This is definitely an old man reflecting on his life, & his career as a musician. The early lines, 'Well, my friends are gone and my hair is grey I ache in the places where I used to play And I'm crazy for love but I'm not coming on I'm just paying my rent every day in the Tower of Song', is very powerful for those of us over 50.
I love his humility and humour. I was watching the Canadian Juno Awards when he got an award for Best Male Vocalist. As he accepted his award, he said, "Only in Canada would I get an award for singing. "
To me by "voice" he means his musical expression which means the words that he writes ,the whole song and his actual voice is what he must accept and all the haters must accept. I have been a fan from the START and have listened to haters for decades. Nice to hear more people like you who appreciate him as I do. THANK YOU
Hi You see now what I meant about his ability to play an audience. He was absolutely hypnotic on stage, you'd have been happy to stay on forever at one of his concerts just to hear those songs. I found a quote in Wikipedia to explain the song: "Tower of Song" is the keynote work of I'm Your Man. With it, Cohen wanted to "make a definitive statement about the heroic enterprise of the craft" of songwriting. In the early eighties, he called the work "Raise My Voice in Song." His concern was with the aging songwriter, and the "necessity to transcend one's own failure by manifesting as the singer, as the songwriter." He had abandoned the song, but one night in Montreal he finished the lyrics and called an engineer and recorded it in one take with a toy synthesizer." I don't know if that does the song justice but it's enlightening to hear what another person thinks. Cohen once said that he wrote poetry because "poetry is the language of women" and certainly he lived his life surrounded by women attracted to him. Even Lori Lieberman has been involved with Leonard and his music. As for his backing singers here, the two blonde women were the Webb Sisters who also have released some great music and the black lady is Sharon Robinson who collaborated with him on some of his music. He was also a God Father to her son. You would love to listen to them singing their song "Boogie Street" at the same concert. Leonard Cohen was always thought of as writing "wrist slashing" and depressing music by his critics but they had it wrong. There was always the element of humour there, even though it wasn't always obvious.
Yet another Canadian GEM . I burst with pride all the time and Leonard is a true Treasure. He got better with age and that's saying something considering his early work. I saw him Live ,he got 5 encores and my hands were red and raw ! What a loss, RIP
Other brilliance from L.Cohen, Suzanne, Famous Blue Raincoat, Last Year's Man, Bird On a Wire, Dance Me to the End of Love, If It Be Your Will, Hallelujah....and though not written by him, performed flawlessly, The Partisan.
The line "I was born like this/I had no choice/I was born with the gift of a golden voice." is a jab at himself. For the first couple of decades of his career, during the 1960's and '70's, Cohen had a higher, somewhat nasal, voice, and reviewers often criticized its sound. And, while he continued to build a loyal and appreciative audience over the years through his recordings, his career received some important boosts from wonderful performances of some of his songs by other singers. His two best known songs, "Suzanne" and "Hallelujah", both came to public attention through the cover versions recorded by, respectively, Judy Collins and Rufus Wainwright. And Cohen has in interviews credited Jennifer Warnes' 1986 cover album of his songs, "Famous Blue Raincoat" for helping to revive his career and bringing him renewed favorable critical attention for his songwriting. The album Cohen then released in 1988, "I'm Your Man," was a commercial and critical success, and, also. by the time he recorded that album, his voice had taken on the deeper, more gravely tone for which he would from then on be known.
"Golden voice" is irony and it's impressive he can perform this well at an advanced age. A great stylist, an effective deliverer of lyrics and an exceptional song writer of great intelligence.
In his younger years he had a lovely tenor voice. Years of whiskey and smoking and his voice became deeper and more raspy. But he knew how to make the changes in his voice work for him! And he was always an amazing poet!
The tower of song is where the great artists go to live once they’re gone. There are both living and dead in the tower with more moving in. His reference to Hank Williams is him being a hundred floors above him is Hank Williams was something special and there will never be another.
The most brilliant concert was his last tour. The entire audience was one and the musicians just amazing. The world needs poets. Damn aching in the places where I used to play❤️
Not only an iconic musician, but Leonard Cohen is one of Canada's greatest poets. He published a number of award-winning books of poetry in the 1950s and 60s.
