Along the way... Discovering Leonard's albums

General discussion about Leonard Cohen's songs and albums
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vlcoats
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Re: Along the way ... Discovering Leonard's Albums. continued...

Post by vlcoats »

B4real wrote: Fri Jun 16, 2017 2:51 amThere's every chance we haven't heard the last of LC - see here:
viewtopic.php?f=5&t=37221&hilit=back#p364269
This must be the 'omega' kind of stuff of which you speak! As bittersweet as the near-end of this first leg of my journey is, I am very excited to check out the rest of the forum,the live albums, and the DVDs I have waiting when I finish the studio albums.

About Humbled in Love, you have me wondering if there were other songs that he chose to leave out of his live performances (besides those on his final albums of course). I remember 4 saying something about not hearing one of my very favorites (The Stranger Song) live in his later concerts, but to NEVER play a recorded song live is interesting considering how carefully he chose the songs he recorded in the studio.

I liked the quote you shared about LC being confused by his own work. I wonder if that frustrated him or maybe he felt like us- that to pick it apart would destroy it. You mentioned you are an artist. I'd like to hear more on that, like for how long and what style/subject matter attracts you the most?

4--- As for my final exam on "Intro to Leonard Cohen", if I were to grade myself, I would give myself an A for effort, and C for comprehension. You have made the final 3 albums sound very interesting! I am very excited to open Old Ideas.

I have just received my new headphones, and they are amazing! What a difference in listening to Dear Heather! I didn't receive a formal musical education growing up, and I may never know what true studio sound is, but I was definitely raised with a layman's appreciation for music, and in my mind these headphones do what they are advertised to do and the closest I will come to studio sound. They are awesome. My husband told me he is resigned to the fact that he has now lost me to Leonard for good. (Thankfully, he is an indulgent guy and finds my antics amusing.)

Thanks!
Vickie
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Re: Along the way ... Discovering Leonard's Albums. continued...

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Favorite part of my day? Taking my nephew roller skating for his first time and amidst disco ball lights and summer school crowds of children.... hearing Hallelujah appear over the sound system on the heels of Lady Gaga's Poker Face!... Golden!
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Re: Along the way ... Discovering Leonard's Albums. continued...

Post by B4real »

:lol: Vickie, that last post of yours made me laugh out loud!

And of course you know your journey has but yet begun! Glad your new headphones sound truly excellent!

With studio songs not played in concert there are possibly 33 not counting the last two studio albums. You know, all of the songs from the Dear Heather album were not played in concert either, with the exception of the last live track Tennessee Waltz which was played in many 1985 concerts. Probably varying reasons for some songs to make it live and others not. A few of thoughts immediately come to mind are that LC considered the words and/or musical arrangements weren’t suitable to the concert environment or they were just too personal for him to sing to a large audience ....Or he didn’t like them .... :)

And seeing as you like LC quotes, here’s a few more on the subject of how he feels about the meanings and understanding of his work. The first two sentences below relate to that last quote in my previous post - those four lines you will hear for yourself, apparently very clearly and very soon ;-)

“I think the truly write of poetry transmits a certain kind of wisdom that we don't have, but to which we are only the way. When I penetrate into the slow and painful writing of a song, there are certain realities bigger and better than me that manifests and I don't command anymore. The rest is only my personal, foolish and chaotic life.
I don’t think my writing has got personal enough yet. I think it has some way to go before it gets really personal. When it’s really personal everybody understands it. There’s a middle ground which is just unzipping and self-indulgence but when you really tell the truth people immediately perceive that.”


Cohen says he abides by only one maxim in his writing - to always honour the difference between just a cry and a piece of work:
"A cry of pain in itself is just that; it can affect you or you can turn away from it. But a piece of work that treats the experience that produced the cry of pain is a different matter altogether. The cry is transformed, alchemised, by the work by a certain objectivity which doesn't surrender the emotion but gives it form. That's the difference between life and art."

“If I didn’t have a large public, I would still sing, because I think that everybody understands the songs. We don’t understand perfectly what we say to each other in words, but we always understand each other. And it’s the same way with my songs. The texts are sometimes difficult, but even when you sit with somebody and you listen to them speak about their lives, you can’t follow the meaning from word to word or from sentence to sentence. But something else comes through; something of the person himself or herself comes through. And so it is with my work, although the meaning of each line may be obscure.”

