Which is your favorite Leonard Cohen period?

General discussion about Leonard Cohen's songs and albums

Which is your favorite Leonard Cohen period?

The 1950s
2
2%
The 1960s
17
19%
The 1970s
27
30%
The 1980s
18
20%
The 1990s
9
10%
The 2000s
18
20%
 
Total votes: 91
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Yankovic
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Re: Which is your favorite Leonard Cohen period?

Post by Yankovic »

Hopefully we'll get all 66 votes back, and more!
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Yankovic
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Re: Which is your favorite Leonard Cohen period?

Post by Yankovic »

linda_lakeside wrote:Hmm.. Looks like 'collections' don't count - hence my 'cheating' with The Best of and Field Commander Cohen from the '70's - which, yes, contained a lot of 60's stuff. Still, I have to stay with '70's - Songs of Love and Hate and Recent Songs (maybe that's my 'collection' which my memory miscatted, being two very influential discs, for me. Very hard. After all, musically, we were introduced to Leonard with Master Songs and all those great tunes we never hear but in our own homes (except for the overly played Suzanne). I stand by my Vote! And I agree with you too, Flots, Love Itself was a great song - it saved TNS for me. Let's not even speak of 'Light as the Breeze' from The Future ... :) - Great album, great song.
They do count. I just didn't list them because all the songs are already available on the studio albums.
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Yorkshire Lad
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Re: Which is your favorite Leonard Cohen period?

Post by Yorkshire Lad »

You have requested that I vote again I suspect because my last post wasn't a proper vote . Well here goes. The decision is difficult but I will have to go with the 80's because "I'm your man " was the first album I ever bought so I have an affection to it and the very first words I heard Lenny sing were " They sentenced me to twenty years of boredom " Fantastic line !
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Re: Which is your favorite Leonard Cohen period?

Post by linda_lakeside »

Somewhat-nifty mentioned this, which I also used in my post "as it brought me Master Song. " - in my dotage my memory fades in and out. I meant Stranger Song and Master Poems - all rolled up in a big ball. I too, seem to be straddling the 60's and 70's ... OK. Enough about what/why/when and where I love you know who. Just wanted to clarify my previous clarifications.
~ The smell of perfume in the air, bits of beauty everywhere ~ Leonard Cohen.
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Re: Which is your favorite Leonard Cohen period?

Post by LindaB »

I voted the 70's because I first heard Leonard Cohen in 1970. I was 14 and to this day, I clearly remember the moment and the "boy" who introduced me to his music. Since then, I've loved everything about him.
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Yankovic
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Re: Which is your favorite Leonard Cohen period?

Post by Yankovic »

If you have not voted yet, please vote. I'm trying to get all 66 votes back.
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Yankovic
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Re: Which is your favorite Leonard Cohen period?

Post by Yankovic »

We still need the other 36 votes back.
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linda_lakeside
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Re: Which is your favorite Leonard Cohen period?

Post by linda_lakeside »

I think (sadly) that some of the people who were here at the time of the original poll have now left...???? Just a theory....
~ The smell of perfume in the air, bits of beauty everywhere ~ Leonard Cohen.
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Quasand
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Re: Which is your favorite Leonard Cohen period?

Post by Quasand »

Hard to believe anyone choosing the 50s with just one book. :roll:
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linda_lakeside
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Re: Which is your favorite Leonard Cohen period?

Post by linda_lakeside »

I can see it. If Let us Compare Mythologies was a book that 'moved' and 'excited' a person to the point that they could say "this book changed my life" - then the 50's might be the only choice. Some may prefer his poetry (sans music). Most of us like his discs, others may prefer his books. Me? I'll take it all. It was a tough decision to make.
~ The smell of perfume in the air, bits of beauty everywhere ~ Leonard Cohen.
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mat james
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Re: Which is your favorite Leonard Cohen period?

Post by mat james »

http://www.softshoe-slim.com/lists/c/cohen.html

A quick look at this site reveals that the 70's were the most productive in terms of albums published and I find the album "Recent Songs" alluring and hauntingly beautiful. It is pure, achingly rich honey for me.
The 70's songs won me over to "fan-hood" and Leonard often re-visits this productive period in later decades.
The 70's were the most productive in terms of albums, but the fertile thinking probably occurred during the 60's or late 50's.

The 70's make up over 1/3 of his output
They are all good decades, but the volcano blew in the 70's albums.
So, in the spirit of the ballot:

my vote is for the 70's albums. (if you hadn't guessed by now :oops: )
Last edited by mat james on Tue Mar 03, 2009 9:52 am, edited 1 time in total.
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linda_lakeside
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Re: Which is your favorite Leonard Cohen period?

Post by linda_lakeside »

I had a hard time 'because' much of the 70's had indeed found its seeds in the 60's, and prior. We know how Leonard works, and some more 'current' songs were found in embryonic form waaay back. So, I had a hard time straddling that line, but went with the 70's for the very reasons you spoke of. I was reading some of his earlier interviews, and the ideas which were 'birthed' during this period, had been there, in his mind, on the tip of his pen, in a drawer, for a very long time. Plus, he revisits the same themes over and over, esp. during this period. Hmm...I guess I already said that. Yet, now, when I drop in for tour info, I seldom give up the chance to open my maw as often as time will allow. 8)

* Good list you came up with - are we surprised that the production crew for DOALM is HUGE????
~ The smell of perfume in the air, bits of beauty everywhere ~ Leonard Cohen.
aaronblack
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Re: Which is your favorite Leonard Cohen period?

Post by aaronblack »

80's for me...

I'm Your Man and Various Positions are my 2 fav Cohen albums, though The Future comes close behind.

Of course, there are a couple of things that may have contributed a bias:

1. That music generally was so bad in the 80's, thus making Cohen's music seem even better
2. These were the first Cohen albums I encountered; maybe you never quite get over that love-at-first-listen feeling
3. I really enjoy his singing much more after he got old and gravelly-voiced - maybe because I'm old and gravelly-voiced?
alb123
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Re: Which is your favorite Leonard Cohen period?

Post by alb123 »

As many others have stated, this is an extremely difficult decision to make. From my experience, The Future was my first exposure to Leonard Cohen. Whether I had heard any of his music before, I do not know. What I do know is: seeing the movie Natural Born Killers and hearing his hauntingly beautiful voice & majestic lyrics made me run out the next day and purchase The Future. Having played that CD non-stop for weeks, I sought out other works and probably had his entire collection (up until 1994) in the matter of three or four months, perhaps..

Looking back on those days, some 15 years ago, The Future probably still holds up as my all-around favorite Leonard Cohen record. However, Recent Songs would definitely be right on its heels...So, how do I choose?

Chris

(Just for the sake of submitting a response, I chose 90s!)
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Vestige
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Re: Which is your favorite Leonard Cohen period?

Post by Vestige »

My favourite Leonard Cohen period is 2000-? because now it seems he has found soul`s peace and sincere joy. And I really love Dear Heather, it is full of deep wisdom and his World Tour 2008-2009...This man is bigger than live!
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