Abstractor Of The Quintessence

LEONARD COHEN in the mirrors in numberless places Part of CURRENT COHEN project

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Leonard Cohen Releases 'Can't Forget: A Souvenir of the Grand Tour' On May 12, 2015

TORONTO, March 17, 2015 /PRNewswire/ -- Leonard Cohen releases Can't Forget: A Souvenir of the Grand Tour on May 12, 2015.  The ten songs of this hypnotic album are Cohen rarities recorded on his recent, celebrated "Old Ideas World Tour."  Remarkably, this is Cohen's third album release since last September's Platinum selling Popular Problems which garnered four 2015 JUNO AWARD nominations and won for the coveted 'Album of the Year'.

The songs on Can't Forget have the immediacy, spontaneity, and thrilling intimacy of the best studio recordings made in the white heat of live performance and Cohen's legendary soundchecks, in which he brings the colors of his virtuoso band to full bloom in harmony with his voice, never more seductive. Here is a full range of Leonard Cohen's work: new songs including, from the realm of blues, the wickedly funny "Got a Little Secret" and "Never Gave Nobody Trouble"; luxurious performances of such Cohen masterpieces as "I Can't Forget," "Light As the Breeze," "Night Comes On," and a sublime "Joan of Arc". Cohen also treats us to a gripping version of the Quebecois love song "La Manic," performed before a captivated audience in Quebec City, and a moving tribute cover of the late country master George Jones's "Choices." These are songs and performances of the first order that you can't forget.

Can't Forget is available for pre-order at all digital service providers, where fans will receive "Never Gave Nobody Trouble" instantly with purchase.

Cohen's live concert tours were met with extraordinary and unanimous accolades as he performed around the world from 2008 through 2013. His mesmerizing performances totaled 470 shows in 31 countries, attended by four million fans.  Can't Forget gives listeners an extremely special glimpse into Cohen's intimate rehearsal process, widely known to be in-depth 'concerts before the concert!,' heard by fans for the first time with this new record.  Cohen continues to work with vocalists, musicians, producers and engineers who are the best in the business.

Can't Forget: A Souvenir of the Grand Tour Tracklisting:

Field Commander Cohen

I Can't Forget

Light as the Breeze

La Manic ++ (originally by Georges Dor)

Night Comes On

Never Gave Nobody Trouble ***

Joan of Arc

Got a Little Secret ***

Choices ++ (originally by George Jones)

Stages

*** New original Leonard Cohen songs ++ Covers never previously recorded by Cohen

ABOUT LEONARD COHEN: Leonard Cohen is a master songwriter, musician, poet, novelist and visual artist whose stunning body of original work has touched the lives of millions with a career spanning six decades.  With over 23 million albums worldwide and 12 published books, Cohen's influence on musical and theatrical artists the world over is inestimable. With a career spanning five decades, Leonard Cohen has been honored as a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award Recipient (2010), inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall Of Fame (2008), the Canadian Music Hall Of Fame (2006), the Canadian Songwriters Hall Of Fame (2006) and the Songwriters Hall Of Fame (2010). He has received the prestigious Principe de Asturias Prize – the highest literary award in Spain(Spain, 2011) as well as the Glenn Gould Prize, awarded to an individual for a unique lifetime contribution that has enriched the human condition through the arts (Canada, 2011). The Canadian native has earned his country's highest civilian honors - Officer of the Order of Canada (1991), Companion to the Order of Canada (2003), Grand Officer of the National Order of Quebec (2008).

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LC BY RU  The Russian Comminity Tribute to Leonard Cohen  September 21, 2014

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Popular Problems merchandise

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Leonard Cohen Releases 'Popular Problems' On September 23, 2014, A Dynamic Studio Album Of New Songs

NEW YORK, Aug. 19, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- In Popular Problems, his thrilling new studio album, Leonard Cohen gets down into the avenues of our dreams and sets a new tone and speed of hope and despair, grief and joy.  Cohen here is an astonished lover rocking to the human condition as "the soul unfolds in the chambers of its longing."  His legendary basso resonates as never before with a presence and urgency that arises from the very depths of the heart.  The clarity and strength of these nine hypnotic songs will have us singing them over and over. 

In collaboration with co-writer Patrick Leonard, Popular Problems is a masterpiece from the ever-fresh imagination of a musical legend whose songs continue to captivate new listeners and devoted fans.