The interpretations placed on Cohen's songs vary from listener to listener. What people make of his songs often surprises him:
"But the songs are empty, and you can put into them what you want to put into them.”

I’ve also heard him describe his words as ice cubes :)

Vickie wrote: You mentioned you are an artist. I'd like to hear more on that, like for how long and what style/subject matter attracts you the most?
Ah Vickie, I was born with a crayon in my left hand! Ever since I can remember I have drawn or painted. Also I have been professionally involved in the art industry most of my working life. I’m since retired and now playing the violin is competing with my artwork for my attention! Because I’ve been doing art for so long it doesn’t matter what style or subject matter I do. The effect I want to create usually dictates how and what I use to get that. I have an eclectic taste with art as I do with music. I have been an art teacher, art consultant, bought and sold original art (including my own), prints, art materials and framed of all types of works of art so that may account for it. But I can say that the latest art I have completed are my portraits of Leonard that I’m incorporating into a book I’m very slowly compiling, some shown here and some still works in progress for the internal pages: viewtopic.php?f=11&t=36625

Since I joined the forum, for LC’s birthday most years I gave him a portrait of himself. One of those, a pencil portrait, was fortunate to be chosen for the back cover graphic of a several pages “Thank you LC” card given to him for the 2008-10 tour. The card pages included personal thank yous that many members wrote to him for all the concerts etc. viewtopic.php?f=3&t=23296&hilit=thank+y ... 75#p260491

Still on that same “subject matter”, I was fortunate to win (shared with two others) first prize in the logo design competition to celebrate the 20 years anniversary of The LC Files. Mine is the first one in order, the oval design: viewtopic.php?f=3&t=36235

I am so grateful for this and I treasure the special gift with personalised words Leonard sent to me for being one of the winners. Such a comforting feeling to me now when I look at it and read those words.
It doesn't have to be perfect, it just has to B4real ~ me
Attitude is a self-fulfilling prophecy ~ me ...... The magic of art is the truth of its lies ~ me ...... Only left-handers are in their right mind!
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Re: Along the way ... Discovering Leonard's Albums. continued...

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Oh B4, your art of Leonard is beautiful. I especially loved the image that looks like it's from the Isle of Wight concert. I love your style. Thank you so much for sharing a little of your art. It appears you deserve to have received a personal thank you from him. I would say you are so lucky to have received that personal note from him, but you earned it, so luck doesn't play into it much. I couldn't find the drawing you did for him for his birthday in the link you shared though (did I miss something?). You say you also play the violin. No wonder you like Raffi so much! I do envy those with enough natural talent to make a living with their art, but I am not so naive to think it comes without sweat and tears and practice. Kudos to you!

I love the LC quotes also. Especially the one that talks about unzipping. When I was attending massage classes several years ago, we were taught to actually go through a pantomime of zipping up from crotch to neck before beginning a massage when we wanted to create boundaries with clients and unzipping when we wanted to help them to relax. I have used the trick of zipping up before job interviews and presentations whenever I wanted to be 'pulled together' and on my game. Likewise, I will unzip at times I want to stop buzzing about and settle down or before going out to see my donkeys.

I also liked the quote about how even when you don't follow exactly what someone means word for word, something of the person comes through and you understand that.

Not sure about the words being ice cubes? I am guessing it means something like once they are out there, they change form and fill whatever void surrounds them. ??

Thanks again for sharing!
Vickie
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Re: Along the way ... Discovering Leonard's Albums. continued...

Post by B4real »

Thanks Vickie, for your kind words – much appreciated! I received plentiful pleasure from doing those portraits! And yes, you are right about the Isle of Wight one. It was actually my very first portrait of Leonard and it was done for him to commemorate the new DVD release of that occasion. I make my own handmade pastels directly from pure pigments etc. and I used them to draw/paint that portrait. All the images (inc my pencil drawing) from the “thank you book” were posted in that thread but for some reason they are not accessible now – it just says “image” where they were and when I tried to open it in a new tab it says "file not found". Nevermind.

