Live Songs
Encyclopedia
Live Songs was the Canadian
singer-songwriter
Leonard Cohen
's fourth album, released during the three-year silence between Songs of Love and Hate
and New Skin for the Old Ceremony
. It is a compilation of live recordings, performed mostly in Europe
in 1970 and 1972. Cohen is backed by a medium-sized, country
-influenced group, which includes guitarist/fiddler Charlie Daniels
and vocalist "Jennifer Warren", who would soon become famous as Jennifer Warnes
, among other things a popular interpreter of Cohen's songs.
The album consists mostly of reinterpretations (often with additional or significantly altered lyrics) of songs from Cohen's second album, Songs From a Room
("Nancy" is a version of "Seems So Long Ago, Nancy", and "Improvisation" is an extended instrumental guitar trio
version of the vamp from "You Know Who I Am", which is also featured). Neither Songs of Leonard Cohen
nor the then-recent Songs of Love and Hate
(which featured a live track, "Let's Sing Another Song, Boys", culled from the same tour as the 1970 recordings here) are represented. The other tracks are a cover of the folk standard "Passing Through", and two new compositions: "Please Don't Pass Me By (A Disgrace)" (a thirteen-minute singalong recorded in 1970) and "Minute Prologue". A "bonus" track, "Queen Victoria", was recorded by Cohen alone in his Tennessee
hotel
room in 1972.
At the beginning of a Paris, France performance of "Bird on the Wire
", Cohen recites the first verse of a French
translation of the song's lyric.
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
singer-songwriter
Singer-songwriter
Singer-songwriters are musicians who write, compose and sing their own musical material including lyrics and melodies. As opposed to contemporary popular music singers who write their own songs, the term singer-songwriter describes a distinct form of artistry, closely associated with the...
Leonard Cohen
Leonard Cohen
Leonard Norman Cohen, is a Canadian singer-songwriter, musician, poet and novelist. Cohen published his first book of poetry in Montreal in 1956 and his first novel in 1963. His work often explores religion, isolation, sexuality and interpersonal relationships...
's fourth album, released during the three-year silence between Songs of Love and Hate
Songs of Love and Hate
Songs of Love and Hate is Canadian singer-songwriter Leonard Cohen's third album. It was mainly recorded in Columbia Studio A, Nashville, from September 22 to 26, 1970. "Sing Another Song, Boys" was recorded at the Isle of Wight Festival on August 30, 1970. Further recording took place at ...
and New Skin for the Old Ceremony
New Skin for the Old Ceremony
New Skin for the Old Ceremony is Leonard Cohen's fourth studio album. On this album, he begins to evolve away from the rawer sound of his earlier albums, with violas, mandolins, banjos, guitars, percussion and other instruments giving the album a more orchestrated sound...
. It is a compilation of live recordings, performed mostly in Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
in 1970 and 1972. Cohen is backed by a medium-sized, country
Country music
Country music is a popular American musical style that began in the rural Southern United States in the 1920s. It takes its roots from Western cowboy and folk music...
-influenced group, which includes guitarist/fiddler Charlie Daniels
Charlie Daniels
Charles Edward "Charlie" Daniels is an American musician known for his contributions to country and southern rock music. He is known primarily for his number one country hit "The Devil Went Down to Georgia", and multiple other songs he has performed and written. Daniels has been active as a singer...
and vocalist "Jennifer Warren", who would soon become famous as Jennifer Warnes
Jennifer Warnes
Jennifer Jean Warnes is an American singer, songwriter, arranger and record producer. She is known for her interpretations of compositions written by herself and many others, as well as an extensive playlist as a vocalist on movie soundtracks.Between 1979 and 1987 Warnes surpassed Frank Sinatra as...
, among other things a popular interpreter of Cohen's songs.
The album consists mostly of reinterpretations (often with additional or significantly altered lyrics) of songs from Cohen's second album, Songs From a Room
Songs from a Room
Songs from a Room is the second album of Canadian musician Leonard Cohen, released in 1969. It reached #63 on the Billboard list and #2 at UK charts....
