New Leonard Cohen Album Thanks For The Dance Nov.22

Just the album cover for now. Track listing soon.

 

New songs, or is it a compilation?

 

New songs.

 

like tomorrow?

 

Instant buy. Mr. Cohen is one of my absolute favorites and, as far as I'm concerned, he is the gold standard for 'late period' greatness in an artist's career. I look forward to hearing more. He was truly singular.

 

Any info? Are these recordings from the You Want It Darker sessions?

 

Great! Nice to see some unreleased material coming out. I haven't got You Want It Darker yet though, but I have heard it. This should be good. Leonard never did bad albums and the later ones are excellent.

 

I am not seeing this mentioned on the official Leonard Cohen website, and I can't find it on Amazon. I am going to lower my enthusiasm until something more concrete shows up.

 

Thrilling news, but they certainly could have come up with a much better cover. He was such an elegant guy, it seems like a pic of him, dressed to the nines and doffing his cap, would be much more appealing than something like above that looks like a tombstone...

 

i dunno. i kinda like it. i do think it's elegant too. kinda reminds me of Dylan's Triplicate album cover.

 

I remember in 2016 it was reported he was working with a chamber orchestra before he passed away, maybe sessions from that?

 

Just something while we wait. A good interview:

 

i think there was an article about this son finishing some of his unfinished songs.

Posthumous Leonard Cohen Album in the Works

 

Excellent. And I like the cover. Black with gold embossing. Looks classy and very Leonard to me.

 

Leonard Cohen hasn’t ever really had great covers though haha.

Think this one is one of the better ones TBH, and that’s not really a compliment.

 

Count me as one who likes the minimalist cover as well. We got elegant shots of Leonard in cap on Live in London, Songs from the Road, Old Ideas, Popular Problems, Live in Dublin, Can't Forget and You Want It Darker. I like something different.

 

I’m excited for the album though, wonder if his son had any say over the compiling. Also glad they waited to let his final LP settle before squeezing the lemon.

 

This is great news!

 

Of course, in the Dylan threads here, his cover art has been getting eviscerated for years now (including that cover).

I must admit you have a point there.

Also true. Some of the above were "winners" for me, but others were pretty awful, IMO.

And the most important thing IS the music - that should be worth celebrating.

 

If this is even half as awesome as You Want It Darker then
.
.
.
Hallelujah!

 

This is unexpected! Fantastic!

 

The Goal

So moving.

 

1 Happens to the Heart 4:33
Poem from The Flame, p3

2 Moving On 3:11
Poem from The Flame, p80

3 The Night of Santiago 4:15
from Book of Longing by Philip Glass, CD2 track 4

4 Thanks for the Dance 4:13
Poem from The Flame, p83; The Flame, p103 same as the track 10 from Anjani's album Blue Alert

5 It's Torn 2:57
Source unknown but definitely by Leonard Cohen

6 The Goal 1:12
Poem from Book of Longing, p153

7 Puppets 2:39
Poem from Book of Longing, p160

8 The Hills 4:17
might be the poem The Book of Longing from Book of Longing, p1
CD 1 Track 1 from Book of Longing by Philip Glass, is called I Can't Make the Hills

9 Listen to the Hummingbird 2:00
Poem from The Flame, p65

 

For those who can't do Spotify:


This is incredible. It is essentially a spoken-word piece and, given that Leonard was both an immaculate poet and had an incredibly stirring and mellifluous voice in his old age, it is fantastic. From Book of Longing. I have long felt that Mr. Cohen's final three albums are the greatest reflection upon aging and death we've yet received in the realm of 'popular' songwriting and this fits very well into that thesis. Truly beautiful, made even more so by the fact that he is no longer here with us.

Words:

I can't leave my house
Or answer the phone
I'm going down again
But I'm not alone
Settling at last
The counts of the soul
This for the trash
That paid in full
As for the fall it began long ago
Can't stop the rain
Can't stop the snow

I sit in my chair
I look at the street
The neighbor returns my smile of defeat
I move with the leaves
I shine with the crow
I'm almost alive
I'm almost at home
No one to follow
And nothing to teach
Except that the goal
Falls short of the reach

Edit: Looks like the album will mostly be poetic recitations, I assume with subtle musical shadings like 'The Goal.' I really look forward to hearing more.

 

You can really see him in his medical chair in that humble house of his during his final days. Hugely powerful.