Yes, I did say I play the violin and I use that term rather loosely – I’m always learning and that’s a good thing! If I was a fraction as skilled as Raffi (and Alex) I would be happy! I loved watching Alex playing his violin during the last years of the world tour – so glad Leonard finally found the type of violinist he was looking for.

And that’s a good suggestion about the ice cubes! Ha! Even Leonard was speculating about what he said!
Here’s his full quote From Leonard Cohen: Pondering His Past and ‘The Future’ by Scott Crawford, Intermission, Stanford Daily on 8th April 1993 -

“I like the metaphor, and I’m not sure what it means, but it seems to be right, that I feel my work is like ice cubes in a drink. It just changes the drink. Even though the songs are dense and carefully worked out, it’s very difficult to say exactly what they mean or stand for. But like the taste of cold water, it’s refreshing.”


Now I’ll leave you listen with your new headphones to the Old Ideas album :)
It doesn't have to be perfect, it just has to B4real ~ me
Attitude is a self-fulfilling prophecy ~ me ...... The magic of art is the truth of its lies ~ me ...... Only left-handers are in their right mind!
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Re: Along the way ... Discovering Leonard's Albums. continued...

Post by AlanM »

vlcoats wrote: Fri Jun 16, 2017 4:43 pm I have just received my new headphones, and they are amazing!
Hi Vickie, I've been following your adventure closely.
Try listening in the dark.
Other than being at a concert, I feel this is the best way to listen to Leonard.
Let your mind wander wherever it will, don't concentrate too much on the lyrics initially, you will absorb them.

Alan
Too much Leonard Cohen is never enough.
London 1972, Adelaide 1980, 1985, 2009
Sydney 2010; Adelaide 2010
Sydney 2013 X2; Melbourne 2013; Adelaide 2013
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Re: Along the way ... Discovering Leonard's Albums. continued...

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its4inthemorning wrote: To me the last three studio albums seem to have a lot in common….. I know you will like what you hear.
I would say you have gotten to know me pretty well in this regard!
As you would guess, I am thrilled with Old Ideas, to put it mildly. (!!)
Likewise, I doubt if it comes as any surprise that Darkness is my very favorite. As soon as I heard the opening guitar, it had me. And the lyrics got me too… his voice when he sings “…Just drink it up” is so awesome.
Or maybe my favorite is Crazy to Love You (I know…again with the guitar) I loved the lyrics where he sings about wanting to head for the highway and “I’m old and the mirrors don’t lie”. I appreciate how he repeated my favorite line, “Her braids and her blouse all undone”, but of course the song is much too short.
I am also in love with the song Lullaby. This one might have something to do with the fact that as I was listening to it for the first time, I was lying on my back under some pine trees with my new headphones on and a few white clouds passing overhead. It was the perfect setting for that song, and for the entire album.
These are just my first impressions though, and I know I will have even more favorites on this one.

(Thank you especially for your Old Ideas, Mr. Cohen)

AlanM wrote: Try listening in the dark.
Alan, it’s funny that you would say this, because I stumbled into this on my own just yesterday! So far, I have listened to each album for the first time while driving alone in the car on my way to work. I take a quiet highway along the river surrounded by fields and hills, so it’s peaceful and the perfect time to listen without interruptions. But now that summer is here, I don’t have much opportunity to drive in the car by myself (I am on break until August), so for my first hearing of Old Ideas, I just put on my headphones and found a quiet spot to lie down and close my eyes. Not exactly dark, but the same idea. And YES, you are absolutely right; it is the perfect way to listen to him. It has always felt like he is right next to me when I listen to him, but now it sounds like he is really there too. No doubt the headphones help with that. I also need to pay strict attention to your recommendation to let my mind wander and not concentrate too much on the lyrics. I sometimes have a hard time letting my mind wander without grabbing a hold of something. This is probably why I have never been very successful with meditation. But, I will certainly try.

Thanks again everyone for your feedback! I don’t have to tell you how special this all is for me.
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Re: Along the way ... Discovering Leonard's Albums. continued...

