Albumgegevens
Artiest | Leonard Cohen |
Album | Greatest Hits |
Jaar van uitgave | 1975 |
Beoordeling
Recensie
Tja, en dan is er weer een grootheid weg…
Leonard Cohen, en met name dit album, is voor mij onlosmakelijk verbonden met mijn jeugd. Mijn vader had de lp’s Songs Of Leonard Cohen, Songs From A Room, Songs Of Love And Hate, New Skin For The Old Ceremony en dit album, dat toentertijd de naam The Best Of had. Ik herinner me die hoezen specifiek. Hij draaide (zover ik me herinner althans) vooral dit album. Later, in 1988, kocht ik de cdsingle First We Take Manhattan en het 2012 album Old Ideas. In de tussentijd kocht ik dit album op cd, later gevolgd door The Essential Leonard Cohen.
Ik had kaarten voor het concert in Ahoy Rotterdam op 23 juni 2013, maar kon daar uiteindelijk niet naar toe: helaas nooit live gezien.
Echte Leonard Cohen liefhebbers gruwen er waarschijnlijk van, maar dit album is mijn favoriet. Alles is even mooi. Ik herinner me specifiek de originele A-kant van dit album. Ik heb dat, toen ik jong was, veel gehoord. Alle nummers zijn even mooi:
- Suzanne
- Sister Of Mercy
- So Long, Marianne
- Bird On The Wire
- Lady Midnight
- The Partisan
Kant B is ook prachtig, maar werd thuis minder geluisterd. Dit heb ik later ingehaald:
- Hey, That’s No Way To Sy Goodbye
- Famous Blue raincoat
- Last year’s Man
- Chelsea Hotel #2
- Who By Fire
- Take This Longing
Covers
Leonard Cohen nummers zijn extreem veel gecoverd, van Herman Van Veen tot Nick Cave en van Neil Diamond tot Jeff Buckley. Jeff Buckley startte de echte Hallelujah cover hausse met zijn prachtige uitvoering op zijn onvolprezen Grace. Er is bijna niemand die hem niet heeft gecovered (ja, ook Prince heeft Hallelujah gecovered).
Als eerbetoon aan de schoonheid van Cohen’s prachtige teksten, de tekst van Suzanne.
Suzanne
Suzanne takes you down to her place near the river
You can hear the boats go by, you can spend the night forever
And you know that she’s half-crazy but that’s why you want to be there
And she feeds you tea and oranges that come all the way from China
And just when you mean to tell her that you have no love to give her
Then he gets you on her wavelength
And she lets the river answer that you’ve always been her loverAnd you want to travel with her, and you want to travel blind
And you know that she will trust you
For you’ve touched her perfect body with your mindAnd Jesus was a sailor when he walked upon the water
And he spent a long time watching from his lonely wooden tower
And when he knew for certain only drowning men could see him
He said all men will be sailors then until the sea shall free them
But he himself was broken, long before the sky would open
Forsaken, almost human, he sank beneath your wisdom like a stoneAnd you want to travel with him, and you want to travel blind
And you think you maybe you’ll trust him
For he’s touched your perfect body with her mindNow, Suzanne takes your hand and she leads you to the river
She’s wearing rags and feathers from Salvation Army counters
And the sun pours down like honey on our lady of the harbor
And she shows you where to look among the garbage and the flowers
There are heroes in the seaweed, there are children in the morning
They are leaning out for love and they wil lean that way forever
While Suzanne holds her mirrorAnd you want to travel with her, and you want to travel blind
And you know that you can trust her
For she’s touched your perfect body with her mind
© 1967 Leonard Cohen
1 reacties
Mooie tribute!