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For those who speak German, an interview with Adam Cohen at the presentation of the album in Berlin:

https://www.zeit.de/news/2019-11/20/leo ... es-goodbye

Four star review De Morgen (Belgium):
Leonard Cohen - Thanks for the Dance ****

Met ‘You Want It Darker’ liet Leonard Cohen drie jaar geleden een magistrale afscheidsbrief na. Nauwelijks twintig dagen na de release nam de bard toen een verzekering op de eeuwigheid met zijn doelbewuste zwanenzang. Met een bang hart legden we dan ook dit postuum scriptum op. Maar louche schraapgeluiden in een muzikale kluis blijken gelukkig niet te horen op Thanks for the Dance. Zoon Adam Cohen hield zich opvallend bescheiden op bij het arrangeren, waarbij de donkere, gruizige bariton van zijn vader nog béter uitkomt. Die sobere aanpak getuigt van smaak en elegantie in het bedrukte walsje dat de titelsong is. Maar ook het grandioze ‘The Hills’ smeekt om de repeatknop, net als het ijselijke ‘Puppets’ over de Holocaust: “German puppets burned the Jews/ Jewish puppets did not choose.” Zo somber maken ze de troubadours niet meer, mijnheer.

Thanks to the time difference, the new album is already released in my region.
I'm totally awake at midnight and 1-2-3, 1-2-3-1 dance to the track Thanks for the dance

"I’ve always seen Leonard Cohen as a charming, wounded predator – and perhaps that’s how he felt, too"

Review in The Independent:


https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-ente ... 08956.html

Oh, it's so beautiful, so beautiful. The Hills is magnificent, It's Torn is sublime and Puppets is so stark and confronting. That's all I've heard so far. Thank you Adam, you've made this old lady very, very happy today.
I know there were doubters but you proved them wrong.
And it's so lovely hearing Jenny back with Lenny. It was meant to be......

Thanks For The Dance, The Hills and It's torn are my favorites. Beautiful music. And the vinyl comes in a very nice cover.

An absolutely wonderful record.
The Hills is fantastic
Moving on brings tears into the eyes

and torn
and nights

This album is much more than I hoped for

B4real wrote: ↑Fri Nov 15, 2019 12:43 am Love this archetypal LC line from It's Torn in the Quietus one -

One of the darkest tracks, ‘Its Torn’ employs a murky tone alongside moments of simple brilliance, with typical commentary on an unknown topic: ‘the lie in what’s holy, the light in what’s not’.

I have listened to all the songs and noted the different lines and changes in all these poems/songs and I have to say that my first encounter with that different line and the song It’s Torn above has turned out to be the song I am drawn to the most at the moment. Maybe because it’s nearly all new words and not so familiar as the other songs. Time will tell. But I need to say, “Thank you, Leonard, Adam and all!”

I was watching a movie recently and at the end the theme song title and its words instantly reminded me of Leonard and how dedicated he was to leaving us with those words that meant so much to him. What he has left us will forever remain with us and ‘always live in these walls’. I hope no one minds if I post the link and the lyrics here because I see him in them; in the past, the present and in the future. Btw - I’ve altered a repeated word to suit his voice https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oiqOUeYasLE

The Mystery Of Your Gift
A single note passes out of the ashes
A flickering ember begins
It’s the courage to turn when the pages have burned
And your story now seems at an end
Seasons stay and seasons go
Sending your memories adrift
It’s the beautiful longing, embrace the unknown
That’s the mystery of your gift

And the echoes of your melody will always live in these walls
And the lessons that you gave to me, before you can fly, you must fall
It’s the beautiful longing, embrace the unknown
That’s the mystery of your gift

There’s a voice in the shadow calling for more
There’s a rhythm that beats from within
Lending your voice to the warmth of the song
There’s a strength in the choir of one
Pure as the voice that sees the place where the weight of your past may now lift
It’s the beautiful longing, embrace the unknown
That’s the mystery of your gift

And the echoes of your melody will always live in these walls
And the lessons that you gave to me, before you can fly you must fall
So sing lower & lower, a thousand new voices ring through
If you sing out of the fire, the courage you need comes from you

And the echoes of your melody will always live in these walls
And the lessons that you gave to me, before you can fly, you must fall
It’s the beautiful longing, embrace the unknown
That’s the mystery of your gift

It’s the beautiful longing, embrace the unknown
That’s the mystery of your gift

swisschris wrote: ↑Wed Nov 20, 2019 1:44 pm A nice piece from the New York Times:

www.nytimes.com/2019/11/19/arts/music/l ... e.amp.html

One of the most elegiac songs, “Moving On,” is a tribute to his former lover and muse Marianne Ihlen; Adam said his father recorded the vocal take heard on the album in late May 2016, just after he learned that Ihlen had died.

found there might be misunderstanding on the timing...
Marianne Ihlen died aged 81 on 28 July 2016, in Oslo

Great album by Leonard and Adam, indeed much better then I hoped for.
Adam thank you very very much for making this record possible.

Henning wrote: ↑Thu Nov 21, 2019 11:47 pm Thanks For The Dance, The Hills and It's torn are my favorites. Beautiful music. And the vinyl comes in a very nice cover.

Those three are my favourites also, Henning. I also like The Goal. I love the quiet soft intimate atmosphere of the whole album: truly a gift to us.
Now: the controversial statement: I prefer Anjani’s version of Thanks for the Dance, and Cohen’s previous version ( Can’t Make) The Hills.
Having said that, I will make a playlist that has the versions of each song back to to back; they complement each other.

I have only the digital to listen to today- hoping our record store receives the albums today
( doubtful if they are coming by ship because of gale force winds.....)

I am looking forward to hearing interpretations of these subtle melodies and evocative lyrics by the amazing artists at this year’s Feast of Cohen.
https://www.facebook.com/Feast-of-Cohen ... 207733540/

That’s beautiful, Bev. Thank you.

WiTS wrote: ↑Fri Nov 22, 2019 6:38 am
found there might be misunderstanding on the timing...
Marianne Ihlen died aged 81 on 28 July 2016, in Oslo

There came a point where it seemed that Leonard was being extremely careful with his choice of words.