Songs of Leonard Cohen
Encyclopedia
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 spent nearly a year and a half in the UK album charts.
and emotional songs were informed by his literate approach, part and parcel to a burgeoning singer/songwriter movement in popular music. Seen by later critics as a reaction against the psychedelic
band-oriented styles (as were the country-rock developments of 1968 and 1969) enjoying a vogue in 1967, determining whether indeed the singer-songwriters were 'reacting against' the baroque tapestries of Sgt. Pepper or the San Francisco bands
is problematic.
Instigated by the work of Bob Dylan
, singer-songwriters appeared to be folk singer
s on the surface, but were not allied to the folk movement's
politics or repertoire, instead performing original material in styles at times reminiscent of the folk singers of the late 1950s and early 1960s. Songs of Leonard Cohen was one of the first in this new sub-genre, along with the debut albums of Laura Nyro
, Tim Buckley
, Neil Young
, and Joni Mitchell
, propelling the approach to an eventual position of dominance in the early 1970s. Judy Collins
, one of the first of the 'traditional' folk singers to champion new writers such as Mitchell and Cohen, along with actor Noel Harrison
previously had hits performing the song "Suzanne
" (in 1966 and 1967 respectively).
Cohen and John Simon
, producer and musical director, managed to give the album a distinct sound while also relying on typical sixties effects such as instruments panning from channel to channel. Although Cohen was granted much freedom in the recording process, they did not always agree on how the record should be mixed. Finally, Simon departed for his Christmas
holiday and left the final mix to the artist himself. In a 2001 interview Cohen told British
music magazine Mojo
: "We did have a falling out over the song "Suzanne." He wanted a heavy piano syncopated
and maybe drums and I didn't want drums on any of my songs, so that was a bone of contention."
On some of the tracks Cohen was backed by strings, the band Kaleidoscope
and Nancy Priddy
's vocals. The original producer was John Hammond
, who signed Cohen to Columbia, but he was replaced by Simon because of health problems.
"Suzanne
", an ode
to a "half-crazy" woman who lives near the St. Lawrence River in Montreal
and who is capable of profound personal/spiritual connection with the song's narrator, was ranked 41st on Pitchfork Media
's 'Top 200 Songs of the 1960s'. The track "So Long, Marianne"
also featured on the list – ranked 190th.
Three of the album's songs, "Winter Lady," "The Stranger Song," and "Sisters of Mercy," were used in the 1971 Robert Altman
film McCabe & Mrs. Miller
.
Songs of Leonard Cohen was released on CD
in 1989, while a digipak
edition was released in some European countries in 2003. A remastered version, with bonus tracks, was released in the United States on April 24, 2007, and in Japan on June 20, 2007. The Japanese version was a limited edition replica of the original record album cover with lyric card insert.
In 2009, the album (including the 2007 bonus tracks) was included in Hallelujah - The Essential Leonard Cohen Album Collection, an 8-CD box set issued by Sony Music in the Netherlands.
On the vinyl and remastered versions is a picture of Saint Bernadette of Lourdes in a fire looking towards heaven
. According to the liner notes, apparently Cohen had collected the picture when he was much younger.
recorded "Suzanne
" on her 1966 album In My Life
; and recorded "Sisters of Mercy" and "Hey, That's No Way to Say Goodbye" on her 1967 hit album Wildflowers
. The seminal British folk-rock group Fairport Convention
were also among Cohen's earliest admirers, recording a performance of "Suzanne" (sung as a duet between Sandy Denny
and Iain Matthews
) for the BBC in August 1968; the recording was released on their BBC sessions compilation Heyday
. Other early versions of "Suzanne" included those by Pearls Before Swine
, Françoise Hardy
, Tori Amos
and Harry Belafonte
. Peter Gabriel
recorded a syncopated version of "Suzanne" for the Leonard Cohen tribute album
Tower of Song
, and Geoffrey Oryema
performed it on the earlier tribute I'm Your Fan
. Italian singer Fabrizio de André
sang an Italian version of the song on his CD Canzoni. The British experimental rock group The Flying Lizards
released a version with detached, cold vocals sung over dark samples on their 1984 LP Top Ten. Nick Cave
performed "Suzanne" in the film Leonard Cohen: I'm Your Man
.