As a writer, I marvel at these lyrics. What an exquisite marriage of music to syllables! Listen closely... each syllable lands effortlessly, like a butterfly upon a wet leaf. Not a forced phrasing to be found anywhere, as if lyrics and melody were birthed together, like twin brothers. Cohen is an epic artist, and "Tower" is an epic song. Even the covers by Tom Jones & Martha Wainwright are brilliant.
Back story...apparently Leonard had a Manager that stole most of his money,litigation followed and Leonard lost most of it...so,Leonard had to go back to work...we are the beneficiaries of his great works tho...Ty brother Harri for this
His Wikipedia bio is fascinating. This man was more than a poet. He was a student of philosophy too. His life sounds like it was just all about learning and creating, learning and creating. And appreciating as well. He looked a little bit like Richard Belzer as he got older; as a young man he looked a cross between Jeff Goldblum and Leonard Nimoy. I would have loved to have seen him perform in concert.
Leonard Cohan never sets pen to paper without something important to say. This is his goodbye. His version of the after-life. Bringing tears to my eyes. He is still speaking to us sweetly from the tower of song. I think you missed the point, Hari, and yet what you expressed was exactly what he was telling you. He sang us to the end of love, he sang us to the end of life.
Leonard Cohen started out as a poet, and then was persuaded to sing some of his poetry. He went on to have a career primarily as a songwriter-singer. Born into an Orthodox Jewish family in Canada, with a prominent rabbi grandfather, he left the Orthodox world but remained deeply connected to Jewishness while experimenting with drugs and the artistic life of the 1960s; then, he became a Buddhist monk. Toward the end of his life, he once again explored Jewish spirituality with a non-Orthodox rabbi as a guide. So when he talks about the mysteries, he's speaking as one who had a long journey exploring inner space. Brilliant truth teller. I hope he found Hank Williams somewhere and that they're playing music together.
He didn't always have that voice. Never a classic "pretty" singing voice, but always powerful - it's the emotion, the humanity, the intelligence that comes through with every note. By the way, the folks producing him tried repeatedly through the years to change/get rid of his girl group backup, because it was 'dated.' I agree with you - it's perfect. He was well known as a "lady's man" and also spent many years living as a Buddhist monk.
I LOVE Leonard Cohen, he is my favorite poet and I have been listening to him since the 1960s. His words are so profound and yes his voice is unique. He was so well respected in the music industry that he always got the best musicians and singers to work with him. All of his music is fantastic, you really must listen to more of it. The singers are Charley and Hattie Webb (sisters) and Sharon Robinson who is not only a singer with Cohen but his collaborator. Thank you for this reaction.
I'm 65 and I've been listening to him since I was a teenager - on and off. When we were teens, we thought of him a singing (very) sad songs. As a young adult I had other things to do. As I entered my middle/late 30s, I picked him up again and all the 'sad' songs from my teens were...not quite so sad, and some of them were even rather hopeful. In the 90s (my age about mid 40s) he was recording a fair amount of new music, which was much more overtly cheerful, though some of it I loved and some of it I didn't. The last album I have of his is of this concert ('Live in London', recorded at the O2 - possibly the largest London indoor concert hall - in London in 2009). It is Leonard Cohen at peace, singing songs old and new (26 of them, double album) and all beautiful. In my teems I'd have thought of Tower Of Song as a sad song; now it's a sort of triumph over age (like Granny Weather Wax and her notice "I ait'n ded yett") and beaurifuly, quietly, slyly, joyful. One of the all-time greats.
And that was a great and fun review, thanks, I subscribed. Leonard’s work is replete with penetrating and soul-baring insights into human, romantic, and Spiritual relationships. I believe that the love he speaks of here is the latter love - the deep yearning of all humanity.
I wonder is this is like the spoken word poetry-but a song- that people say was popular in the 1960's? Before my time anyway. His voice has a melodic, hypnotic quality and the back-up singers are great. New subscriber, good reaction to his song.
I always took the Tower of Song image to be have been inspired by the Capital Records building in Hollywood. The building looked like a stack of records. He's paying his rent in the Tower of Song.
I've always enjoyed Leonard's voice and his points of view. He's just fabulous. I really like his song, "I'm Your Man." I think that is the song that was playing when I "met" Leonard. Thanks for your reaction, Harri.... Take care and be well. Peace.
That was also the album where I was reintroduced to him. As with so many of my favourites, I preferred him in his later years, starting with that album.
