Product Description
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Old Ideas, the lauded poet's first studio album in eight years,
addresses some of the most profound quandaries of human
existence--the relationship to a transcendent being, love,
sexuality, loss and death. Arguably the most overtly spiritual of
the revered artist's albums, Old Ideas inspires commitment to a
greater sense of compassion and decency.
While the of Old Ideas began in earnest in January
2011, many of the new songs and their lyrics have been in the
works for years. Early versions of two album tracks, "Amen" and
"Lullaby" were originally recorded in 2007, while early versions
of “Lullaby” and “The Darkness” were performed live during
Cohen's recently concluded, sold-out world tour. Fans were given
another hint of what to expect when Cohen made remarks as the
recipient of the Principe de Asturias Prize for literature in
Spain in October 2011. “As I grew older, I understood that
instructions came with this voice. And the instructions were
these...Never to lament casually. And if one is to express the
great inevitable defeat that awaits us all, it must be done
within the strict confines of dignity and beauty."
The album was produced with Patrick Leonard, Anjani Thomas, Ed
Sanders and Dino Soldo. Complementing Cohen's signature baritone
on Old Ideas are the exceptional vocalists Dana Glover, Sharon
Robinson, The Webb Sisters (Hattie and Charley Webb) and Jennifer
Warnes. The album's cover design and drawings are Cohen's own.
Review
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When Leonard Cohen astonished his fans by deigning to visit the
UK for a brace of shows in the summer of 2008, at least in London
the loudest cheer of a night almost idolatrous in its
appreciation came with the delivery of two lines from Tower of
Song. "I was born like this, I had no choice," sang the then
73-year-old Quebecer, "I was born with the gift of a golden
voice." With the clock hands now pointing at a quarter to 80, if
anything the old boy’s voice has become more gravely resonant
than it ever did. At certain points during Old Ideas it’s not
difficult to imagine whales and dolphins surging out to deeper
waters in fear of an earthquake.
In modern music it is commonplace for ageing performers to
attempt to prove that they have a lust for life capable of
defying gravity’s pull. But one of the striking things about this
always striking album is just how unvarnished is the sound of its
creator’s relative fragility: "I love to speak with Leonard, he’s
a sportsman and shepherd," sings the narrator on Going Home,
before adding, "He’s a lazy bastard living in a suit." On the
second line Cohen’s voice cracks with such emphasis as to suggest
this suit might be one of the last he wears. For a man with a
gleam in his eye of such impishness as to make Sir Les Patterson
seem decorous, this is startling stuff indeed.
As with any album to which Leonard Cohen puts his name, Old Ideas
is a work which displays great finesse. The music presented is
gentle, even fragile, with backing vocals and instrumentation
similar to that heard during his brace of UK concerts four years
ago. But as ever, it is the author’s sense of poetic balance that
renders this release as being a work of art. It is said that for
every verse that makes it onto the lyric sheet, a further 10 make
it to the floor. Such prudence bears dividend throughout this
album. On the mysterious Banjo, he sings of an object of dread
floating on "a dark infested sea": "It’s coming for me darling,
no matter where I go / Its duty is to harm me, my duty is to
know."
A quite brilliant release from an unmissable artist.
--Ian Winwood
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