Sony-BMG Releasing Several Leonard Cohen CDs Feb 1

[tonys]

i think you need to take a reading class...if an artist is promised being upgraded that's his business, his career his business...and sometimes things are held back due to an artist getting his publishing sorted out...and that was a statement made sometime ago leonard's manager was getting 99% while he was getting only 1% of the publishing, this was the time when he was at monastry and he didn't notice until his daughter. lorca informed him of that possibility then it became evident leonard was nearly flat broke dispite having over 1,400 cover songs (i think it's up to that) dispite being on the radio everyday somewhere multitude of times, dispite having a dozen or so cds, several in print books so on and so forth...then you come along with your accustotory statements not adding nothing to the forum...you come across as a brate know it all...and the statement a label can do anything they want is absurd, it's give and take and you don't know the deal they have, i don't think the label puts any demands on leonard cohen i think just having them on the label is reward enough...it people like you that make these forums undesirable...if you read my forums i'm the only one with real hard facts real quotes from the record company regarding the reissues...and by the way on the same day cohen gets his reissues (not remasters) streisand's catalog is getting re-released on february 1st that is.

[kokenpere]

Tonys, are you a Leonard Cohen fan? You don't sound like one..... You keep on making negative and unkind remarks. Why should it bother you how many cds he has sold, how many new/old fans he has, how much money he has, etc.? If you were a fan, you wouldn't make these tactless remarks.

The hundreds of thousands of us who love this man for the great human being he is can only wish him well for whatever he may want to accomplish. His music and his poetry will still inspire us and we will cherish every song, every poem, every thought of him, no matter what rude things people say on this forum.

Tonys - Read or re-read the passage quoted. Repeat.

[tomsakic]

Tonys, I can understand your anger, and you're mostly right up there. You have only understand that Sony was never quite interested in Leonard Cohen, and indeed, he sent them one dollar in 1988 "to pay them off for their campaign and support to my record". Leonard always was a solo player, and he handled his own business through his own company (Stranger Music). But what happened with that company, because of his blind trust, unfortunately can't be turned back, and the back catalogue is now in hand of the label, with Leonard keeping only performer's rights. Now Leonard is on his own, without big-shot manager (the thing with Macklam/Feldman apparently didn't work, and I can see why), with Ed Sanders keeeping the office, while SonyBMG is big company in troubles (is it only Sony now again, without BMG?) and still quite not interested in Leonard Cohen. How much did they invest in Ten New Songs or Dear Heather, or in any promotion? Those records were private production, made in home studio and private studios, and then simply brought finished to Columbia/SonyBMG. Where is DVD? Where are remasters? Where are live CDs? Where are SACDs? Where are videoclips? Where are bootlegs series similar to Dylan's? I can assure you only that Leonard Cohen's word means something after all - does he or not own the back catalogue - and reissues were, unfortunately, stopped because the label mishandled it and Leonard wasn't quite happy after all. Of course, I also do want the rest of remasters, and live CDs from old tours, and live DVDs, and book of lyrics with annotations, and rare & outtake songs... But I'll give you just one example - we can't get Austin City Limits DVD as Austin TV owns the visual, and Sony the music. I can interpret that legal situation only in one way: 1. SonyBMG doesn't way to pay off Austin TV for the picture recording, and 2. SonyBMG asks too much from Austin TV for the sound copyright (as Austin City Limits DVD Series tried to publish Leonard Cohen 1988/1993 Shows, as it's their most requested show). As you see, my both way of thinkings baren't positive about the label's attitude. I can't recall any single situation where label was supporting Leonard Cohen releases, or tried to invest any real money. He should left it and go to ANTI, as Johnny Cash did. But now it's too late, and I can understand that Leonard needs to be on label because he has to have the complete catalogue of his songs on one label (and I didn't wonder when Blue Alert was sold in the end to Columbia /as I didn't wonder that they did everything to NOT promote as it deserved in Europe, where it was hardly released. But they did buy it only to keep the complete Cohen on their label, also./) The least what he can do is to ignore the big shots, and do as he does, promoting the songs around, making his own connections to local Sony companies, like in Poland, Philip Glass (the same company produced Came so Far For Beauty shows and Book of Longing shows)... Is it wonder that Leonard does all promotion thru these websites? Is it any wonder that the new band member is the man who played on Leonard Cohen tribute shows in Spain, produced by Alberto Manzano? I wouldn't be surprised if the tour will include Spain, Poland, London, Oslo, the places which were visited recently by Anjani, or Came So Far shows, or Leonard himself. These are the new times, the big money is in game, and Leonard Cohen is obviously not Britney Spears or J.Lo. The company isn't producing music, as in 1967 when Leonard come to the label, but they're making packaged products, from movies to videogames and TV. I can only hope LC will not appear in Victoria Secret's add or play a closed show for bank managers as Lou Reed, or for Diners Club, as Brian Ferry did in my town - but that he will stay as he always was, a solo man with integrity.


ps. These new reissues are not remasters, but only the same poorly-mixed "nice price" CDs from 1990s, sent again to the market. Most of them were repackaged last year in "two for price of one" as they supposed the new remasters will be out. Now they're flooding market with the same old crap. I liked remasters only because of nice new booklets and the sound which was restored with care of original production (not pumping up the volume, as on The Essential)

[margaret]

Well said Tom.

..i'm looking for someone to point my finger at and blame...it's simple as that...now the record company said the 2nd batch of remasters was set for the 3rd week in september and i sold all my cohen cds in complaince with that, then i find it was cancelled but they said a new leonard cohen cd is coming out in oct/nov...okay it's been several years since his last new material release...then that gets cancelled, but what kills me the most is that the record company says they don't want to flood the market with leonard cohen releases, but what perturbs me is where is Leonard when all this is happening? why isn't he fighting the record company with every last drop of energy to get these reissues out!!?? and why isn't he on this forum with an explanation?? That's my anger and my disappointment.
PS - i have re-re-re-bought the leonard cohen catalogue and won;t sell anymore until the reissues are in my hand..