The song "Sisters of Mercy" was the inspiration for the name of the Post-punk
/Gothic rock
band The Sisters of Mercy
, who also took a line from the song "Teachers" as the title of their 1992 compilation album
Some Girls Wander By Mistake
. Sting and The Chieftains
performed a Celtic music
-influenced version of the song on Tower of Song. "Sisters of Mercy" was also covered by Area, a darkwave band from Champaign, Illinois on their 1988 CD The Perfect Dream. Beth Orton
performed "Sisters of Mercy" in the film Leonard Cohen: I'm Your Man
.
"Hey, That's No Way to Say Goodbye" was sung by Roberta Flack on her album, First Take (1969), and by The Vogues
in 1970. It was performed by Ian McCulloch
on I'm Your Fan; by Michael Monroe (singer of Hanoi Rocks
) on his Whatcha Want album as a tribute to his late wife, Jude Wilder; and by The Lemonheads
on their album Varshons
(2009). Brian Hyland
released "So Long, Marianne" as a single
in 1971, while the britpop
group James
recorded it on I'm Your Fan. Indie rock
band Straitjacket Fits
also covered it on their 1988 debut. Harvey Milk
covered "One Of Us Cannot Be Wrong" on the album Courtesy And Good Will Towards Men. Will Oldham
, recording under the name Palace Music, released a version of "Winter Lady" on his 1994 EP Hope
.
"Winter Lady" was performed by Kate and Anna McGarrigle
with Martha Wainwright
in the film Leonard Cohen: I'm Your Man
.
On September 4, 2009, Beck
announced that his second Record Club
cover album would be Songs of Leonard Cohen. Contributers include MGMT
, Devendra Banhart
, Brian LeBarton
, Andrew Stockdale of Wolfmother
and Binki Shapiro of Little Joy
. Andrew VanWyngarden of MGMT chose the album.
Guilt Machine
covered "The Stranger Song" on their debut album, On This Perfect Day
.
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...
musician 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...
. It foreshadowed the future path of his career, with less success in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
and far better 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...
, reaching #83 on the Billboard
Billboard 200
The Billboard 200 is a ranking of the 200 highest-selling music albums and EPs in the United States, published weekly by Billboard magazine. It is frequently used to convey the popularity of an artist or groups of artists...
chart but achieving gold status only in 1989, while it reached #13 in UK and spent nearly a year and a half in the UK album charts.
Album information
Cohen's lonelyLoneliness
Loneliness is an unpleasant feeling in which a person feels a strong sense of emptiness and solitude resulting from inadequate levels of social relationships. However, it is a subjective experience...
and emotional songs were informed by his literate approach, part and parcel to a burgeoning singer/songwriter movement in popular music. Seen by later critics as a reaction against the psychedelic
Psychedelic
The term psychedelic is derived from the Greek words ψυχή and δηλοῦν , translating to "soul-manifesting". A psychedelic experience is characterized by the striking perception of aspects of one's mind previously unknown, or by the creative exuberance of the mind liberated from its ostensibly...
band-oriented styles (as were the country-rock developments of 1968 and 1969) enjoying a vogue in 1967, determining whether indeed the singer-songwriters were 'reacting against' the baroque tapestries of Sgt. Pepper or the San Francisco bands
San Francisco Sound
The San Francisco Sound refers to rock music performed live and recorded by San Francisco-based rock groups of the mid 1960s to early 1970s. It was associated with the counterculture community in San Francisco during these years.- Stylistic Dimensions :...
is problematic.
Instigated by the work of Bob Dylan
Bob Dylan
Bob Dylan is an American singer-songwriter, musician, poet, film director and painter. He has been a major and profoundly influential figure in popular music and culture for five decades. Much of his most celebrated work dates from the 1960s when he was an informal chronicler and a seemingly...
, singer-songwriters appeared to be folk singer
Folk Singer
Folk Singer is a 1964 album by Muddy Waters. Waters plays acoustic guitar, backed by Willie Dixon on string bass, Clifton James on drums, and Buddy Guy on acoustic guitar...
s on the surface, but were not allied to the folk movement's
American folk music revival
The American folk music revival was a phenomenon in the United States that began during the 1940s and peaked in popularity in the mid-1960s. Its roots went earlier, and performers like Josh White, Burl Ives, Woody Guthrie, Lead Belly, Richard Dyer-Bennett, Oscar Brand, Jean Ritchie, John Jacob...
politics or repertoire, instead performing original material in styles at times reminiscent of the folk singers of the late 1950s and early 1960s. Songs of Leonard Cohen was one of the first in this new sub-genre, along with the debut albums of Laura Nyro
Laura Nyro
Laura Nyro was an American songwriter, singer, and pianist. She achieved considerable critical acclaim with her own recordings, particularly the albums Eli and the Thirteenth Confession and New York Tendaberry, and had commercial success with artists such as Barbra Streisand and The 5th...
