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I'm not crazy about Leaving Greensleeves, melodically. I love the lyrics. Same with Last Year's Man.

I didn't like Jazz Police until I saw him sing it in this clip:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4gRmHvghpfU
Side splitting laughter @ 3:50

"Guys like me are mad for turtle meat".

Hmmm. I have to agree that that performance is really entertaining, because it is so studiously without emotion. I love the way at the end Leonard is chanting like a robot while casually leaning against a raised part of the stage. Yes, I think this one is much better that the studio performance.

The truly impressive thing about Jazz Police is those harmonies the girls deliver: difficult ones indeed.

mnkyface wrote:
I didn't like Jazz Police until I saw him sing it in this clip:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4gRmHvghpfU
Side splitting laughter @ 3:50

That is hilarious, don't know how they managed to keep a straight face at the end I don't think I'll stop skipping it when listening to I'm Your Man anytime soon though...

Loved this clip mnkyface, especially the end. Very campy with the Star Trek tune and Leonard's performance at the end. But I still don't like the song.

M

Even after watching the video clip link (was this from Austin City Limits?) posted by Esther, I still don't like 'Jazz Police'. I have a hard time associating this jarring melody with anything else by LC.

Best regards,
Mary

I think we had exactly the same thread as this a couple of months ago! However, I cannot say there is one Leonard track that I truly dislike. I'm not so keen on "Is This What You Wanted" and "Leaving Greensleeves" and in recent years I tend to skip "The Lost Canadian" but there is nothing else that particularly springs to mind. For me, "Dear Heather" was a weaker album, as it lacked the melodies of the others. Though, I accept that it was more of a poetic tribute to Leonard's mentors and a showcase for Anjani.

I must say that I find it extraordinary when people say that they don't like songs such as "Suzanne", "Bird On a Wire" or "Hallelujah" since these songs are the very essence of what Leonard is about. It's a bit like saying you're into Dylan, but don't particularly like "A Hard Rains a Gonna Fall", "Mr Tambourine Man" and "Like a Rolling Stone"! I can understand people saying they don't like "Jazz Police", but for me it provides an interesting break and diversion between two of Leonard's all-time greatest songs ("Take This Waltz" and "I Can't Forget"). It also shows his ability to take risks and do something experimental.

I guess "Death Of a Ladies Man" is better understood if you were into Leonard's work throughout the Seventies. At the time, it was the only new Leonard album in five years (i.e between 1974 and 1979). During this same period, Dylan released "Planet Waves", "Before the Flood", "Blood On the Tracks", "Desire", "Hard Rain", "The Basement Tapes", "Steet Legal" and "Live at Budokan", so you can imagine the significance of one new Leonard album during this period. Personally, I looked forward to it with great anticipation and played it repeatedly for at least a couple of months. As a collaboration with Spector it was generally accepted as something different to the previous Leonard albums, but still essential to the whole body of work. Admittedly it is album of excess and totally over the top in parts, but this was fitting, as Leonard seemed to be right out on the edge at the time. In this respect, his work was not so removed from John Cale's during that era.

All good things, John E

I lovejazz police. Yeah its on the silly side but the 'Star trek' theme seems to me to nod to LC boldly going where he hasn't gone before, into the Jazz realm! The song reminds me of something I read about Anjani as well. If I have this right when she joined the band first she was fresh out of college and was trained to do more complicated jazzy chords than the ordinary 'C' or 'D' chord or whatever that LC wanted. Eventually she came around to his way of thinking and went with the plain ordinary C with nothing added. Seems to me like he could have been somewhat of a Jazz Police, eh eh gedit!! Anyway, thats my take on it, also seems if it was written a little later it could be about Anjani going through his folders to make Blue Alert!!!Who knows!! (by the way does Leonard Cohen have a niece?!)

Having said all that I also like the way he rants in 'Leaving Greensleeves', and even 'Is this What you Wanted' has grown on me but at the moment, I really can't stand Field Commander Cohen and I did like it before but it reminds me of a Neil Diamond song gone wrong and it looses pace and goes into that other song in the middle, a definite skip on the CD player...at the moment...thought these things change.

BV.

burningviolin wrote: The song reminds me of something I read about Anjani as well. If I have this right when she joined the band first she was fresh out of college and was trained to do more complicated jazzy chords than the ordinary 'C' or 'D' chord or whatever that LC wanted. Eventually she came around to his way of thinking and went with the plain ordinary C with nothing added.

http://www.leonardcohenfiles.com/anjani.html

Stamatina wrote:

burningviolin wrote: The song reminds me of something I read about Anjani as well. If I have this right when she joined the band first she was fresh out of college and was trained to do more complicated jazzy chords than the ordinary 'C' or 'D' chord or whatever that LC wanted. Eventually she came around to his way of thinking and went with the plain ordinary C with nothing added.

http://www.leonardcohenfiles.com/anjani.html

Hi Stamatina, yeah that was what I read that on. Thanks for posting.

Stamatina wrote:The WHOLE album Death of a Ladies' Man.
For me, it simply doesn't exist.

Also, I don't like "The Butcher", "Leaving Green Sleeves", "The Lost Canadian", "The Traitor", "Boogie Street" and the song "Because of" murdered my world when I first heard it.

Actually "Un Canadien errant" or "A lost Canadian" was not written by LC. It is a 19th cent, Canadian song with very interesting meaning and story. I personally like the song and the story it tells and also the way LC applied it to himself and with much affection for his homeland. I think LC performance of it is just great. But we all have our preferences, of course.

Lota wrote: I think LC performance of it is just great. But we all have our preferences, of course.

Basically, I like the music and lyrics and stuff, but I don't at all like his pronunciation...

burningviolin wrote:
I also like the way he rants in 'Leaving Greensleeves', and even 'Is this What you Wanted' has grown on me but at the moment, I really can't stand Field Commander Cohen and I did like it before but it reminds me of a Neil Diamond song gone wrong and it looses pace and goes into that other song in the middle, a definite skip on the CD player...at the moment...thought these things change.

BV.

I really like the songs where he 'shouts', so I love Leaving Greensleeves and Is This What You Wanted (I'm in a minority with this one I know), I like Diamonds in the Mine for the same reason. It's good to have a bit of passion. FCC is probably my least favourite from New Skin, musically it doesn't hang together so well, but I love the lyrics

I totally agree, the shouting is done very expressively.
I like that dreadful voice he uses at the end of "One of us cannot be wrong" also.

Great thread

Have to say I love the cover and title itself of Death of a Ladies Man..pity it's such a poor representation otherwise! Fab cover..

Jazz Police - yes, godawful..Have to say too, the first version of of First We Take Manhatten I heard was from Famous Blue Raincoat-in my Dad's collection, so that's what I had in my head for years..I remember hearing the 'synth-pop' version from I'm Your Man and on hearing the intro thought it was bloody Tiffany or something!

Obviously still an amazing song, not saying otherwise..but took me a while to get used to my 'new' version..

Who does not like LC song or album? .............