Leonard Cohen:

Songs of Leonard Cohen:(1967)

The master of language, the serious mystic, a man named Leonard Cohen. It's hard to put into words how much Leonard's music and writing mean to me. This first album sets the scene so well with the gentle nylon string guitar dancing between the fabulous orchestration. 

Songs From A Room:(1969)

Leonard Cohen seems at once of, and not of the real world we call the Earth. A master of language and subtlety like no other. I first got turned on to him when Jackson Browne made reference to him in an interview, more specifically the song Famous Blue Raincoat. As I’ve stated before, I love studying the influences of my influences, so I dug through the Cohen catalogue with much fascination and joy. Songs From A Room is particularly interesting, not just for the intense lyrical content, but the mysterious back cover depicting Cohen’s then girlfriend Marianne, of whom he sang. In that picture I could see how he could fall in love with her...I fell in love with her in that picture. I fell in love with the idea of an artist that could create this masterpiece of an album that seemed so removed from all its contemporaries. It’s an album that to me sounds as good today as it ever did, which focused me on the timeless quality I dig in so many records. I remember putting on this album while driving to take my SAT exam. My mind roaming the vast countryside conjured by the songs, and not thinking of the test that others said was important. I certainly never said that it was important. I remember thinking what a waste of time all the testing was. I didn’t want more schooling. I believed then as I do now, that I was getting more from the music I was listening to than I was from all that school and testing. There’s an element to this album that reminds me of a Fellini film like 8 1/2, black & white and highlighting the serious absurdity underlying some difficult issues.

Live Songs:(1973)

Like a ghost staring out of a bathroom mirror, so Leonard Cohen looks out of this album cover, so much power contained in his eyes. A cigarette before taking the stage for a live performance that seems more like a communal campfire gathering than anything else. The record is aged and crackling like a fire. 

Recent Songs:(1979)

"I came so far for beauty

I left so much behind

My patience and my family

My masterpiece unsigned"