"Yet again, Leonard Cohen has broken musical boundaries with new creative inspiration," says Rob Stringer, Chairman/CEO of Columbia Records. "These nine new songs are simply sublime and innovative with a unique spirit. We're absolutely thrilled and honored to celebrate this milestone with him." 

Popular Problems is Cohen's 13th studio album and will be released on September 23rd, two days after his 80th birthday.  Popular Problems is available for pre-order everywhere today. Those who pre-order Popular Problems digitally (http://smarturl.it/PopularProblems) will receive an instant download of his new song, "Almost Like The Blues."  Click here to listen.

To celebrate his milestone 80th birthday (September 21), Cohen's endless poetic energy and legacy can be revisited with a new artist page on iTunes (www.itunes.com/leonardcohen), which features Popular Problems and includes all 12 prior studio albums Mastered For iTunes.

Popular Problems was produced by Patrick Leonard, mastered at Marcussen Mastering and was recorded and mixed by Jesse E. String with additional mixing by Bill Bottrell.

Revisit Leonard Cohen's Incredible Legacy on www.LeonardCohen.com.

Popular Problems Tracklisting:

Slow

Almost Like The Blues

Samson In New Orleans

A Street

Did I Ever Love You

My Oh My

Nevermind

Born In Chains

You Got Me Singing

ABOUT LEONARD COHEN:

Leonard Cohen is a master songwriter, musician, poet, novelist and visual artist whose stunning body of original work has touched the lives of millions with a career spanning six decades.

His explorations of spiritual, interpersonal, romantic and political themes have impacted countless contemporary recording artists and writers. He has sold over 23 million albums, worldwide and published 12 books, the most recent of which was 2006's 'Book of Longing', a collection of poetry, prose and drawings, which reached #1 on the Top 10 Hardcover Fiction Books in Canada.

Cohen's influence on musical and theatrical artists the world over is inestimable. In fact, when Cohen was inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall Of Fame in March 2008, the revered Lou Reed singled out Leonard as one of the "highest and most influential echelon of songwriters." Cohen's songbook has been covered by hundreds of recording artists including Jeff Buckley, Bob Dylan, Nina Simone,Johnny Cash, Lou Reed, Tori Amos, Nick Cave, Joan Baez, Harry Belafonte, Rufus Wainwright and the Civil Wars. Tribute albums have been released in Cohen's honor in France, Norway, Canada, Spain, Swedish, Czech Republic, South Africa and the United States. In 2008 Cohen's "Hallelujah" became the fastest-selling digital single in European history when three separate versions of the song appeared simultaneously on the UK singles chart - Cohen's own original recording, a version from Jeff Buckley and another from X Factor winner Alexandra Burke. Additionally, Leonard's songs have been frequently selected to illustrate the emotion of motion pictures and television programs and have been heard in Watchmen, The Passion of The Christ, Natural Born Killers, The Wonder Boys, Pump Up The Volume, Secretary, The West Wing, The O.C. and many others.

Leonard Cohen has been honored as a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award Recipient (2010), inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall Of Fame (2008), the Canadian Music Hall Of Fame (2006), the Canadian Songwriters Hall of Fame (2006) and the Songwriters Hall Of Fame (2010). He has received the prestigious Principe de Asturias Prize – the highest literary award in Spain (Spain, 2011) as well as the Glenn Gould Prize, awarded to an individual for a unique lifetime contribution that has enriched the human condition through the arts (Canada, 2011). The Canadian native has earned his country's highest civilian honors - Officer of the Order of Canada (1991), Companion to the Order of Canada (2003), Grand Officer of the National Order of Quebec (2008).

Cohen's recent return to live performance was met with extraordinary and unanimous accolades as he performed around the world from 2008 through 2013. Cohen's mesmerizing recent performances, deemed "a spiritual experience" by all accounts, totaled 470 shows in 31 countries attended by four million fans.

Photo - http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20140818/137144

SOURCE Columbia Records

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I saw some people starving There was murder, there was rape Their villages were burning They were trying to escape

I couldn’t meet their glances I was staring at my shoes It was acid, it was tragic It was almost like the blues It was almost like the blues

I have to die a little between each murderous plot and when I’m finished thinking I have to die a lot

There’s torture, and there’s killing and there’s all my bad reviews The war, the children missing, lord It’s almost like the blues It’s almost like the blues

Though I let my heart get frozen to keep away the rot my father says I’m chosen my mother says I’m not

I listened to their story of the gypsies and the Jews It was good, it wasn’t boring It was almost like the blues It was almost like the blues