, Tim Buckley
Tim Buckley
Timothy Charles Buckley III was an American vocalist, and musician. His music and style changed considerably through the years; his first album was mostly folk oriented, but over time his music incorporated jazz, psychedelia, funk, soul, avant-garde and an evolving "voice as instrument," sound...
, Neil Young
Neil Young
Neil Percival Young, OC, OM is a Canadian singer-songwriter who is widely regarded as one of the most influential musicians of his generation...
, and Joni Mitchell
Joni Mitchell
Joni Mitchell, CC is a Canadian musician, singer songwriter, and painter. Mitchell began singing in small nightclubs in her native Saskatchewan and Western Canada and then busking in the streets and dives of Toronto...
, propelling the approach to an eventual position of dominance in the early 1970s. Judy Collins
Judy Collins
Judith Marjorie "Judy" Collins is an American singer and songwriter, known for her eclectic tastes in the material she records ; and for her social activism. She is an alumna of the University of Colorado.-Musical career:Collins was born and raised in Seattle, Washington...
, one of the first of the 'traditional' folk singers to champion new writers such as Mitchell and Cohen, along with actor Noel Harrison
Noel Harrison
Noel Harrison is an English Olympic athlete, actor and singer. He is the son of British actor Sir Rex Harrison.-Early life:...
previously had hits performing the song "Suzanne
Suzanne (Leonard Cohen song)
"Suzanne" is a song written by Canadian poet and musician Leonard Cohen in the 1960s, and often heard in a recording by Judy Collins. It has become one of the most-covered songs in Cohen's catalogue....
" (in 1966 and 1967 respectively).
Cohen and John Simon
John Simon (record producer)
John Simon is an American musician, record producer, and composer. He is best known for his work with The Band as producer and musician on Music from Big Pink and The Band.-Biography:...
, producer and musical director, managed to give the album a distinct sound while also relying on typical sixties effects such as instruments panning from channel to channel. Although Cohen was granted much freedom in the recording process, they did not always agree on how the record should be mixed. Finally, Simon departed for his Christmas
Christmas
Christmas or Christmas Day is an annual holiday generally celebrated on December 25 by billions of people around the world. It is a Christian feast that commemorates the birth of Jesus Christ, liturgically closing the Advent season and initiating the season of Christmastide, which lasts twelve days...
holiday and left the final mix to the artist himself. In a 2001 interview Cohen told British
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
music magazine Mojo
Mojo (magazine)
MOJO is a popular music magazine published initially by Emap, and since January 2008 by Bauer, monthly in the United Kingdom. Following the success of the magazine Q, publishers Emap were looking for a title which would cater for the burgeoning interest in classic rock music...
: "We did have a falling out over the song "Suzanne." He wanted a heavy piano syncopated
Syncopation
In music, syncopation includes a variety of rhythms which are in some way unexpected in that they deviate from the strict succession of regularly spaced strong and weak but also powerful beats in a meter . These include a stress on a normally unstressed beat or a rest where one would normally be...
and maybe drums and I didn't want drums on any of my songs, so that was a bone of contention."
On some of the tracks Cohen was backed by strings, the band Kaleidoscope
Kaleidoscope (US band)
Kaleidoscope was an American psychedelic folk and ethnic band who recorded 4 albums and several singles for Epic Records between 1966 and 1970.-Formation:...
and Nancy Priddy
Nancy Priddy
Nancy Lee Priddy is an American actress and singer-songwriter. As an actress, she has appeared on many television series, including Bewitched, The Waltons, and Matlock.-Career:...
's vocals. The original producer was John Hammond
John H. Hammond
John Henry Hammond II was an American record producer, musician and music critic from the 1930s to the early 1980s...
, who signed Cohen to Columbia, but he was replaced by Simon because of health problems.
"Suzanne
Suzanne (Leonard Cohen song)
"Suzanne" is a song written by Canadian poet and musician Leonard Cohen in the 1960s, and often heard in a recording by Judy Collins. It has become one of the most-covered songs in Cohen's catalogue....
