Who knows Leonard Cohen?

Xelebes

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From what I've heard, he does recite his songs. Though I thought I heard him approach a singing voice in a couple of these things. It's best that he accept his limitations, and anyway, it works. I like the tone of his voice, and he's thinking about the meaning of the words. Some of the best voices pay no attention to the words. So, even if they can really belt, are technically outstanding, there's no dramatic effect and suddenly it's so shallow it's an offense.

There are some traditionally great singers, and this is partly subjective, but whose voices and shallow lyric interpretation make me cringe.

Well, they are not technically outstanding if they can't give two winds to the words. Enunciation, stage presence, punctuation are all critical elements of singing.
 

Maze Runner

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Well, I don't think so. You can have a singer trained in technique who hasn't the depth for storytelling. And there are some whose enunciation is so bad you can't even make-out the words. Again, Bob Dylan comes to mind. I know a lot of people don't like the way he sings, but I do. To me, he's a great singer because he's a great storyteller. Obviously not blessed with a great singing voice, but I much prefer him to a lot of "singers".

And Leonard Cohen probably isn't even the singer Bob Dylan is. But he moves me.
 

writergirl1994

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I like Leonard Cohen. My favorite songs by him are "Seems so Long Ago, Nancy," "Waiting for the Miracle," and "The Story of Isaac."
 

shakeysix

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" and you want to travel with her and you want to travel blind" Back in high school I fell for him and I fell hard. Garcia-Lorca, Dylan Thomas, too. Great poets for a 17 year old--they touched my perfect body with their perfect minds. --s6
 

Kjbartolotta

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Hey, the Leonard Cohen thread's back! Used to love him, I even think about him and I'm suddenly 22 again.

"The rain falls down on last year's man,
An hour has gone by
And he has not moved his hand.
But everything will happen if he only gives the word;
The lovers will rise up
And the mountains touch the ground.
But the skylight is like skin for a drum I'll never mend
And all the rain falls down amen
On the works of last year's man."
 

Jason

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I'll probably get crucified for this, but here goes:

While I think Cohen is an amazing lyricist (aka song writer), his monotone style of singing has always kind of sounded like just a droning...whether it's intentional or just his vocal style, it's not for everyone. Maybe it's like brie which I hated as a kid but love as an adult - an acquired taste...

For me though, acoustically, the nearly monotone style of his voice is not pleasing for my ear. It's weird though because I've listened to Gregorian chants that are monotone and I absolutely love them. Maybe it has something to do with the background music changing and the voice combination is kind of cacophonous for me.
 

Jennie

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Leonard Cohen has been a long time favourite of mine. I saw him several times in concert. He would sing two hours straight, and then keep on singing. Concerts could last up to three or four hours... In France, we have a category of singers called "chanteurs à textes" - that is singers who sing songs where the text is more important than the melody. Leonard Cohen falls in this category. Difficult to say which song I prefer. Many come to mind: Famous Blue Raincoat, Everybody Knows, Avalanche...
 

stephenf

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I saw Leonard Cohen in 1970 at the Isle of Wight. I think he was unknown to most of the people there. I had read some of his poetry and the novel Beautiful Losers. The thing I liked about L C was even though I did not understand much of his writing. I felt, for some unknown reason, I should try harder. Now, the thing I most admire about LC is he never allowed his own limitations to become an obstacle or a reason not to do something.
 

blacbird

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Cohen also wrote a volume of interesting short stories titled Beautiful Losers.

And Joe Cocker did an amazing version of "Bird on a Wire", on the album simply titled Joe Cocker!. He has Dylan's "Dear Landlord" and the Beatles' "She Came In Through the Bathroom Window" on it, too.

caw
 
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