I was introduced to the genius of Leonard Cohen through the talented singing of Rod McKuen and Glnn Yarbrough. What a pleasure listening to all three were. So sad that all three are gone now.
I did not like him when i first heard him in his younger days. Seemed to dwell on sadness, loss and bitterness despite the quality of his songs and music. But i reconnected with him in his last years and he really spoke to me through his music. Now i am a really old person, well into my 80s, and i understand more what he was telling us all about life.
I think music is his tower Leonard retreats to, to escape from the world. More powerto him i. This is my first rime hearing this great song Harri. Bravo !
Surprisingly, Cohen began his career as a poet and novelist during the 1950s and early 1960s, and did not begin a music career until 1967. His poetry is very evident in much of his music. He has always been one of my favorites.
Being a lover of ladies, and them responding to his natural charms and a great poet and writer, along with his life long career in music, his audience responds. He has often laid bare his soul in that tower of song, almost as worshipping there, is his alter. I'd you listen to his early versions of Hallelujah, Suzanne, etc and him at this age, his voice was smooth, but still smooth but grittier , deeper in age, as many of us do. This was the time of last live concerts, but he smoked all his life giving an even grittier voice. I think he is looking up at his predecessors as if to say I hear you, and I will be with you all then, but still loving life, and writing, with beauty as his muse, and questioning all authority or those who like to think they are over us. He was born in Canada, and was born to be poet on love, beauty, music. The ladies always loved him, and his poetry and Boice. He gifted so much to us.
Hi Harri .... always great to hear and see your reaction to so many tunes. Leonard has a great tune called 'Democracy" It sure makes you think, especially the way things have been going on in the US. Keep 'em coming!
The music critics always critiqued his voice - saying stuff like he sings flat, etc, etc, - so I think he’s saying that *despite* of his inability to sing properly, he’s been placed in the tower of song. But loved your reaction. Cohen is certainly one of the best song writers ever. Along with Dylan. Some prefer Dylan, others Cohen. I can never make up my mind. But I definitely listen to Cohen more. Anyway, he wrote and sang up until he died. And I highly recommend his last 3 albums. As well as “Songs of Love and Hate”, “The Future” and really just all of his albums.
Cohen started his decades-long career as a poet and author. He actually had to be pushed into singing his own songs. He had a strange and parapatetic life. Born in Montreal, as a young man, he lived on a Greek island with a group of ex-pat artists, coming back to Canada for a few months, then back to Greece. Lived for many years as a Buddhist monk. After leaving the monastery, his son convinced him to start recording and performing again and this performance was during that period.
I think his returning to performing after his period in the monastary had more to do with the fact that he then discovered that his 'trusted' manager and 'friend' had embezzled all his money and he was now penniless that forced him back on the road.
Harri, bear in mind that for a decade before Leonard Cohen recorded his first album, he was already a published author and poet, so when he speaks of his "voice", it isn't necessarily the singer's voice; it is just as likely that he refers to his voice as a writer, poet and philosopher. His debut album in 1967 contains two of his greatest poems of all time: "Suzanne" and "The Sisters of Mercy". I recommend that you listen to the original studio versions first. For the rest of his canon, I find that women's covers of Leonard's songs are better than his own, and better than most male-sung covers. kd lang, for example, every decade is filmed giving an ever-more astonishing rendition of "Hallelujah". Suzanne Vega gives the most haunting and soul-chilling version of "Song of Isaac".
I constantly marvel at the enormity of the Ibri who are such strong wordsmiths. Cohen, Paul Simon, Carly Simon and Carol King, Michael Bolton, currently the great Avi Kaplan and the list goes on and on. They have the ability to just write life on paper and put music to it.
My picks for next up for Cohen would be "Dance Me to the End of Love" and "hallelujah". Hallelujah's been covered by many, and although I think K.D. Lang's live performance of it at the Juno awards is the best ever, there's nothing like hearing the original.
I saw Leonard in 2013 in Brisbane. I cried for about the first 20 minutes, I was so overcome by just being in the same environment as this man. He performed for 2 hrs and I will never forget it. RIP lovely man
I've enjoyed this man's music ever since I learned of him. Your appreciation of his voice is similar to my own, in that you find it comforting, soothing, and relaxing. In my own mind, in addition to that however, I imagine that is what an old, wizened, bear would sound like when singing. It's interesting to note though, that during an interview many years ago, he was asked about his voice. He said that to him, it "sounds like the bottom of an ashtray."
