Leonard Cohen Reminds Us Why He Still Matters by Joshua Klein Yes, Cohen Has Written the Spring U.S
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MUSIC Leonard Cohen reminds us why he still matters By Joshua Klein Yes, Cohen has written the spring U.S. tour.). SPECIAL TO THE TRIBUNE several classics—"Suzanne," Yet that was likely no "So Long, Marianne," "Chel- substitute for the sight of the NEW YORK—Montreal sea Hotel No. 2" and "Bird man himself, dapper and bard Leonard Cohen has on the Wire" among them— fleet of foot as he trotted into written and recorded many but as of late, it's "Hallelu- position to front his ace great songs, and influenced jah" that increasingly pulls band through more than two many times that number of more people into the fold. It's hours of instantly recogniz- peers and followers with his a cryptic but compelling able material. spiritual, morose and occa- masterpiece of hopeful mel- Like Dylan, Reed and sionally carnal poetry and ancholy (and oft overlooked Waits, Cohen is not a conven- music. sensuality) by a man many tionally talented vocalist, But lately one song towers may not even know wrote it. but he still used his impres- over the rest of Cohen's con- Not that Cohen seemed to sive baritone like a master, siderable oeuvre, and that's mind. Though he was no frequently delivering, on "Hallelujah." It has been recluse, the singer/song- bended knee, each perfectly covered countless times by writer grew increasingly phrased line with a mix of the likas of Bob Dylan, Bono, sanguine on the sidelines in menace and knowing mirth. John Gale, Rufus Wain- the'80s, and by the'90s he . In the end, it's no surprise wright and, perhaps most had vanished peacefully to a that an artist of Cohen's famously, Jeff Buckley. It has Buddhist retreat outside Los caliber should return; each been heard in TV shows and Angeles, where he was or- year more acts reunite, most movies as diverse as "The dained a monk and kept to nowhere near his level. West Wing" and "Shrek." It himself, apparently content What's remarkable is how has even been interpreted on to let his legacy speak for Cohen has managed to do "American Idol" and Eng- itself. this minus the stigma of land's "The X Factor," the But after five years in nostalgia. From "Famous latter leading to a record- seclusion he reportedly Blue Raincoat" to "The Fu- breaking U.K. chart hit by emerged only to learn that ture," his music felt wholly fifth season winner Alex- his legacy had been ex- in tune with the here and andra Burke. ploited by a former manager, now. "Dance me to the end of Yet "Hallelujah," it should who left him with just a love," he intoned at the be noted, isn't some gem fraction of his fortune. show's start, and the crowd from Cohen's late '60s and That's what led him back to followed him at every step. '70s heyday. It's a track from work, with new albums That the ubiquitous and his relatively unsung later (2001's "Ten New Songs" and much-beloved "Hallelujah," „-- years—1984, to be exact— 2004's "Dear Heather") and which came midway through and is found on an album the tour. the show, was (standing initially deemed so uncom- An icon as influential as ovation or not) far from the mercial it didn't even war- Bob Dylan, as cool as Lou evening's highlight said less rant an American release. Reed and as hip as Tom about the quality of that In keeping with that un- Waits, Cohen nonetheless composition and more about commercial spirit, Cohen got a late start in his career. the quality of all those that \d from public per- He was 33 when he released surrounded it. formances and recording for his first album, 1967's "Songs One after the other, songs many years. But after fi- of Leonard Cohen." Now that such as "Sisters of Mercy," nancial setbacks, he began he's 74, it's unclear how "Tower of Song," "The Parti- recording again and an- many tours he has left in san" and "Everybody nounced his first U.S. con- him. Knows" reduced the audi- cert tour in 15 years. He Ironically, royalties from ence to rapt silence, atten- performed Thursday at New all those renditions of "Hal- tive to every nuance of Co- York City's Beacon Theatre, lelujah," as well as licensing hen's voice and the subtle and is scheduled to perform deals to use the song in mov- accompaniment of his band May 5 at the Chicago Thea- ies and on TV, probably and backing singers. Unlike tre. mean that refilling the cof- the work of many of his con- Fifteen years may seem fers is less of a priority for temporaries, these songs like a long time, but Cohen is Cohen than it once was. Yet have weathered the passage a patient man. "Hallelujah" the rare opportunity to see of time not as relics but as reportedly took two years to Cohen perform the song something special, some- write and once allegedly himself is not to be passed thing living and breathing, spanned 80 verses before he up, and on the day of the something almost other- found a way to whittle them New York show, tickets were worldly in their austerity down (Cale's influential 1991 going for hundreds of dollars and grace. version was supposedly to desperate fans. From the looks on the crafted from a mere 15 pages Perhaps news that a live faces of the people pouring of lyrics faxed to him by CD and DVD of Cohen's 2008 onto the street after the Cohen). But for the thrilled London performance are on show, to be part of it was a audience at the Beacon The- their way offered some sol- rare privilege. atre, Cohen's appearance ace to those shut out, as did came not a moment too soon. the formal announcement of [email protected].