I am surprised you actually disposed of earlier cd's Any remastered discs with improved sound or previously unissued songs are very welcome, but I would not be in such a hurry to throw out the old ones!

I also don't think this obsession with having to blame someone for everything is healthy. The record company is only interested in their profits and has never done much to promote Leonard. That's just the way it is, and we and LC are stuck with it.

[tonys]

Thanks Tom and Kathy...that's what i'm saying the Leonard Cohen catalog is in disgrace for such an influential artist. Go to any all time songwriters list and you'll see Leonard's name on any of those lists in the top 20. Leonard is a great artist who didn't get proper treatment, now someone else will come along and say i'm critizing his work, but he needs to have those attractive remasters out with the full lyrics...the lyric booklet is the most interest on my part because i want to see every lyric written out...the fact there's not a full lyric book out like dylan's book, the fact there's not a live in austin CD out are more examples of a disgrace. Possibly now that Leonard is in the hall of fame he'll get some proper treatment. You've got to consider the fact 1,400 covers of his songs exist that's an influence, to this day I've only heard a handful of Billy Joel songs that were covers (not a good example because the one's that do exist were monsters)...but it wasn't as plenty as cohen covers...alot of country singers did his songs to harder type bands such as the alternative type bands when they were big in the mid to late 80s and even now there's still a decent amount of covers being done on or from his catalog of only 128 songs or so...i say only but the one's he wrote were rich as any songs in the rock era or any era for that matter there isn't fluff in the Leonard Cohen catalog that's for sure...and my point is that Leonard Cohen's catalog should be alot better than what is commercially released and it's not a knock on Cohen as an artist, it's a knock on the label for failing their duty and that's to best represent their artists in the most spectaclar manner...and i have a feeling most of his tour will be of the european variety, if he comes to the states it will only be Philadelphia, New York City, Boston and Los Angeles...maybe frisco...and why not seattle.

[lizzytysh]

Thanks for your elaboration on what you intended with some of what you said, TonyS. My interpretation was quite different. Lyric sheets are crucial for me, too.


~ Lizzy

[tonys]

Lizzy in another world in another dimension perhaps Leonard Cohen will get the proper treatment...the weird thing is they did start it, maybe it was due to the fact his 1st 2 releases were big sellers then it drops off...again not that it matters to me but i'm thinking like they would so i can figure out their refusal to finish this as promised...there's no doubt they broke their promise 2x...once in sept. and second when they promised reissues at the beginning of the new year, then there was a cd of new material that yet to surface...but i'm really thinking there's really alot of delay in the publishing rights dispute %'s and all that stuff that's unpleasant for artists to speak of and deal with...i remember some years ago elvis costello went through a long delay due to a dispute as well...he did the 1st 3 of his reissue series then i think the 2nd installment came out 3 months later then that was it for over a year and some month's time, then eventually they continued until completion...john mellencamp's was the smoothest 3 months of reissues until they were all done...but this is a disappointment...but in a fan's dream world of leonard i'd like to see all the reissues, austin (both years appearances) perhaps the video...i was going to say the lyric book but they would be evident in the reissues so there's not really a need for that, but a complete book of all his poems like ginsberg's wouldn't be bad either.

[cortez]

Tonys,
btw is your name Tony or is tgers some kind of schiophrenia going around.
You are weirder than I am. This time I´m all behind Lizzie.
Cortez, or Peters of whatever.

[Red Poppy]

Gerry wrote:
"You know Leonard is the only artist I listen to where I feel that he is a member of my family.Maybe an uncle or father.I hope that dosen't sound too strange."

Not strange at all but an interesting story - tell us more.

So it's Adam, Lorca & Gerry.

I'm all ears.............................................

[cortez]

I think everybody in here is fucking strange.
If it not Tonys, then it´s Peters, Cortezes, Lizzys - and really, I love the man, I lived with him in Greece, but is this rerally the way to celebrate him.
I mean it´s just a tour, it´s not like naming the new pope!

Lindforssss kep changing the name all the time.

Well´, anyway, some white smoke is ok.

[lizzytysh]

I mean it´s just a tour, it´s not like naming the new pope!

Non-Catholic that I am, I can only agree. It's more important than naming the new Pope.


~ Lizzy

[Maarten]

Is this one of the re-releases? It says "Most beautiful songs"...

http://oas2000.proxis.be/gate/jabba.cor ... =109928437
The Most Beautiful Songs
Cohen, Leonard

Type : Compact Disc
Uitgever : SONY BMG
Verschijningsdatum : 18/02/2008
Streepjescode (EAN) : 0886972349527
Categorie : Pop


And when I google for the EAN-code I get this hit:
http://www.occidentbooks.com/cddetail.p ... lter=Prod5

There it suddenly turns into a 2CD...

Ah well,
Maarten

[lizzytysh]

There it suddenly turns into a 2CD...

... grandchild


[sorry for the interruption]

~ Lizzy

[cortez]

Love yoú, Lizzie, you´re always fun. Since i really don´t believe in anything at all, i also think it´s a great event. But, please is nobody out there exept Gingertop seeing that i actually write with a sense of humour.
When Leonard comes to Stockholm, i will great him with a long stem rose and a cd of my latest poems. I will then tell him that zen-monks are not meant to have any money.
And i will pay for the red wine.
Peter

[lizzytysh]

Hi Cortez ~

I hope you and Leonard are able to spend some very enjoyable time together when he comes to Sweden.

Yes... I recognize that you write with a sense of humour.


~ Lizzy