New Leonard Cohen tribute album will feature Peter Gabriel, Iggy Pop, Mavis Staples and more

[Geoffrey]

i didnt like the instrumental ones either. i like pop songs tahts got people singing in them best, and like you i cant abide jazz neither. ac taully if i can be candid i will admit if i am going to listen to music i normalley choose stuff thats got some life in it, something with a beat to cheer me up and make me in a good mood. like lee scratch perry, gregory isaacs or toots & the maytals, for eksample. cover versjons are seldom that good anyway, no matter what anyone says. so im not going to buy this record, especially as there's no reggae on it, ans also seeing as its all available online without paying nothing anyway.

[LisaLCFan]

I have now listened to this new tribute album (being old-fashioned, I waited until I received the CD to listen to all of the tracks), and I actually like it very much, in fact, I love it! And, I really love the chill, laid-back jazz vibe of the arrangements -- mind you, I absolutely love jazz and always have, and so I am biased. I adore the instrumental tracks -- there is some serious jazz in Avalanche! -- and if the entire album had been purely instrumental, I'd probably have been even happier with it, because I prefer instrumental music (but for Leonard, I make an exception).

I tend not to like Cohen tribute albums all that much, generally preferring to hear Leonard sing his own songs. I am also not a fan of pop music, and most of the tribute albums I've heard are pop, but this album is a winner for me, because of the fact that it is not really pop at all, but jazz! Listening to it actually makes me feel warm and fuzzy -- it has such a cool vibe! I give it five stars, two-thumbs up, 10 out of 10, etc.!

(Despite my previous annoyance about the album being online for free, I am glad that I bought the CD -- it's nice to have it for my collection.).

[panjandrum]

Wow, what I've head is amazing so far. The Norah Jones track has brought me close to tears.

For those who claim to not like Jazz: I view each genre of music like a language to learn. About 15 years ago I decided to conquer Jazz, and I did so. I can't imagine a life without it now. (Currently I'm engaging with Funk.) I suggest choosing something with a mostly classic sound but modern recording techniques. Jazz is one of the most creative of all forms of music, but it does include sounds and techniques that sound very strange to many new listeners, including the 'blue notes' that listeners of pop and rock find so hard to grok at first (but remember, you can learn, I promise!): https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blue_note

You can't go wrong starting with Blue Alert https://open.spotify.com/album/76ZJaBtd ... dY1BReHXDg, which is hands-down one of the most iconic of all modern jazz albums and the songwriting can't be beat . Also try Half The Perfect World https://open.spotify.com/album/6krx8Zgi ... MlXSa2iIlA. I'll stump for my daughter's album, which also has two Leonard tracks on it but is mostly an amateur jazz album: Film Noir Dreams https://open.spotify.com/album/7ozN97GL ... b8YbIXaz3g (start with Take this Waltz: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6HfCyv2sjUA).

[LisaLCFan]

Wow, what I've heard is amazing so far...

...I'll stump for my daughter's album, which also has two Leonard tracks on it but is mostly an amateur jazz album...

"Here It Is" is a wonderful album, isn't it -- terrific all 'round! I'd love for Blue Note to do another volume of Leonard's songs -- more of the same, please!

As for your daughter, nice version of Take This Waltz -- she has a good voice -- and that's a cool, minimalist jazz vibe she has going on (I don't have Spotify, so I cannot comment on her other tracks).

...find so hard to grok...

"Grok" was a new word for me -- American slang, apparently. Hideous sounding word that seems totally incongruous with the rather enlightened concept that it represents. I shall not be adopting it into my vocabulary.

[panjandrum]

Wow, what I've heard is amazing so far...

...I'll stump for my daughter's album, which also has two Leonard tracks on it but is mostly an amateur jazz album...

"Here It Is" is a wonderful album, isn't it -- terrific all 'round! I'd love for Blue Note to do another volume of Leonard's songs -- more of the same, please!

As for your daughter, nice version of Take This Waltz -- she has a good voice -- and that's a cool, minimalist jazz vibe she has going on (I don't have Spotify, so I cannot comment on her other tracks).

...find so hard to grok...

"Grok" was a new word for me -- American slang, apparently. Hideous sounding word that seems totally incongruous with the rather enlightened concept that it represents. I shall not be adopting it into my vocabulary.

It's a specific literary reference from Stranger in a Strange Land.

Gotta say, this album is just fantastic. The artists show a deep, deep respect and understanding of the source material. I've ordered the vinyl; I like it that much.

[LisaLCFan]

...[grok] is a specific literary reference from Stranger in a Strange Land...

Yes, I did see that the word was coined by Heinlein in that book. Apparently it is commonly and regularly used by the computer science crowd/geeks and techies -- I wouldn't know for sure, since that is not my area, but that's what I read.

I still think that it is a dreadful-sounding word -- my dogs make that sound when they throw up.

[panjandrum]

For those of us old enough that the tactility of a real copy matters: The double album on vinyl is lovely. Even the texture of the sleeve seems to have been thought out - it is a heavily textured matte surface that screams 'you are holding a work of art.' The presentation is flawless.

Well worth the investment.

[Roy]

Does anyone have the Billboard 200 Albums chart info for this album. What number did it land on in each country? I still have not found anything.