One of.the greatest writers ever i was 9.whren i started listening to him broke my heart when he..died . Read his poems listen.to his.music..Debbie wales.U.k.
Leonard wrote, what I personally believe, one of the greatest poems of all time, he also sings it. Harri for Just your personal pleasure see the Poem / Song... A Thousand Kisses Deep.
I love Leonard Cohen who is a great poet. Most people always said that he didn't have a great singing voice BUT I would rather hear him sing his songs with the meaning and feeling he puts into it as the writer and creator than any other voice. But I urge you to also listen to The version of "Tower of song" that has Bon Jovi singing part of the song with him. I also love the original black and white videos of Leonard Cohen's "Closing Time" and "Dance Me To The end of Love" In "Dance Me to The end of Love " I finally realized that he is also in the initial scene as the dead body being covered up. enjoy!
Hank Williams was a heavy smoker and alcoholic but what a talent! His cough refers to the bad habits and early death. The golden voice is a self deprecating reference.
I was very lucky that as a child Harri, I was exposed to Leonard as I fell asleep. My parents were just genius to introduce me to what has become a staple of my musical, writing and poetry taste.
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This is definitely an old man reflecting on his life, & his career as a musician. The early lines, 'Well, my friends are gone and my hair is grey I ache in the places where I used to play And I'm crazy for love but I'm not coming on I'm just paying my rent every day in the Tower of Song', is very powerful for those of us over 50.
Check out "Marianne & Leonard: Words of Love", great movie, very poignant. He was by no means perfect, but who is?
Lyrically, this is my favourite of all his songs.
life is toll road. Every step forward has a cost and a reward.
However he wrote it in middle age. But it's one of my favorites of his songs.
Loved him through hiz varied music evolution. Such an interesting life and backy!
I love his humility and humour. I was watching the Canadian Juno Awards when he got an award for Best Male Vocalist. As he accepted his award, he said, "Only in Canada would I get an award for singing. "
What a great comment. But Canada knows a lot of things we don't get in the USA. May God bless the 🍁 leaf forever.
OH, CANADA!!!!!!!!!!!❤
The best concert I have ever seen was Leonard Cohen at Massey Hall in Toronto. It was flawless. He was more than a lyricist - he was a true poet.
The best concert I ever went to was LeonardCohen at 80 years old in Waterbury Connecticut at the palace theater. He was simply amazing.
I saw him there as well
@@qtpwqt hi neighbor and Cohen fan
@@qtpwqt We saw him there in 1973 & as mentioned - to this day it really was the best concert I have ever seen. Professional in every way.
@@mytinyketolife6797 Hi & yes - a major Cohen fan. Not a Canadian neighbor any more. Proud American in California.
To me by "voice" he means his musical expression which means the words that he writes ,the whole song and his actual voice is what he must accept and all the haters must accept. I have been a fan from the START and have listened to haters for decades. Nice to hear more people like you who appreciate him as I do. THANK YOU
I loved Leonard Cohen for decades. What an incredible man and an incredible talent.
Hi
You see now what I meant about his ability to play an audience. He was absolutely hypnotic on stage, you'd have been happy to stay on forever at one of his concerts just to hear those songs.
I found a quote in Wikipedia to explain the song:
"Tower of Song" is the keynote work of I'm Your Man. With it, Cohen wanted to "make a definitive statement about the heroic enterprise of the craft" of songwriting. In the early eighties, he called the work "Raise My Voice in Song." His concern was with the aging songwriter, and the "necessity to transcend one's own failure by manifesting as the singer, as the songwriter." He had abandoned the song, but one night in Montreal he finished the lyrics and called an engineer and recorded it in one take with a toy synthesizer."
I don't know if that does the song justice but it's enlightening to hear what another person thinks.
Cohen once said that he wrote poetry because "poetry is the language of women" and certainly he lived his life surrounded by women attracted to him. Even Lori Lieberman has been involved with Leonard and his music.
As for his backing singers here, the two blonde women were the Webb Sisters who also have released some great music and the black lady is Sharon Robinson who collaborated with him on some of his music. He was also a God Father to her son. You would love to listen to them singing their song "Boogie Street" at the same concert.
