The Scattered Songs Collection

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YankovicGretzky
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The Scattered Songs Collection

Post by YankovicGretzky »

Leonard Cohen - The Scattered Songs Collection

01. 5:06 1974 Passing Through
02. 8:00 1987 Joan of Arc
03. 3:30 1990 Elvis' Rolls Royce
04. 7:15 1992 Eclipse
05. 5:01 1993 1999
06. 4:31 1993 Born To Lose
07. 5:04 1997 Never Any Good
08. 1:09 1997 The Great Event
09. 5:44 2006 Tower of Song
10. 5:00 2007 The Jungle Line
11. 3:09 2007 I Can't Make The Hills
12. 0:07 2007 You Go Your Way

TOTAL Running Time : 52:56


I'm just repeating myself here. I have 4 criterias for this CD. The first criteria is, tracks have to be previously released studio recorded songs that Leonard Cohen lent his voice to on other musicians' albums. Those songs include: Passing Through (with Earl Scruggs, Joan Baez, Buffy Saint-Marie, Ramblin' Jack Elliot, The Pointer Sisters and Billy Joel), Joan of Arc (with Jennifer Warnes), Elvis' Rolls Royce (with Was (Not Was), Eclipse (Charles Mingus Tribute), 1999 (with Paul Shaffer), Born To Lose (with Elton John), Tower of Song (with U2), and The Jungle Line (with Herbie Hancock). Original songs and remakes included. The second criteria is, tracks of previously unreleased, newly written and recorded songs that were included on the More Best Of CD: Never Any Good & The Great Event. The third criteria is that the songs cannot be live recordings of any kind, whether previously released or not previously released. The fourth criteria is that the tracks on the CD cannot be previously unreleased studio recorded songs that no one knows. Those are being released on the remastered Leonard Cohen/Legacy CDs. I would also include the tracks that Leonard Cohen performs on on Phillip Glass' Book of Longing CD, I Can't Make the Hills and You Go Your Way.

This CD would serve as an official and complete historical record (a reference; a catalog) of all of the Leonard Cohen songs that are not available on any of his studio albums. All together on one CD. This way fans of his music would not have to go out and spend money buying all of the original albums that these songs came from just so they can hear one song from each album. Also, they wouldn't have to download them illegally. This CD would also be great for new fans and future fans of Leonard Cohen. Not only will they know all of Leonard Cohen's classic songs from his studio albums, but they will also know all the songs from other artists' albums that Leonard Cohen lent his voice to. So what if the songs are not that great or compatible! Fans will have a complete picture of Leonard Cohen's career: the good, the bad, and the ugly.

The booklet for the CD will include the lyrics and the credits for each one of the songs, with the names of each one of the original ablums that the songs came from. Plus, the story behind each song and how Leonard Cohen got involved with each one of them.
Last edited by YankovicGretzky on Tue Feb 05, 2008 3:57 pm, edited 11 times in total.
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jarkko
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Post by jarkko »

I would add "Do I have to dance all night"
It was just a vinyl single in Europe (1976) with "The butcher" on the other side.
I don't think the songs Y mentions can and will be used.

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Post by YankovicGretzky »

UPDATED!
Last edited by YankovicGretzky on Fri Oct 05, 2007 9:31 pm, edited 3 times in total.
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Post by tomsakic »

Do I Have To Dance All Night / The Butcher is live recording (Paris, June 1976), but nevertheles, it's only official Cohen record that was never re-issued on CD!
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Post by YankovicGretzky »

Live recordings don't count.
They sentenced me to twenty years of boredom
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Post by YankovicGretzky »

jarkko wrote:I don't think the songs Y mentions can and will be used.
How come you don't think they can be used? What would stop it from happening? Is it because the songs are all from different record companies? That shouldn't be a problem as long as they all get credited in the CD booklet. Compilations happen all the time.

What if someone were to make a movie and wanted to use those songs in the movie and include them all together on the soundtrack?
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jarkko
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Post by jarkko »

Have you heard the duet with Elton John? It's a track that never should be used as a bonus on any Cohen album! :wink: The Great Event and Never Any Good are not unreleased songs and unusable therefore.
Sony has no rights to Elvis's Rolls Royce and the recent duet with Bono, besides they are too recent for the first albums.

The extra tracks have to come from about the same year(s) than the original album. This means that bonuses for three first albums should be recorded around 1968-1971. It would be a surprise if there is some unreleased studio stuff in their archives from that era. If not, I guess live versions of the same songs is the only option. Perhaps some other solutions will be considered, too (like separate give-aways). As far as I know no decisions have been made yet.
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Post by YankovicGretzky »

But it would work if a director or producer of a new movie wanted to include all 5 of those songs on the soundtrack for the movie, right?

The record company that produces the soundtrack would just have to get the permission from the record company that each one of the five songs belongs to, right?