", an ode
Ode
Ode is a type of lyrical verse. A classic ode is structured in three major parts: the strophe, the antistrophe, and the epode. Different forms such as the homostrophic ode and the irregular ode also exist...
to a "half-crazy" woman who lives near the St. Lawrence River in Montreal
Montreal
Montreal is a city in Canada. It is the largest city in the province of Quebec, the second-largest city in Canada and the seventh largest in North America...
and who is capable of profound personal/spiritual connection with the song's narrator, was ranked 41st on Pitchfork Media
Pitchfork Media
Pitchfork Media, usually known simply as Pitchfork or P4k, is a Chicago-based daily Internet publication established in 1995 that is devoted to music criticism and commentary, music news, and artist interviews. Its focus is on underground and independent music, especially indie rock...
's 'Top 200 Songs of the 1960s'. The track "So Long, Marianne"
So Long, Marianne (song)
"So Long, Marianne" is a song written by Canadian poet and musician Leonard Cohen. It was featured on his debut album, Songs of Leonard Cohen. Pitchfork Media placed it at number 190 on their list of "The 200 Greatest Songs of the 1960s."- History :...
also featured on the list – ranked 190th.
Three of the album's songs, "Winter Lady," "The Stranger Song," and "Sisters of Mercy," were used in the 1971 Robert Altman
Robert Altman
Robert Bernard Altman was an American film director and screenwriter known for making films that are highly naturalistic, but with a stylized perspective. In 2006, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences recognized his body of work with an Academy Honorary Award.His films MASH , McCabe and...
film McCabe & Mrs. Miller
McCabe & Mrs. Miller
McCabe & Mrs. Miller is a 1971 American Western film starring Warren Beatty and Julie Christie, and directed by Robert Altman. The screenplay is by Altman and Brian McKay from the novel McCabe by Edmund Naughton. The cinematography is by Vilmos Zsigmond and the soundtrack includes three songs by...
.
Songs of Leonard Cohen was released on CD
Compact Disc
The Compact Disc is an optical disc used to store digital data. It was originally developed to store and playback sound recordings exclusively, but later expanded to encompass data storage , write-once audio and data storage , rewritable media , Video Compact Discs , Super Video Compact Discs ,...
in 1989, while a digipak
Digipak
Digipak is a patented style of CD, DVD or BD packaging, and is a registered trademark of AGI World Ltd., an Atlas Holdings company.-Features:...
edition was released in some European countries in 2003. A remastered version, with bonus tracks, was released in the United States on April 24, 2007, and in Japan on June 20, 2007. The Japanese version was a limited edition replica of the original record album cover with lyric card insert.
In 2009, the album (including the 2007 bonus tracks) was included in Hallelujah - The Essential Leonard Cohen Album Collection, an 8-CD box set issued by Sony Music in the Netherlands.
On the vinyl and remastered versions is a picture of Saint Bernadette of Lourdes in a fire looking towards heaven
Heaven
Heaven, the Heavens or Seven Heavens, is a common religious cosmological or metaphysical term for the physical or transcendent place from which heavenly beings originate, are enthroned or inhabit...
. According to the liner notes, apparently Cohen had collected the picture when he was much younger.
Side one
- "SuzanneSuzanne (Leonard Cohen song)"Suzanne" is a song written by Canadian poet and musician Leonard Cohen in the 1960s, and often heard in a recording by Judy Collins. It has become one of the most-covered songs in Cohen's catalogue....
" – 3:48 - "Master Song" – 5:55
- "Winter Lady" – 2:15
- "The Stranger Song" – 5:00
- "Sisters of Mercy" – 3:32
Side two
- "So Long, MarianneSo Long, Marianne (song)"So Long, Marianne" is a song written by Canadian poet and musician Leonard Cohen. It was featured on his debut album, Songs of Leonard Cohen. Pitchfork Media placed it at number 190 on their list of "The 200 Greatest Songs of the 1960s."- History :...
" – 5:38 - "Hey, That's No Way to Say Goodbye" – 2:55
- "Stories of the Street" – 4:35
- "Teachers" – 3:01
- "One of Us Cannot Be Wrong" – 4:23
Selected cover recordings
Judy CollinsJudy Collins
Judith Marjorie "Judy" Collins is an American singer and songwriter, known for her eclectic tastes in the material she records ; and for her social activism. She is an alumna of the University of Colorado.-Musical career:Collins was born and raised in Seattle, Washington...
recorded "Suzanne
Suzanne (Leonard Cohen song)
"Suzanne" is a song written by Canadian poet and musician Leonard Cohen in the 1960s, and often heard in a recording by Judy Collins. It has become one of the most-covered songs in Cohen's catalogue....