Post by B4real »

vlcoats wrote: Mon Jun 19, 2017 5:03 pm Thanks again everyone for your feedback! I don’t have to tell you how special this all is for me.
Vickie
As I've said before, this has been a healing process for me and a pleasure to help here in some way.

Firstly, I thought I’d add this LC quote to the previous ones about how he feels about his words because he’s also quoting Bob Dylan which I thought you might like :) It’s from The LC Files – LC Looks Back On The Past 2005.

“'Something is happening', as Dylan says, 'but you don’t know what it is, do you Mr. Jones'. So that’s the way I feel. So what is happening or what has happened to me or my writing or my lyrics, I’m not interested in the explanation, even my own, I’m only interested in the feeling that is just answering the appetite to describe moments and feelings that somehow has not been described in what is available".

Just after saying that, he quotes some lines from Crazy To Love You, so he’s had them together this way for at least seven years before they were recorded:
"I had to go crazy to love you, I had to go down to the pit, I had to go crazy to love you, I had to let everything fall. I had to be people I hated, I had to be no one at all. Tired of choosing desire, I’ve been saved by a blessed fatigue, the gates of commitment unwired and nobody trying to leave".

This song was only sung live a couple of times. Here it is at Ghent on the first night of the 2012 OI tour:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GzFANFG4Di8

Darkness was originally called The Darkness and a lot of people still refer to it that way. Ha! I knew that intro would suck you in right away! It was played at a lot of concerts with varying versions before and after OI album was released:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KkWMqs67Lhw
Nashville 2009

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QA8hE1CJmJo
Lille 2010

Just for comparison here's LC without his guitar singing Darkness at Quebec 2012 -
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nvzXH5bdHHg

My favourite is Amen. I love the violin played here by Robert Korda. You may have noticed in the CD liner notes that he has OBM after his name. Remember one of my previous posts saying that term is a Jewish custom used when referring to someone who has passed away. This song was recorded when he was still alive and released here after his death.
Here’s Amen at Ghent on the second night of the 2012 OI tour with Alex on violin: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9k0hSdvlKcg

Lullaby on the album is very different to the earlier versions sung live at the concerts.
Here are a couple of them from 2009:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fUjVhQc1aIY
audio only and the first time it was played in public

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=InQ69VP182s
another version

There is at least another version but no link available.

Enjoy!
It doesn't have to be perfect, it just has to B4real ~ me
Attitude is a self-fulfilling prophecy ~ me ...... The magic of art is the truth of its lies ~ me ...... Only left-handers are in their right mind!
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Re: Along the way ... Discovering Leonard's Albums. continued...

Post by vlcoats »

B4-
I am glad to hear that this is helping you process and heal. Such a loss everyone here has been going through I know.

You are right that I loved the quote with mention of Dylan :) Mostly, I like hearing Leonard's own take on his writing. However, how would he know whether or not what he is describing has never been described before unless he had somehow exhausted every avenue to find it-- which is of course impossible. Regardless, there is no way anyone could describe what he is feeling or thinking but himself. Everyone has their own unique take on things, it's just that so few of us are able to express things in a way that reaches anyone at all. Lucky for us, he was so very good at it.

Thank you for the links. I especially loved the first two Darkness videos with him on guitar. Such a great song. The more I hear it, the more I like it. Funny that it was once called The Darkness; that's how I typed it by accident when I was writing about it earlier So many of his song titles start with "The", that I have to check each song before I write about it!

All your great YouTube links have prompted me to call our satellite internet people to see if we can get an upgrade, and we are in luck. They have upgraded their satellites to a 'new' generation of service, so it should improve our speed some, although it will never be as fast as regular internet. I love living out in the country, but every once in a while, I would trade a little of this solitude for better internet!

I have been reading "Leonard Cohen Prophet of the Heart" by Dorman and Rawlins. It is slower going for me than the Simmons biography. Maybe it is the writing style, or maybe they are being too intellectual for me, but I am only about 1/2 way through. There is one thing I was curious about though regarding Leonard and Marianne. They give one of the reasons that he and Marianne never took their relationship further as "no Cohen can marry a divorced woman...". I was wondering how true that is. Not that any of you necessarily know, it was his business alone, but I have wondered about their relationship often. Was it because she was not only a gentile but also divorced or was it just because of time and space which can erode any relationship (especially in the young)? Or maybe it was all the temptations in his life. Or hers? I know it is none of my beeswax, but I have always been a sucker for a good love story. It would make a great movie. And then there was Suzzane Elrod. It will be interesting to see how Dorman and Rawlins explain that one.