In other words, it would be possible to get these 5 songs together on one CD if they are wanted for a movie soundtrack because the CD is named after the movie.
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Post by YankovicGretzky »

So, what you are saying is, Leonard Cohen's record company would never want to get the rights to put these 10 songs together on one CD and release it just for the hell of it! Just so they can be together on one CD. But they could legally do it, right? It is possible.

Sony doesn't want to do it, but someone else could, if the songs are being used under the guise of a movie soundtrack, named after the movie?

There's no stopping them if they get permission and pay?
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jarkko
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Post by jarkko »

In theory using all the songs (or any songs by any artist) in a movie - or putting them on an album - would be possible IF all parties involved give their permissions and get paid. [Probably that would be an effort itself! :P ]. The main question is, why somebody would like to create this kind of an album with so incompatible tracks!?
Personally I'd prefer a video bonus - with all the song videos. For the first albums a DVD of "I'm a Hotel" would be great - it makes use of many of the early songs. In fact this is what I have suggested the Sony people.
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Post by YankovicGretzky »

UPDATED!
Last edited by YankovicGretzky on Fri Oct 05, 2007 9:31 pm, edited 2 times in total.
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Post by YankovicGretzky »

jarkko wrote:The main question is, why somebody would like to create this kind of an album with so incompatible tracks!?
This CD would serve as an official and complete historical record (a reference; a catalog) of all of the Leonard Cohen songs that are not available on any of his studio albums. All together on one CD. This way fans of his music would not have to go out and spend money buying all of the original albums that these songs came from just so they can hear one song from each album. Also, they wouldn't have to download them illegally. This CD would also be great for new fans and future fans of Leonard Cohen. Not only will they know all of Leonard Cohen's classic songs from his studio albums, but they will also know all the songs from other artists' albums that Leonard Cohen lent his voice to. So what if the songs are not that great or compatible! Fans will have a complete picture of Leonard Cohen's career: the good, the bad, and the ugly.

The booklet for the CD will include the lyrics and the credits for each one of the songs, with the names of each one of the original ablums that the songs came from. Plus, the story behind each song and how Leonard Cohen got involved with each one of them, especially, Elvis' Rolls Royce, Born To Lose, and Tower of Song. But of course, Leonard would have to sing on the albums of other artists 4 more times before he dies, or there won't be enough songs to get this CD produced.
Last edited by YankovicGretzky on Fri Oct 05, 2007 9:33 pm, edited 5 times in total.
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Post by hydriot »

What about Priests? I've only ever heard this sung by Judy Collins, but since it appears in his song-book I rather assumed he must have recorded it in the studio at some time and it just got left out of the final cut.
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Post by tomsakic »

"Priests" are big question and I'm keeping my fingers crossed that the song will be released on new Songs Of Leonard Cohen expanded remaster. Nobody knows what Sony has preserved in its archives.
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Post by tomsakic »

Yankovic,

I myself am thinking about this idea for a very long time, and I even plan to make fan-bootleg which I was thinking to title "Lost Songs" as "Rare Songs" is already used and circulating around.

Some of the songs in consideration (the existance of italicised titles is under question):

(1968) Priests (Songs From A Room outtake)
(1971) Sing Another Song Boys (original studio version)
(1972) Chelsea Hotel #1
(1976) Do I Have To Dance All Night? (unreleased studio version)
(1976) Everybody's Child (unreleased, performed only live in 1976)
(1976) Storeroom (unreleased, performed live in 1976)
(1979) Billy Sunday aka The Blues by the Jews
(1979) Misty Blue (Recent Songs outtake)


These songs are available in good live recordings, and maybe some of them even in studio cuts (Chelsea, Billy Sunday?)

There's an audience recording of "Guerrero" (early version of "Iodine") and "Don't Go Home With Your Hard On" - both to *different* melodies than those released on Death of a Ladies' Man. So they're quite of interest for us. In 1979 tour "Thirsty for the Kiss" was performed - that's early, different melodical version of "Heart With No Companion". It's probably available because it was performed in London in December 1979 - the show which was used for Field Commander Cohen CD.

Except "Priests" (recorded by Judy Collins), there's also information that Leonard in 1967 performed "God Is Alive Magic is Afoot", which was recorded by Buffy St Marie.

Those are only songs written by Cohen - there are also live covers, like 1988 great cover of Elvis' Can't Help Falling in Love With You, recorded from audience in Oslo and probably there's no official soundboard available for release. There are also nice performances of Be Gees' To Love Somebody (in 1980) and Red River Valley (1970s).


Links of interest:

Rare Live Songs:
http://www.leonardcohenlive.com/rareliv ... esongs.htm

Leonard's Live Improvisations:
http://www.leonardcohenlive.com/rareliv ... ations.htm

Unreleased & abandoned 1975 album Songs for Rebecca:
http://www.leonardcohenlive.com/storeroom/rebecca.htm

Leonard Cohen's Outtakes:
http://www.leonardcohenlive.com/storeroom.htm

&

Rare Live Songs - double fan-bootleg CD in mp3 format, hosted by ~greg:
http://www.twoshakesofalambstail.com/st ... index.html
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