Leonard Cohen was always thought of as writing "wrist slashing" and depressing music by his critics but they had it wrong. There was always the element of humour there, even though it wasn't always obvious.
His voice is so gravelly and those women sing as clearly as bells. It's a beautiful vocal mesh.
Yet another Canadian GEM . I burst with pride all the time and Leonard is a true Treasure. He got better with age and that's saying something considering his early work. I saw him Live ,he got 5 encores and my hands were red and raw ! What a loss, RIP
Unfortunately, you have a dictator for President, whose got the ear of America’s dictator!
You can't go wrong with Leonard Cohen
Other brilliance from L.Cohen, Suzanne, Famous Blue Raincoat, Last Year's Man, Bird On a Wire, Dance Me to the End of Love, If It Be Your Will, Hallelujah....and though not written by him, performed flawlessly, The Partisan.
“The Future” was ahead of its time! Brilliant lyrics!
If it be your will is my current favourite 🙂
The miracle
The line "I was born like this/I had no choice/I was born with the gift of a golden voice." is a jab at himself. For the first couple of decades of his career, during the 1960's and '70's, Cohen had a higher, somewhat nasal, voice, and reviewers often criticized its sound. And, while he continued to build a loyal and appreciative audience over the years through his recordings, his career received some important boosts from wonderful performances of some of his songs by other singers. His two best known songs, "Suzanne" and "Hallelujah", both came to public attention through the cover versions recorded by, respectively, Judy Collins and Rufus Wainwright. And Cohen has in interviews credited Jennifer Warnes' 1986 cover album of his songs, "Famous Blue Raincoat" for helping to revive his career and bringing him renewed favorable critical attention for his songwriting. The album Cohen then released in 1988, "I'm Your Man," was a commercial and critical success, and, also. by the time he recorded that album, his voice had taken on the deeper, more gravely tone for which he would from then on be known.
The tower of song is a juke box. Metaphorical and I love it!
100% First time I heard this many years ago, I thought exactly the same thing! 😁
"Golden voice" is irony and it's impressive he can perform this well at an advanced age. A great stylist, an effective deliverer of lyrics and an exceptional song writer of great intelligence.
It’s a gift to see the gold in imperfection and you don’t have it
In his younger years he had a lovely tenor voice. Years of whiskey and smoking and his voice became deeper and more raspy. But he knew how to make the changes in his voice work for him! And he was always an amazing poet!
Now 68 and been listening to the man since I was 13 years old, in 1969. Best live concert I have been to in all that time.
RIP Mr. Leonard Cohen. Love you and miss you. ❤
The tower of song is where the great artists go to live once they’re gone. There are both living and dead in the tower with more moving in. His reference to Hank Williams is him being a hundred floors above him is Hank Williams was something special and there will never be another.
The most brilliant concert was his last tour. The entire audience was one and the musicians just amazing. The world needs poets. Damn aching in the places where I used to play❤️
I am so privileged to have seen that tour. Cohen played about a three hour show. The man was a legend...
Such an amazing Canadian poet.☮️
he could send you to sleep while tearing your heart out at the same time. Tower of song = heaven IMO
Not only an iconic musician, but Leonard Cohen is one of Canada's greatest poets. He published a number of award-winning books of poetry in the 1950s and 60s.
As a writer, I marvel at these lyrics. What an exquisite marriage of music to syllables! Listen closely... each syllable lands effortlessly, like a butterfly upon a wet leaf. Not a forced phrasing to be found anywhere, as if lyrics and melody were birthed together, like twin brothers. Cohen is an epic artist, and "Tower" is an epic song. Even the covers by Tom Jones & Martha Wainwright are brilliant.
the "dos" and "dums" are perfect
Don't worry Harri. There is plenty of Leonard Cohen that no one has ever deciphered! 👌💘👍
Back story...apparently Leonard had a Manager that stole most of his money,litigation followed and Leonard lost most of it...so,Leonard had to go back to work...we are the beneficiaries of his great works tho...Ty brother Harri for this
His Wikipedia bio is fascinating. This man was more than a poet. He was a student of philosophy too. His life sounds like it was just all about learning and creating, learning and creating. And appreciating as well. He looked a little bit like Richard Belzer as he got older; as a young man he looked a cross between Jeff Goldblum and Leonard Nimoy. I would have loved to have seen him perform in concert.