There is no G-d in heaven There is no hell below So says the great professor of all there is to know

But I’ve had the invitation that a sinner can’t refuse It’s almost like salvation It’s almost like the blues It’s almost like the blues

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1. Slow 2. Almost Like The Blues 3. Samson In New Orleans 4. A Street 5. Did I Ever Love You 6. My Oh My 7. Nevermind 8. Born In Chains 9. You Got Me Singing

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Leonard Cohen to Release New Album For 80th Birthday Next Month

Leonard Cohen is slated to commemorate his 80th birthday in late September by releasing 'Popular Problems,' his 13th studio album

A Rolling Stone article with something about Jarkko Arjatsalo in it!

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Amazon now offers pre-ordering of Playlist: The Best of Leonard Cohen, which has a release date of Sept 9, 2014.

Dominique BOILE, who first noted this CD on sale, explains that he is familiar with several CDs by different artists in the “Playlist” series, each of which has featured original cover art and a collection of songs differ from previously released compilations. While the contents of the Playlist: The Best of Leonard Cohen CD are unknown, there is precedent to suggest that the cover art and the track list may well be unique among Leonard Cohen compilations.

(source: Heck Of A Guy)

As far as I can see, it's going to be titled "Playlist: The Very Best of Leonard Cohen", and will contain 14 tracks (as other compilations from this series).

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"Popular Problems" to be released on September 22, 2014.

Image: leonard-cohen-popular-problems-2014-album-not-final-artwork.jpg (source)

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Honouring Leonard on his 80th Birthday

Celebrate Leonard's 80th birthday with us: Read about our plans and contribute to the Fund Raising Campaign here Discuss the Hydra Bench project on the Forum here

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Anjani's New Album "I Came To Love" Includes 3 Songs with Leonard Cohen

Anjani Thomas (Blue Alert) has released a new album which includes three songs written with Leonard Cohen.

I Came To Love can be downloaded at CDBaby.

The songs:

1. Standing On the Stairs (Words by Leonard Cohen)

2. Love in Between

3. Holy Ground

4. Song to Make Me Still (A poem by Leonard Cohen – The Spice-Box Of Earth, 1961)

5. I Came to Love

6. The Goal  (Words by Leonard Cohen)

7. Clean Slate

8. Love Be a River

9. I’d Still Have You

10. Weather a Storm With You

About the album:

I Came To Love, a new release from Anjani Thomas, heralds the next chapter for the accomplished singer-songwriter. This ten-song collection chronicles the path of the heart through passion, jeopardy, and ultimately love, all revealed through Anjani’s fluid and mesmerizing sound.

Picking up where the critically acclaimed Blue Alert left off, Anjani sets the tone with the album’s title track: i came to love as a novice / with an aim to learn… now I love as a woman / sure of what she sings. With vocal nuances and impeccable phrasing, Anjani establishes a startlingly intimate connection with the listener: she’s not singing to you, she is touching what’s inside of you.

Anjani’s creative partnerships have always been unerringly honed, and it is no exception with the assembly of pros on this recording. Jerry Marotta (Peter Gabriel), acts as producer and percussionist on six tracks, building potent rhythms on Weather A Storm With You, and the mysteriously moody Standing On The Stairs. Toronto producers Rob Piltch and Jonathan Goldsmith sync a hypnotic trance groove on Holy Ground: my lover stands on holy ground/in a scarred and barren field/where my weakness is revealed/he holds space for me to heal.

Love In Between features country music giant Larry Campbell (Bob Dylan, Levon Helm) on guitars and fiddle; while renowned flamenco guitarist Pavlo takes a passionate solo turn on Love Be A River. For her longtime fans, Anjani reprises her celebrated musical collaboration with the legendary Leonard Cohen on three new tracks, including Song To Make Me Still, a wistful poem sung to meditative piano accompaniment.

One part biography, one part love letter, one part statement album, I Came to Love is a rich and varied musical journey. “It took much longer than I expected to finish this record,” Anjani says, because every time I thought it was done, something tipped the balance, which compelled me to keep working until it felt complete again. Leonard told me when we started writing together in 2005 that part of the creative process is allowing for that sense of ‘Ah, now it’s right.” It can take time for the weak spots to surface; and being patient yielded songs as nurturing to write as they are satisfying to sing. For me, it was worth the wait.”

More information at Anjani’s website and CDBaby.

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I was looking for Lou Reed inducting Leonard Cohen to the hall of fame and found this instead..

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