Back to the music... I love that I have finally caught up to his later years so I can start watching the videos on YouTube once in awhile and am starting to feel that maybe it is time to watch one of the DVDs that I have been waiting to open. I have Songs From the Road and Live in London. Any suggestions on which to open first? I don't think I will be ready for the next CD for a bit, but would like to see him perform some of the songs I have been listening to all this time... after all, if I were smart enough to heed my inner voice years ago, I would have been able to see him perform live around the time that Old Ideas was released. (if only, if only...)

Thank you again.
Vickie
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Re: Along the way ... Discovering Leonard's Albums. continued...

Post by its4inthemorning »

Good morning,

I find that I am now checking this thread out on an almost daily basis, I guess like B4 said, it's a way of healing.

B4, thank you for the wealth of information you provide, especially the quotes. Never saw the LC quote with the Bob Dylan "Mr. Jones" reference. Highway 61 Revisited is my favorite Dylan album and the only one I have. Many good songs there besides Ballad of a Thin Man (Mr. Jones) including Queen Jane Approximately, It Takes a Lot to Laugh it Takes a Train to Cry, and Desolation Row. I am impressed with your artistic endeavors, maybe it is jealousy because I am just not wired to to create art. To me the technicalities of music such as being able to even read it much less playing an instrument are as alien to my nature as being fluent in in Swahili.

Alan, it is nice to see someone else is following this thread, please chime in more. Actually I wish more people would, I am sure many out there have more meaningful and interesting things to say than I do.

Re Old Ideas, just listened to it again and these lyrics struck me:

From Going Home, of course "He's a lazy bastard living in a suit." Given the efforts he put into his craft, I always thought this was his wry sense of humor coming across. But then, LC was a strong critic of himself, so maybe he felt he could have created more had he tried harder. In any case, when he sang that lyric in concert, it always drew laughs from the audience.

Also from Going Home is the enigmatic "Brief elaboration of a tube." Many have theorized what this means, but none of those explanations ever satisfied me. A mystery that will never be solved.

Amen is chock full of interesting lyrics, I love "The laws of remorse are restored."

In Show Me the Place he says, "A thread of light, a particle, a wave." I recall from physics courses that there are two theories about light, the particle theory which treats light as if it consisted of a stream of particles like atoms, and the wave theory which explains light as if it were waves, such as what you see when you throw a rock into a pond. These theories must have been where that lyric came from. LC, in the midst of composing a song about life and love and faith, drops in a zinger from Physics 1!

From Darkness we have "I said is it contagious? You just said drink it up." He could have labored for ten years and not come up with a better way to say that.

All of the songs on Old Ideas are strong ones, but my favorites are the first four (Going Home, Amen, Show Me the Place, and Darkness) and the last one (Different Sides).

Vickie, I see from my Astronomy magazine that you are due for a treat this summer. On August 21, there will be a solar eclipse (moon crossing between earth and sun) which will be visible in certain areas of the US. According to eclipse maps, you will see a 94% eclipse (94% of the sun will be masked). Be sure to follow guidelines for viewing safely to avoid eye damage.

4
2010 DECEMBER 10 - CAESARS COLOSSEUM, LAS VEGAS / 2012 SEPTEMBER 28 - L'OLYMPIA, PARIS
2012 OCTOBER 3 - PALAU SANT JORDI, BARCELONA / 2012 DECEMBER 13 - K-ROCK CENTRE, KINGSTON
2013 APRIL 6 - RADIO CITY MUSIC HALL, NEW YORK CITY / 2013 JULY 9 - PIAZZA NAPOLEONE, LUCCA
2017 NOVEMBER 4-8 - MONTREAL "TOWER OF SONG" CELEBRATION - RIP, YOU GOT ME SINGING!
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Re: Along the way ... Discovering Leonard's Albums. continued...

Post by vlcoats »

Thank you 4!