The Future is another great one among many others by Leonard Cohen
I love the lyrics. He was quite a poet. Great reaction Harri!
Got to see his last tour. A true gentleman to the end.
Leonard Cohan never sets pen to paper without something important to say. This is his goodbye. His version of the after-life. Bringing tears to my eyes. He is still speaking to us sweetly from the tower of song. I think you missed the point, Hari, and yet what you expressed was exactly what he was telling you. He sang us to the end of love, he sang us to the end of life.
Leonard Cohen started out as a poet, and then was persuaded to sing some of his poetry. He went on to have a career primarily as a songwriter-singer. Born into an Orthodox Jewish family in Canada, with a prominent rabbi grandfather, he left the Orthodox world but remained deeply connected to Jewishness while experimenting with drugs and the artistic life of the 1960s; then, he became a Buddhist monk. Toward the end of his life, he once again explored Jewish spirituality with a non-Orthodox rabbi as a guide. So when he talks about the mysteries, he's speaking as one who had a long journey exploring inner space. Brilliant truth teller. I hope he found Hank Williams somewhere and that they're playing music together.
He didn't always have that voice. Never a classic "pretty" singing voice, but always powerful - it's the emotion, the humanity, the intelligence that comes through with every note. By the way, the folks producing him tried repeatedly through the years to change/get rid of his girl group backup, because it was 'dated.' I agree with you - it's perfect. He was well known as a "lady's man" and also spent many years living as a Buddhist monk.
My husband and I saw Leonard Cohen many times last time was not long before he passed RIP Leonard Cohen
I LOVE Leonard Cohen, he is my favorite poet and I have been listening to him since the 1960s. His words are so profound and yes his voice is unique. He was so well respected in the music industry that he always got the best musicians and singers to work with him. All of his music is fantastic, you really must listen to more of it. The singers are Charley and Hattie Webb (sisters) and Sharon Robinson who is not only a singer with Cohen but his collaborator. Thank you for this reaction.
Music, his impregnable fortress from heartbreak. Awesome!
I'm 65 and I've been listening to him since I was a teenager - on and off. When we were teens, we thought of him a singing (very) sad songs. As a young adult I had other things to do. As I entered my middle/late 30s, I picked him up again and all the 'sad' songs from my teens were...not quite so sad, and some of them were even rather hopeful. In the 90s (my age about mid 40s) he was recording a fair amount of new music, which was much more overtly cheerful, though some of it I loved and some of it I didn't.
The last album I have of his is of this concert ('Live in London', recorded at the O2 - possibly the largest London indoor concert hall - in London in 2009). It is Leonard Cohen at peace, singing songs old and new (26 of them, double album) and all beautiful. In my teems I'd have thought of Tower Of Song as a sad song; now it's a sort of triumph over age (like Granny Weather Wax and her notice "I ait'n ded yett") and beaurifuly, quietly, slyly, joyful.
One of the all-time greats.
Of course a Terry Pratchett fan would also enjoy Leonard Cohen. Amused cynicism from both.
I wish I could watch the whole concert with you! It's such a beautiful thing! If you have the opportunity, do watch it! Leonard Cohen Live In London💜
Leonard Cohen And Tom Waits have been a significant part of my musical soul for over 50 years.
*"I ache in the places where I used to play."* Lol...I'll have to remember that line for when I'm his age. Very cool song choice, Paul Dover.
Thanks very much. Have you ever heard the Beautiful South's "Prettiest Eyes"? A lovely song about elderly love.
I'm 71 and I can tell you firsthand, no truer words were ever spoken or sung. No one has ever described it more beautifully and accurately.
The four best singer/song-writers Bob, Leonard, Prine and Lucinda.
This is a masterpiece.
So, this got me right in the feels. My favorite of his is "Dance Me to the End of Love". I have yet to see or hear it without tears.
Really great version of this Cohen classic and a great reaction.
Kind, confident and undeniably masculine. I want to find that balance.
And that was a great and fun review, thanks, I subscribed. Leonard’s work is replete with penetrating and soul-baring insights into human, romantic, and Spiritual relationships.
I believe that the love he speaks of here is the latter love - the deep yearning of all humanity.
I wonder is this is like the spoken word poetry-but a song- that people say was popular in the 1960's? Before my time anyway. His voice has a melodic, hypnotic quality and the back-up singers are great. New subscriber, good reaction to his song.
