Leonard Cohen - Live Songs (1973)

I've been in a bit of a Leonard Cohen kick lately, and with the onset of summer in Montreal, I figured I'd post this - especially because it isn't so easy to find in North America. Here, the album was only released on LP in 2009, but for some reason, it's been floating around Europe since 1973. This version is the original European shit (to allow myself some snobbery). Anyways, Leonard Cohen's Live Songs was recorded from live shows in London, Berlin, Paris, Brussels, and the Isle of Wight in 1970 and 1972 (and also from a "Room in Tennessee" in 1972). The album took me a couple of listens before I began to like it, as the songs are all pretty slow and soft with more sparse instrumentation than on his studio albums. "You Know Who I Am" is really good here, a lot better than the version on Songs From A Room, I think, and towards the end, there is a soft, fluttery kind of collaboration between Leonard, the bassist, and the other guitarist that sounds really pretty. Actually, the album as a whole is really pretty if you like Leonard Cohen.

Track Listing:

Side One

1. Minute Prologue (London 1972)

2. Passing Thru (London 1972)

3. You Know Who I Am (Brussels 1972)

4. Bird on the Wire (Paris 1972)

5. Nancy (London 1972)

6. Improvisation (Paris 1972)

Side Two

7. Story of Isaac (Berlin 1972)

8. Please Don't Pass Me By (A Disgrace) (London 1970)

9. Tonight Will Be Fine (Isle of Wight 1970)

10. Queen Victoria (Room in Tennessee 1972)

Live Songs (1973)