I love your feedback as always. it's interesting to see what songs others find significant and why. I see you like the same lyrics on Darkness as I do. I missed the physics reference in Show Me the Way. I guess I was always more into biology and chemistry, but I appreciate the insight you shared. As for the tube line in Going Home, that one had me wondering what the heck he meant also. When I am ready to really explore the rest of the forum, I will have to check that out to see what other people said about it.

Also glad to hear that you enjoy Highway 61. It is definitely an awesome album. I have often been asked what Dylan album is my favorite. Depending on how I'm feeling I might give a different reply but I can never narrow it down to less than two or three.

I am looking forward to the eclipse. I remember seeing one, or at least it was near to one, years and years ago when I was living in Seattle barely out of high school. I was working at a furniture shop and we all put down our tools and walked outside. Nobody asked the bosses. We just did it. I remember how eerie it was when it got dark like after dusk in the middle of the day and so quiet except for a dog barking. I still can hear that. And don't worry, I will do what they say to protect my eyes.

Thanks for sharing! I'm glad you are contributing to this thread.
Edited to add this PS... Like you 4, I am somewhat jealous of those who can create or even read music, however appreciation of music is a talent all its own, don't you think? And we can count ourselves lucky in receiving that in spades!
Vickie
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Re: Along the way ... Discovering Leonard's Albums. continued...

Post by B4real »

Vickie,
Even though I too live in the country and by the sea a few months ago I installed a new very fast internet service and it’s excellent. I hope your new satellite service will be faster as well.

I haven’t looked anything up yet about Leonard and Marianne but I think they simply slowly drifted apart regardless of religion. Having said that this poem, Days of Kindness on the last page of Stranger Music comes immediately to mind. Actually it’s quite appropriate to post it now because of the Hydra dedications for Leonard at the moment. He’s reminiscing in this poem about his time at Hydra with Marianne and maybe the reason why they parted. It may be just a poem but I feel there’s a certain truth in it.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GxyEN9ddQyw

EDIT: I just remembered reading what Leonard said about their parting in the same interview with the Bob Dylan quote:
“I don’t remember how we split up, somehow we just moved and we just separated. The periods of separations became longer and longer, and then somehow it collapsed. Kind of weightlessly, like ashes falling. There was no confrontation, there was no discussion, in fact I don’t remember how it happened. She was in Oslo, I was in New York struggling to make a living, and she was, I suppose, struggling to find some sort of situation, to take care of the child, and the distances grew and grew until we were leading different lives.”

Back to Recent Songs album and The Gypsy’s Wife. Suzanne Elrod was the inspiration for this song written when they were starting to go their separate ways. The same situation applies for the poem he recites here Slowly I Married Her from DOALM where she was the muse for many other poems in this book. This clip is part of a link I posted back then – The Song of LC 1979 by Harry Rasky. I’ve always loved this clip and the whole film is a favourite of mine!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H2byWWMmf20

EDIT: Possibly you couldn’t get two different ways of LC's parting between the two women but here’s a comparable association. The one above a simmering volcanic eruption and the first one soft ashes falling!

As regards the live albums – I suggest watching Live In London first because it was filmed in 2008, the first year of the last epic tour. Then watch Songs From The Road which is a compilation from 2008-09. Keeps everything in a chronological time line.

4,
Thanks so much for your kind words about my postings (I hope the Jikan ones enjoy them too ;-) ) and my art! About the latter, I think if anyone has an overwhelming desire or need to do anything they will find a way for that to become a reality – whether it’s painting a picture, playing a musical instrument or discovering new science or physics formulas. You just have to want it bad enough and be focused and tunnel-visioned and it will happen! Ha! yes, I did say recently on the forum I was an optimist!

And to both of you, speaking of Eclipse - that's one of my favourite songs from John Denver -
here with vision of eclipses and sunsets: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YBt2QuR2vd4

....told you I had an eclectic taste in music :)

btw - still on planetary alignments, it's the Winter Solstice here today.
It doesn't have to be perfect, it just has to B4real ~ me
Attitude is a self-fulfilling prophecy ~ me ...... The magic of art is the truth of its lies ~ me ...... Only left-handers are in their right mind!
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Re: Along the way ... Discovering Leonard's Albums. continued...