I love this song (much faster tempo on recording) Great lyrics with humour and self-deprecation. "I ache in the places where I used to play" 😊
I always took the Tower of Song image to be have been inspired by the Capital Records building in Hollywood. The building looked like a stack of records. He's paying his rent in the Tower of Song.
Lovely to see and hear you reacting to the great Leonard Cohen, God bless him & you.
Your phrase "what he's been ordained to do" is wonderfully apt. Greatly enjoyed your reaction to this incredible song.
...from the great beyond. Too dumb dumb- too dumb dumb. Peace from Leonard's home, Canada.
He finally reached an understanding that frees himself from the built up self monolith of the life which is a tower of song
Those ladies are the Webb sisters and the great Sharron Robinson.
What a songwriter! Famous Blue Raincoat is my favorite! Such a storyteller 🙂
Saw the Detroit show of this tour. Perfect. His band, and the Webb sisters, along with Sharon Robinson are indeed sublime.
I saw that tour at Manchester Opera House in 2008 and it was truly one of the great nights of my life
Now I have a new favorite Leonard Cohen song. Man that guy= genius. Alleluia!!!!
Magical and unique.
I've always enjoyed Leonard's voice and his points of view. He's just fabulous. I really like his song, "I'm Your Man." I think that is the song that was playing when I "met" Leonard. Thanks for your reaction, Harri.... Take care and be well. Peace.
That was also the album where I was reintroduced to him. As with so many of my favourites, I preferred him in his later years, starting with that album.
Great man. Didn’t find his music till a few years. Love most of his songs
I was introduced to the genius of Leonard Cohen through the talented singing of Rod McKuen and Glnn Yarbrough. What a pleasure listening to all three were. So sad that all three are gone now.
I did not like him when i first heard him in his younger days. Seemed to dwell on sadness, loss and bitterness despite the quality of his songs and music. But i reconnected with him in his last years and he really spoke to me through his music. Now i am a really old person, well into my 80s, and i understand more what he was telling us all about life.
I think music is his tower Leonard retreats to, to escape from the world. More powerto him i. This is my first rime hearing this great song Harri. Bravo !
Surprisingly, Cohen began his career as a poet and novelist during the 1950s and early 1960s, and did not begin a music career until 1967. His poetry is very evident in much of his music. He has always been one of my favorites.
You got it. Great video!
Being a lover of ladies, and them responding to his natural charms and a great poet and writer, along with his life long career in music, his audience responds. He has often laid bare his soul in that tower of song, almost as worshipping there, is his alter. I'd you listen to his early versions of Hallelujah, Suzanne, etc and him at this age, his voice was smooth, but still smooth but grittier , deeper in age, as many of us do. This was the time of last live concerts, but he smoked all his life giving an even grittier voice. I think he is looking up at his predecessors as if to say I hear you, and I will be with you all then, but still loving life, and writing, with beauty as his muse, and questioning all authority or those who like to think they are over us. He was born in Canada, and was born to be poet on love, beauty, music.
The ladies always loved him, and his poetry and Boice. He gifted so much to us.
Hi Harri .... always great to hear and see your reaction to so many tunes. Leonard has a great tune called 'Democracy" It sure makes you think, especially the way things have been going on in the US. Keep 'em coming!
He was truly a legend and the words......
The music critics always critiqued his voice - saying stuff like he sings flat, etc, etc, - so I think he’s saying that *despite* of his inability to sing properly, he’s been placed in the tower of song.
But loved your reaction. Cohen is certainly one of the best song writers ever. Along with Dylan. Some prefer Dylan, others Cohen. I can never make up my mind. But I definitely listen to Cohen more. Anyway, he wrote and sang up until he died. And I highly recommend his last 3 albums. As well as “Songs of Love and Hate”, “The Future” and really just all of his albums.
Thank you man. I will enjoy his work with you if you keep exploring his music.
LC was a word and music genius. He wrote Hallelujah, Closing Time, Dance me to the End of Love. Etc. Thanx for this Hari
Cohen started his decades-long career as a poet and author. He actually had to be pushed into singing his own songs. He had a strange and parapatetic life. Born in Montreal, as a young man, he lived on a Greek island with a group of ex-pat artists, coming back to Canada for a few months, then back to Greece. Lived for many years as a Buddhist monk. After leaving the monastery, his son convinced him to start recording and performing again and this performance was during that period.
