Leonard Cohen - New Skin for the Old Ceremony
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CD Details
Artist: Leonard CohenEdition: Music CD
Audio: English (Unknown)
CD Release Date: 2008-03-01
Music Label: Sbme Special Mkts.
Soundtracks:
- Is This What You Wanted
- Chelsea Hotel No. 2
- Lover, Lover, Lover
- Field Commander Cohen
- Why Don't You Try
- There Is a War
- A Singer Must Die
- I Tried to Leave You
- Who by Fire
- Take This Longing
- Leaving Greensleeves
Music reviews of New Skin for the Old Ceremony
Music Review: Closer to Rock
Rating: 4 Stars
New Skin For The Old Ceremony represents the artist's open break with the early folk simplicity of his classic albums Songs Of Leonard Cohen, Songs From A Room and Songs of Love and Hate (on which a harder sound already surfaced on tracks like Diamonds In The Mine). It harnesses a wider array of instruments including trombones, viola, banjo, percussion, mandolin, woodwinds and trumpet. Emily Bindiger, Erin Dickins & co-producer John Lissauer contribute backing vocals.
This fuller instrumentation with a stronger emphasis on bass and drums, together with a less restrained vocal style, make the sound more varied by taking it closer to the rock tradition. Someone used to the flowing melody lines of the early songs will find e.g. Is This What You Wanted harsh and even dissonant. It is clear that this direction culminated in the Phil Spector-produced Death of a Ladies' Man (1978), a nightmare for the artist but beloved by many.
The previous year's live album, Live Songs, display an even greater intensity and raw power on tracks like Please Don't Pass Me By. The themes are the same but the humor is more overt as in Chelsea Hotel, the moving portrait of Janis Joplin. Although the tunes are less striking on gentle numbers like I Tried to Leave You & There is a War, the insight and poetic quality of the lyrics are always arresting.
His distinct spirituality is much in evidence on tracks like the rocking track Lover Lover Lover, the solemn Take This Longing and the somber Who by Fire, a song inspired by a solemn prayer relating to the concept of the Book of Life with special significance to the High Holy Days Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur. In a slight tweak, Leonard has modified the chilling finality of the words, shifting the emphasis to the search for the Eternal Divine.
Track number four would become the title of the live album Field Commander Cohen recorded on the 1979 tour and released in 2000. So although not all the songs live up to the legendary compositions on his earlier 1960s work and some sound rough by comparison, New Skin For The Old Ceremony confirms Cohen's unusual gift for arresting metaphor, intriguing symbolism & imagery layered with allusion.
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Description of New Skin for the Old Ceremony
By the time Leonard Cohen began his recording career in 1967, the iconoclastic Canadian troubadour was already well established as a poet and author. He quickly emerged as one of the era's most original and influential singer-songwriters, building a large and legendary body of work that continues to inspire artists and listeners alike.Much of Cohen's reputation and mystique was established by his early work for Columbia Records, particularly the five albums he recorded between 1967 and 1974. Now, these five classic albums, unavailable on vinyl for two decades, have been lovingly restored to their original LP format.
For their new Sundazed editions, all five albums have been meticulously remastered and have been sourced from the original Columbia Records stereo masters in order to preserve the sound of the original albums. In keeping with the exacting standards for which Sundazed has become known, each album will be pressed on high-definition vinyl, with complete original cover art.
1974's New Skin for the Old Ceremony saw Cohen taking a turn away from the spare sound of his earlier releases, with such numbers as "Chelsea Hotel #2," "There Is a War" and "A Singer Must Die" featuring expanded instrumental arrangements and some of the most expressive vocal performances of Cohen's career.
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