LEONARD COHEN/SONGS OF LOVE AND HATE S 69004 (-71) UK

Leonard Cohen was a part of my late teens. With his two first LP:s I have memories of long haired girls and beads, red wine and smokes, and long nightly discussions where we solved all the worlds problems. It was a secure life, we were still in school and most of us lived with our parents. Cohen held a piece of that security with his soft melodies and poetic lyrics. Back then we thought his songs were revolutionary, but when I listen to the first two albums today I find same formula as used by many contemporary artists. The songs are great, but it's far from radical. This was his third album and in some ways different. The formula is gone and the composing more free. It's emotional, naked and personal. He also allows his voice to express more feelings - irony, love and hate. "Sing Another Song Boys" was a 1970 live cut from Isle of White, the rest recorded in Nashville and London, with overall production by Bob Johnston. Two of the tracks are special - "Diamonds In the Mine" has very expressive singing and "Avalanche" an absolutely beautiful string arrangement made by Britsh composer Paul Buckmaster (who also did work for BeeGees and Bowie among others). "Avalanche" is my absolute Cohen favorite - five minutes of timeless elegance. The LP wasn't a hit in US, barely made Billboard 150, but a commercial success in many other countries, reaching #4 in UK. In my opinion it's the best he ever done. First US release on Columbia (C 30103) with a small booklet. Early UK issue with label as shown here, thin matt cover and booklet. (SYSÖ*) (LÄK*)