I think his returning to performing after his period in the monastary had more to do with the fact that he then discovered that his 'trusted' manager and 'friend' had embezzled all his money and he was now penniless that forced him back on the road.
One of the greatest
Good job, I am a big fan of Leonard Cohen RIP, may I also suggest two others---------Closing Time----------and--------Everybody Knows. Thanks
I couldn’t afford his show when he came back from the monastery. I’ll forever regret that.
What a brilliant soul!
Harri, bear in mind that for a decade before Leonard Cohen recorded his first album, he was already a published author and poet, so when he speaks of his "voice", it isn't necessarily the singer's voice; it is just as likely that he refers to his voice as a writer, poet and philosopher.
His debut album in 1967 contains two of his greatest poems of all time: "Suzanne" and "The Sisters of Mercy". I recommend that you listen to the original studio versions first. For the rest of his canon, I find that women's covers of Leonard's songs are better than his own, and better than most male-sung covers. kd lang, for example, every decade is filmed giving an ever-more astonishing rendition of "Hallelujah". Suzanne Vega gives the most haunting and soul-chilling version of "Song of Isaac".
Not to mention Judy Collins with "Suzanne."
I love most of his songs. Wish I’d found him years ago
I constantly marvel at the enormity of the Ibri who are such strong wordsmiths.
Cohen, Paul Simon, Carly Simon and Carol King, Michael Bolton, currently the great
Avi Kaplan and the list goes on and on. They have the ability to just write life on paper and put music to it.
Been waiting for reactors to get to Cohen. True greatness, indeed!
AMAZING!!
Canadian legend......
My picks for next up for Cohen would be "Dance Me to the End of Love" and "hallelujah". Hallelujah's been covered by many, and although I think K.D. Lang's live performance of it at the Juno awards is the best ever, there's nothing like hearing the original.
All his stuff is terrific! I’m partial to “Democracy” and “Everybody Knows”
At last someone mentions "Everybody Knows". The Dukhs do a version of this song with a more upbeat tempo
I saw Leonard in 2013 in Brisbane. I cried for about the first 20 minutes, I was so overcome by just being in the same environment as this man. He performed for 2 hrs and I will never forget it. RIP lovely man
He was adorable. Our national treasure in Canada. Brilliant man.
The production don't matters. Just listen to the poet
My favourite Cohen song ever.
I've enjoyed this man's music ever since I learned of him.
Your appreciation of his voice is similar to my own, in that you find it comforting, soothing, and relaxing. In my own mind, in addition to that however, I imagine that is what an old, wizened, bear would sound like when singing.
It's interesting to note though, that during an interview many years ago, he was asked about his voice. He said that to him, it "sounds like the bottom of an ashtray."
The best concert ever was when I seen him at Edinburgh Castle, it was simply an experience, in the rain too
One of.the greatest writers ever i was 9.whren i started listening to him broke my heart when he..died . Read his poems listen.to his.music..Debbie wales.U.k.
There was NO ONE like Leonard Cohen.
Leonard wrote, what I personally believe, one of the greatest poems of all time, he also sings it. Harri for Just your personal pleasure see the Poem / Song... A Thousand Kisses Deep.
I love Leonard Cohen who is a great poet. Most people always said that he didn't have a great singing voice BUT I would rather hear him sing his songs with the meaning and feeling he puts into it as the writer and creator than any other voice. But I urge you to also listen to The version of "Tower of song" that has Bon Jovi singing part of the song with him. I also love the original black and white videos of Leonard Cohen's "Closing Time" and "Dance Me To The end of Love" In "Dance Me to The end of Love " I finally realized that he is also in the initial scene as the dead body being covered up. enjoy!
Leonard...we love & miss you 🤟
Hank Williams was a heavy smoker and alcoholic but what a talent! His cough refers to the bad habits and early death. The golden voice is a self deprecating reference.
This is what he recited when they induced him to the RnR Hall of Fame)
I was very lucky that as a child Harri, I was exposed to Leonard as I fell asleep. My parents were just genius to introduce me to what has become a staple of my musical, writing and poetry taste.
I could listen to him read to me all day long.
LOVE Leonard Cohen
He was just as famous for his written poetry. Born in Canada, but spent a lot of his life living in Greece.