s voice accompanied by guitar, it’s gorgeous. “Come Healing” is beautiful female vocals before Cohen’s gravelly groan comes in with its careful and steady enunciation. It’s like choral music, mainly voices with a bit of organ behind it. Wonderful. “Banjo” is groovy blues guitar, it is a short song that hops and bops as much as Cohen still can. “Lullaby” bounces along slightly with still, pleasing rhythms and sounds, it really is a lullaby. “The mouse and the cat have fallen in love, they’re talking in tongues.” “Different Sides” the album closer, is a long song with full lyrics that comes off like a sinister Nick Cave tune (forgetting, perhaps, that Cohen invented the sinister Nick Cave tune). “Both of us say there are laws to obey, but frankly I don’t like your tone/You want to change the way I make love, I want to leave it alone.” It’s a breakup song, I guess, but maybe not a breakup with a woman but a breakup with life itself. Let’s see how that turns out for Cohen – we all sincerely wish him longer life and greater happiness.
The booklet is nice. Besides reprinting the lyrics, you get a glimpse of the Moleskine notebooks that Cohen uses for his lyrics, along with interesting drawings of Cohen, of nude ladies, of skulls (sex and death), some very nice drawings of pretty girls, of a coffee cup on a table, and various other things. Thank you, Leonard Cohen.