Few artists can lay claim to a string of important works like Leonard Cohen can. Not many fans of Cohen will deny that any – or all – of his albums have delighted them. Since Leonard Cohen hit the mainstream, loosely speaking, with his “Suzanne” from his 1967 debut on Columbia Records, Songs Of Leonard Cohen. That was when I was snared. Hearing his song at my then age of ten evoked a strong change in the way I began to listen to my music. That change has permeated much of everything I listen to (or see, read), and is with me today.
Songs Of Leonard Cohen not only gave us “Suzanne”, but also provided us with “So Long, Marianne”, “Sisters Of Mercy”, “Hey, That’s No Way To Say Goodbye”, and “Stories Of The Street”. He followed that album up with Songs From A Room in 1969 that included “Bird On A Wire”. Since then, he’s given us “Hallelujah”, “Dance Me To The End Of Love”, “Ain’t No Cure For Love”, “The Future”, and many more before “retiring”.
Cohen returned with the brilliant Ten New Songs, released in 2001, with every song an essential track. After Ten New Songs, he has released Dear Heather (2004), and Old Ideas (2012). In between, he has “gifted” the world with two massive tours, a Legacy released The Essential Leonard Cohen 2CD retrospective, and three live sets (Live In London, an historic Live At The Isle Of Wight 1970, Songs From the Road).
This year, Leonard Cohen turns 80 years of age. To celebrate that milestone, Cohen will release a new studio album with a scheduled date (which could change) of September 22 (reported but since removed from the French Amazon site). The new album is currently titled Popular Problems, and while we have no hints as to what’s in it, or how the songs will sound, I can offer this…have we been disappointed yet?
Keep your eyes glued for more news about this upcoming album.