http://www.billboard.com/bbcom/news/art ... 1003531240
Several previously unreleased tracks have been unearthed for Columbia/Legacy's reissue series of Leonard Cohen's first three albums, due April 24.
"Songs of Leonard Cohen" sports two tracks from sessions with Columbia's legendary A&R man John Hammond in the summer of 1967 that were never completed: "Store Room" and "Blessed Is the Memory."
The 1968 follow-up, "Songs From a Room" features the evergreen "Bird on a Wire," an early version of which appears here as "Like a Bird" with different instrumentation. That song, as well as an early take on "You Know Who I Am" dubbed "Nothing to One" that features harmony vocals by David Crosby, were recorded in Hollywood. "Songs From a Room" wound up being put to tape in Nashville.
"Songs of Love and Hate," released in 1971, is expanded with a full-band arrangement of "Dress Rehearsal Rag" that sounds quite different from the version on the original.
On the same date, Columbia/Legacy is re-releasing "Blue Alert," an album sung by Anjani Thomas and featuring songs she co-wrote with Cohen, who does not appear as an artist. The new version features a DVD with videos for "Thanks for the Dance" and "The Mist."
