features in: Album Chart of 1979 ● Album Chart of the Decade: 1970s |
After his blindingly brilliant stretch from ’67 to ’74, the charismatic Canadian took a miss-step in ’77 with the, largely boring, MOR effort, “Death of a Ladies Man”. His ’79 bounce-back must have delighted those who preferred the stripped-back, intimate approach which had been so fruitful in previous years. That said, there is a decidedly new approach here, stylistically, as the songwriter returns a set which is lightly flavoured with jazz motifs, mostly on account of a bendy bass which is never too far away from the surface. Normally, this would have me running for the hills but the effect is calming, classy and highly enjoyable, fused as it is with folksy touches of violin and Leonard’s trademark pseudo-flamenco guitar. All of the major first-half classics are of the Americana variety and include the alt-folk ghostly melancholia of “The Guests”, the alt-country gentle beauty of “The Window” and the immense trad-folk power of “The Lost Canadian (Un Canadien Errant)”, empathising with the brave patriot struggling against the oppressive brutes in power. Whilst side two may not be quite so powerful, it boasts “The Traitor” a gorgeous song laced with military metaphors which seems to conclude that love is a battlefield, and the excellent album-closer “Ballad Of The Absent Mare”, another mysterious and beguiling piece of the alt-country variety which could easily be several centuries old. Leonard’s back, rejoice ye.
The Jukebox Rebel
20–Apr–2007
Tracklist |
A1 | [06:40] Leonard Cohen - The Guests (Leonard Cohen) Alternative Folk |
A2 | [05:15] Leonard Cohen - Humbled In Love (Leonard Cohen) Jazz |
A3 | [05:56] Leonard Cohen - The Window (Leonard Cohen) Alternative Country |
A4 | [04:04] Leonard Cohen - Came So Far For Beauty (Leonard Cohen, John Lissauer) Songwriter |
A5 | [04:42] Leonard Cohen - The Lost Canadian (Un Canadien Errant) (Traditional, Antoine Gérin-Lajoie) Folk |
B1 | [06:16] Leonard Cohen - The Traitor (Leonard Cohen) Folk |
B2 | [03:13] Leonard Cohen - Our Lady Of Solitude (Leonard Cohen) Jazz |
B3 | [05:13] Leonard Cohen - The Gypsy’s Wife (Leonard Cohen) Alternative Folk |
B4 | [05:19] Leonard Cohen - The Smokey Life (Leonard Cohen) Jazz |
B5 | [06:26] Leonard Cohen - Ballad Of The Absent Mare (Leonard Cohen) Alternative Country |