Leonard Cohen was a poet long before he decided to pick up a guitar.
Despite singing in a dry baritone over spare arrangements, Cohen is a gifted lyricist who captivates the listener.
New Skin for the Old Ceremony may be Leonard Cohen's most musical album, as he is accompanied by violas, mandolins, banjos, and percussion that give his music more texture than usual.
The fact that Cohen does more real singing on this album can be seen as both a blessing and a curse -- while his voice sounds more strained, the songs are delivered with more passion than usual.
Furthermore, he has background vocalists including Janis Ian that add significantly to create a fuller sound.
It is no surprise, however, that he generally uses simple song structures to draw attention to the words ("Who By Fire").
The lyrics are filled with abstract yet vivid images, and the album primarily uses the metaphor of love and relationships as battlegrounds ("There Is a War," "Field Commander Cohen").
Cohen is clearly singing from the heart, and he chronicles his relationship with Janis Joplin in "Chelsea Hotel No.
2." This is one of his best albums, although new listeners should start with Songs of Leonard Cohen.
| Title/Composers | Performer | Listen | Time | Size | Size | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Is This What You WantedLeonard Cohen | Leonard Cohen | Play | 04:17 | 9 MB | 20 MB |
| 2 | Lover, Lover, LoverLeonard Cohen | Leonard Cohen | Play | 03:21 | 7 MB | 18 MB |
| 3 | Field Commander CohenLeonard Cohen | Leonard Cohen | Play | 04:01 | 9 MB | 17 MB |
| 4 | Why Don't You TryLeonard Cohen | Leonard Cohen | Play | 03:53 | 8 MB | 17 MB |
| 5 | There Is a WarLeonard Cohen | Leonard Cohen | Play | 03:02 | 6 MB | 15 MB |
| 6 | A Singer Must DieLeonard Cohen | Leonard Cohen | Play | 03:20 | 7 MB | 14 MB |
| 7 | I Tried to Leave YouLeonard Cohen | Leonard Cohen | Play | 02:41 | 6 MB | 11 MB |
| 8 | Who by FireLeonard Cohen | Leonard Cohen | Play | 02:35 | 5 MB | 12 MB |
| 9 | Take This LongingLeonard Cohen | Leonard Cohen | Play | 04:09 | 9 MB | 18 MB |
| 10 | Leaving GreensleevesLeonard Cohen | Leonard Cohen | Play | 02:41 | 6 MB | 13 MB |
| 11 | Chelsea Hotel #2 | Leonard Cohen | Play | 03:07 | 7 MB | 14 MB |
| 37 mins | 85 MB | |||||
| 37 mins | 174 MB | |||||
| Artist | Job | |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Teresa Alfieri | Cover Design |
| 2 | Vic Anesini | Mastering |
| 3 | Emily Bindiger | Main Personnel, Vocals, Vocals (Background) |
| 4 | Gerald Chamberlain | Main Personnel, Trombone |
| 5 | Leonard Cohen | Composer, Guitar, Guitar (Acoustic), Harp, Jew's-Harp, Main Personnel, Primary Artist, Vocals |
| 6 | Erin Dickins | Bass, Main Personnel, Vocals, Vocals (Background) |
| 7 | Lewis Furey | Main Personnel, Viola |
| 8 | Ralph Gibson | Guitar, Main Personnel |
| 9 | Ralph Gibson | Guitar |
| 10 | Armen Halburian | Main Personnel, Percussion |
| 11 | Janis Ian | Main Personnel, Vocals, Vocals (Background) |
| 12 | Gail Kantor | Main Personnel, Vocals |
| 13 | Frank Laico | Audio Engineer, Engineer |
| 14 | Jeff Laton | Banjo, Guitar, Main Personnel, Mandolin, Trumpet |
| 15 | Jeff Layton | Banjo, Guitar, Mandolin, Trumpet |
| 16 | Barry Lazarowitz | Drums, Main Personnel, Percussion |
| 17 | John Lissauer | Arranger, Keyboards, Main Personnel, Producer, Vocals, Vocals (Background), Woodwind |
| 18 | Roy Markowitz | Drums, Main Personnel |
| 19 | John Miller | Bass Instrument, Main Personnel |
| 20 | John Miller | Bass |
| 21 | Don Payne | Bass, Bass Instrument, Main Personnel |
| 22 | Rick Rowe | Audio Engineer, Engineer, Mixing |
| 23 | Sam Tata | Photography |
| 24 | Leanne Ungar | Assistant Engineer |
| Quality | Format | Encoding | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| Standard | MP3 | 320kps 44.1kHz | MP3 is an audio coding format which uses a form of lossy data compression. The highest bitrate of this format is 320kbps (kbit/s). MP3 Digital audio takes less amount of space (up to 90% reduction in size) and the quality is not as good as the original one. |
| CD Quality | FLAC | 16bit 44.1kHz | FLAC is an audio coding format which uses lossless compression. Digital audio in FLAC format has a smaller size and retains the same quality of the original Compact Disc (CD). |