The Retrospective of Leonard Cohen, Part 1
From Steve Damien
| 01:29:46
Producers: Steve Damien
A Canadian songwriter, novelist, and poet who's still giving Dylan a run for his money, Leonard Cohen has become one of the most influential writers and singers of the last 5 decades.
Cohen's songs and poetry have influenced countless other songwriters, and more than a thousand renditions of his work have been recorded.
In this retrospective we will look at music from 8 of his albums, showing how his music mixes emotion and faith to bring an added complexity that most folk-era musicians never achieve.
Broadcast History
The Retrospective started in 1999. This peice aired in 2001, and only includes information about Leonard Cohen before 2001. This piece also includes many full versions of Leonard Cohen songs, the idea being to educate the listener on his songwriting style.
Timing and Cues
This Piece is part One of Two. It has been edited to 59 minutes, with part two edited to 29 minutes.
Additional Files
- retrospective logo (retrotitle.jpg)
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Additional Information
- Produced: Jun 01, 2001
- Added to PRX: Mar 02, 2007
- This piece is in English
Rene O'Deay
Posted on March 09, 2007 at 09:08 AM | Permalink
Review of The Retrospective of Leonard Cohen, Part 1
A Time Trip into the 60's and 70's, the softly mellow songs of Leonard Cohen highly influenced the world of folk and rock as each genre absorbed characteristics of the other.
A time Journey to the soul-searching, heart-twisting ballads of one of the most popular songwriters.
Host Steve Damian discusses Cohen's early years, then treats the listener with rich full cuts of Cohen's songs, first to "Sisters of Mercy", then "Suzanne", perhaps his most well-known song, popularized by the best-selling cover by Judy Collins,
This is a journey back to his heart-breaking songs that were so popular with many artists and their fans. Some may be unfamiliar to even long-time fans, as the narrator plays some rarely heard cuts.
Most will be familiar with "Bird on a Wire", the title song from the popular movie with Goldie Hawn and Mel Gibson.
Another popular song, "That's No Way to Say Goodbye", still remains a favorite.
The documentary continues with some of his more recent albums and discusses his life and the evolution of his music, his influences and his influence. Listening to those recent songs, you realize that Leonard Cohen's unique sound remains the same.
It's a well-produced and delightful journey into the life and music of Cohen. I do recommend it to stations and to listeners young and old.