LEONARD COHEN – SONGS OF LEONARD COHEN LP – Nr MINT/EXC+ A2/B2 UK 1971

Songs Of Leonard Cohen
(CBS Records  1971  SBPG63241)
Matrix No’s: A2/B2 – UK Pressing

Sleeve in Nr MINT/Excellent+ condition
– some wear to edges/colours
Original CBS Inner Sleeve with no splits

Vinyl in Nr MINT/Excellent+ condition
(there are some light surface marks visible on the vinyl when held up to the light but they don’t affect the sound quality apart from some light pops/crackles)

Leonard Norman Cohen CC GOQ (September 21, 1934 – November 7, 2016) was a Canadian singer-songwriter, poet and novelist. His work explored religion, politics, isolation, sexuality and romantic relationships. Cohen was inducted into the Canadian Music Hall of Fame, the Canadian Songwriters Hall of Fame, and the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. He was invested as a Companion of the Order of Canada, the nation’s highest civilian honour. In 2011, Cohen received one of the Prince of Asturias Awards for literature and the ninth Glenn Gould Prize.

Cohen pursued a career as a poet and novelist during the 1950s and early 1960s; he did not launch a music career until 1967, at the age of 33. His first album, Songs of Leonard Cohen (1967), was followed by three more albums of folk music: Songs from a Room (1969), Songs of Love and Hate (1971) and New Skin for the Old Ceremony (1974). His 1977 record Death of a Ladies’ Man was co-written and produced by Phil Spector, which was a move away from Cohen’s previous minimalist sound. In 1979, Cohen returned with the more traditional Recent Songs, which blended his acoustic style with jazz and Oriental and Mediterranean influences. Perhaps Cohen’s most famous song, “Hallelujah” was first released on his studio album Various Positions in 1984. I’m Your Man in 1988 marked Cohen’s turn to synthesized productions and remains his most popular album. In 1992, Cohen released its follow-up, The Future, which had dark lyrics and references to political and social unrest.

Cohen returned to music in 2001 with the release of Ten New Songs, which was a major hit in Canada and Europe. His eleventh album, Dear Heather, followed in 2004. Following a successful string of tours between 2008 and 2013, Cohen released three albums in the final four years of his life: Old Ideas (2012), Popular Problems (2014) and You Want It Darker (2016), the last of which was released three weeks before his death.

Songs of Leonard Cohen is the debut album by Canadian musician Leonard Cohen, released in December 1967 by record label Columbia.

With less success in the United States than in Europe, it foreshadowed the future path of Cohen’s career, reaching number 83 on the Billboard 200 and achieving gold status in the U.S. only in 1989, while it reached number 13 in UK and spent nearly a year and a half in the U.K. album charts.

Track listing

All songs written by Leonard Cohen.

Side A

1. “Suzanne” – 3:48
2. “Master Song” – 5:55
3. “Winter Lady” – 2:15
4. “The Stranger Song” – 5:00
5. “Sisters of Mercy” – 3:32

Side B

1. “So Long, Marianne” – 5:38
2. “Hey, That’s No Way to Say Goodbye” – 2:55
3. “Stories of the Street” – 4:35
4. “Teachers” – 3:01
5. “One of Us Cannot Be Wrong” – 4:23

Musicians

• Leonard Cohen: vocals, acoustic guitar
• Jimmy Lovelace: drums (“So Long, Marianne”)
• Nancy Priddy: vocals (“Suzanne”, “So Long, Marianne”, “Hey, That’s No Way to Say Goodbye”)
• Willy Ruff: bass (“So Long, Marianne”, “Stories of the Street”)
• Chester Crill, Chris Darrow, Solomon Feldthouse, David Lindley: flute, mandolin, Jew’s harp, violin, various Middle Eastern instruments (“Master Song”, “Winter Lady”, “Sisters of Mercy”, “So Long, Marianne”, “Hey, That’s No Way to Say Goodbye”, “Stories of the Street”, “Teachers”)