Post by its4inthemorning »

Just some odds and ends:

Thanks B4 for the poems by LC about ending relationships, Marianne wrote a book a few years ago about her relationship with LC which I found interesting, looking at things through her eyes. Maybe I will retrieve it from our bookshelves and post a passage or two. The whole business of Leonard communicating with her in her final days is very poignant.

In my mention of Dylan's Highway 61 Revisited, I forgot to mention one of its most memorable tracks, Like a Rolling Stone. When first released as a single it was truncated and omitted the final verses, they could only be heard by listening to the album. (I see there is evidently a way to edit one's post after it has been sent; how does one do that?)

Vickie, I agree with B4, you should now view your Live in London DVD. I will never understand how you had the discipline to put it aside this long, but the long wait will make the viewing experience even better. Watching that DVD was the act that reconnected me with LC after so many years. Like I said once before, you will sense that, on that night, there is no place on the planet that Leonard and his band would rather be. There is no doubt in my mind that Live in London will captivate you, the only question is, how many viewings will it take before you are able to put it aside. Will await your impressions, hope your husband enjoys it as well.

4
2010 DECEMBER 10 - CAESARS COLOSSEUM, LAS VEGAS / 2012 SEPTEMBER 28 - L'OLYMPIA, PARIS
2012 OCTOBER 3 - PALAU SANT JORDI, BARCELONA / 2012 DECEMBER 13 - K-ROCK CENTRE, KINGSTON
2013 APRIL 6 - RADIO CITY MUSIC HALL, NEW YORK CITY / 2013 JULY 9 - PIAZZA NAPOLEONE, LUCCA
2017 NOVEMBER 4-8 - MONTREAL "TOWER OF SONG" CELEBRATION - RIP, YOU GOT ME SINGING!
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vlcoats
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Location: Germany

Re: Along the way ... Discovering Leonard's Albums. continued...

Post by vlcoats »

B4-
Thank you for the video links! I loved hearing him recite Days of Kindness and talk about how he hopes the memories are good for the people he thinks about "from his spine". I also loved what he said in the second clip about the end of The Gypsy's Wife. I read somewhere that someone had said he was being hypocritical in the line "... he who comes between them will be judged", but I like how he explained it in your video link by saying even though a couple is in the midst of a psychic catastrophe, it's not an invitation to take advantage of it. That is so true and sadly happens all the time. The poem on that one was beautiful too. And he isn't bad to look at either, is he! I tried to search for the film "The Song of LC 1979" by Harry Rasky in hopes of finding a video I could order of it, but nope! I did see that it is on YouTube and that another awesome clip either you or 4 had shared (about "The Window") is part of that film as well.

How true what you said to 4 about if someone wants something badly enough, it will happen (regarding playing music or whatever). It isn't all talent or even desire is it? Hard work is always there waiting to see how serious we are about anything worth having. Thanks for the reminder (ugh!) :)

Yes, you are in winter now aren't you! I forget how far away you are. Amazing.
Thanks again!

Just saw you posted too 4! To edit your post afterwards, there is a little pencil looking icon right in front of the red exclamation mark at the top of your post. Just click on that and whatever you forgot to add or need to fix can happen! I will be watching Live in London first then!!

V
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B4real
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Location: Q'ld, Australia

Re: Along the way ... Discovering Leonard's Albums. continued...

Post by B4real »

vlcoats wrote: Wed Jun 21, 2017 4:51 pm I tried to search for the film "The Song of LC 1979" by Harry Rasky in hopes of finding a video I could order of it, but nope!
Vickie, if you haven't already seen it click on the forum link below and you can download it.
Hopefully your new satellite connection will allow that to happen.
Maarten has very kindly once again made it available until 2nd July.
viewtopic.php?f=12&t=9746&start=60#p365467
Last edited by B4real on Mon Jun 26, 2017 1:57 pm, edited 1 time in total.
It doesn't have to be perfect, it just has to B4real ~ me
Attitude is a self-fulfilling prophecy ~ me ...... The magic of art is the truth of its lies ~ me ...... Only left-handers are in their right mind!
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