("Nancy" is a version of "Seems So Long Ago, Nancy", and "Improvisation" is an extended instrumental guitar trio
Trio (music)
Trio is generally used in any of the following ways:* A group of three musicians playing the same or different musical instrument.* The performance of a piece of music by three people.* The contrasting section of a piece in ternary form...
version of the vamp from "You Know Who I Am", which is also featured). Neither Songs of Leonard Cohen
Songs of Leonard Cohen
Songs of Leonard Cohen is the debut album of Canadian musician Leonard Cohen. It foreshadowed the future path of his career, with less success in the United States and far better in Europe, reaching #83 on the Billboard chart but achieving gold status only in 1989, while it reached #13 in UK and...
nor the then-recent Songs of Love and Hate
Songs of Love and Hate
Songs of Love and Hate is Canadian singer-songwriter Leonard Cohen's third album. It was mainly recorded in Columbia Studio A, Nashville, from September 22 to 26, 1970. "Sing Another Song, Boys" was recorded at the Isle of Wight Festival on August 30, 1970. Further recording took place at ...
(which featured a live track, "Let's Sing Another Song, Boys", culled from the same tour as the 1970 recordings here) are represented. The other tracks are a cover of the folk standard "Passing Through", and two new compositions: "Please Don't Pass Me By (A Disgrace)" (a thirteen-minute singalong recorded in 1970) and "Minute Prologue". A "bonus" track, "Queen Victoria", was recorded by Cohen alone in his Tennessee
Tennessee
Tennessee is a U.S. state located in the Southeastern United States. It has a population of 6,346,105, making it the nation's 17th-largest state by population, and covers , making it the 36th-largest by total land area...
hotel
Hotel
A hotel is an establishment that provides paid lodging on a short-term basis. The provision of basic accommodation, in times past, consisting only of a room with a bed, a cupboard, a small table and a washstand has largely been replaced by rooms with modern facilities, including en-suite bathrooms...
room in 1972.
At the beginning of a Paris, France performance of "Bird on the Wire
Bird on the Wire
"Bird on the Wire" is one of Leonard Cohen's signature songs. It was recorded 26 September 1968 in Nashville and included on his 1969 album Songs from a Room. A May 1968 recording produced by David Crosby, entitled "Like a Bird", was added to the 2007 remastered CD...
", Cohen recites the first verse of a French
French language
French is a Romance language spoken as a first language in France, the Romandy region in Switzerland, Wallonia and Brussels in Belgium, Monaco, the regions of Quebec and Acadia in Canada, and by various communities elsewhere. Second-language speakers of French are distributed throughout many parts...
translation of the song's lyric.
Track listing
- All songs written by Leonard Cohen except "Passing Through" (by Dick BlakesleeDick BlakesleeRichard Cleveland Blakeslee was an American professor of English who is best known as the author of the folk song "Passing Through". Quoting from the book by Ronald D...
, arranged by Cohen). - All recorded in 1972 except "Please Don't Pass Me By (A Disgrace)" and "Tonight Will Be Fine" in 1970. Location of recording in parentheses.
Side 1 (Recorded in 1972)
- "Minute Prologue" – 1:12 (LondonLondonLondon is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
) - "Passing Through" – 4:05 (London)
- "You Know Who I Am" – 5:22 (BrusselsBrusselsBrussels , officially the Brussels Region or Brussels-Capital Region , is the capital of Belgium and the de facto capital of the European Union...
) - "Bird on the WireBird on the Wire"Bird on the Wire" is one of Leonard Cohen's signature songs. It was recorded 26 September 1968 in Nashville and included on his 1969 album Songs from a Room. A May 1968 recording produced by David Crosby, entitled "Like a Bird", was added to the 2007 remastered CD...
" – 4:27 (ParisParisParis is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
) - "Nancy" – 3:48 (London)
- "Improvisation" – 3:17 (Paris)
Side 2 (Recorded in 1970 and 1972)
- "Story of Isaac" – 3:56 (BerlinBerlinBerlin is the capital city of Germany and is one of the 16 states of Germany. With a population of 3.45 million people, Berlin is Germany's largest city. It is the second most populous city proper and the seventh most populous urban area in the European Union...
) - "Please Don't Pass Me By (A Disgrace)" – 13:00 (London)
- "Tonight Will Be Fine" – 6:06 (Isle of WightIsle of WightThe Isle of Wight is a county and the largest island of England, located in the English Channel, on average about 2–4 miles off the south coast of the county of Hampshire, separated from the mainland by a strait called the Solent...
) - "Queen Victoria" – 3:28 (TennesseeTennesseeTennessee is a U.S. state located in the Southeastern United States. It has a population of 6,346,105, making it the nation's 17th-largest state by population, and covers , making it the 36th-largest by total land area...
)