" on her 1966 album In My Life
In My Life (Judy Collins album)
In My Life is an album by American folk singer Judy Collins, released in 1966. It peaked at No. 46 on the Billboard Pop Albums charts in 1967....
; and recorded "Sisters of Mercy" and "Hey, That's No Way to Say Goodbye" on her 1967 hit album Wildflowers
Wildflowers (Judy Collins album)
Wildflowers is an album by Judy Collins, released in 1967. It was her highest charting album so far, reaching No 5 on the Billboard Pop Albums charts. It included her hit version of Joni Mitchell's "Both Sides Now"....
. The seminal British folk-rock group Fairport Convention
Fairport Convention
Fairport Convention are an English folk rock and later electric folk band, formed in 1967 who are still recording and touring today. They are widely regarded as the most important single group in the English folk rock movement...
were also among Cohen's earliest admirers, recording a performance of "Suzanne" (sung as a duet between Sandy Denny
Sandy Denny
Sandy Denny , born Alexandra Elene Maclean Denny, was an English singer and songwriter, perhaps best known as the lead singer for the folk rock band Fairport Convention...
and Iain Matthews
Iain Matthews
Iain Matthews is an English musician and songwriter. He was born Iain Matthew McDonald, in Scunthorpe, Lincolnshire, England. He was known in the 1960s first as Ian McDonald, then as the 1960s progressed, as Ian Matthews...
) for the BBC in August 1968; the recording was released on their BBC sessions compilation Heyday
Heyday (Fairport Convention album)
Heyday: the BBC Radio Sessions 1968–69 is an album by English folk rock band Fairport Convention first released in 1987. As its title suggests, it consists of live versions of songs recorded for John Peel's Top Gear radio programmes.-Side one:...
. Other early versions of "Suzanne" included those by Pearls Before Swine
Pearls Before Swine (band)
Pearls Before Swine was an American psychedelic folk band formed by Tom Rapp in 1965 in Eau Gallie, now part of Melbourne, Florida. They released six albums between 1967 and 1971, before Rapp launched a solo career.-Early years, 1965-68:...
, Françoise Hardy
Françoise Hardy
Françoise Madeleine Hardy is a French singer, actress and astrologer. Hardy is an iconic figure in fashion, music and style. She is married to the singer and movie actor Jacques Dutronc.-Biography:...
, Tori Amos
Tori Amos
Tori Amos is an American pianist, singer-songwriter and composer. She was at the forefront of a number of female singer-songwriters in the early 1990s and was noteworthy early in her career as one of the few alternative rock performers to use a piano as her primary instrument...
and Harry Belafonte
Harry Belafonte
Harold George "Harry" Belafonte, Jr. is an American singer, songwriter, actor and social activist. He was dubbed the "King of Calypso" for popularizing the Caribbean musical style with an international audience in the 1950s...
. Peter Gabriel
Peter Gabriel
Peter Brian Gabriel is an English singer, musician, and songwriter who rose to fame as the lead vocalist and flautist of the progressive rock group Genesis. After leaving Genesis, Gabriel went on to a successful solo career...
recorded a syncopated version of "Suzanne" for the Leonard Cohen tribute album
Tribute album
A tribute album is a recorded collection of cover versions of songs or instrumental compositions. Its concept may be either various artists making a tribute to a single artist, a single artist making a tribute to various artists, or a single artist making a tribute to another single artist.There...
Tower of Song
Tower of Song
Tower of Song: The Songs of Leonard Cohen is a tribute album to Leonard Cohen, released in 1995 on A&M Records. It takes its name of a song by Cohen, that has been covered by Marianne Faithfull, Robert Forster, Peter Gabriel, The Jesus and Mary Chain, Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds, Martha Wainwright...
, and Geoffrey Oryema
Geoffrey Oryema
Geoffrey Oryema is an internationally renowned Ugandan musician. In 1977, at the age of 24 and at the height of Idi Amin's power, Oryema was smuggled across the Ugandan border in the trunk of a car, after the death of his father, Erinayo Wilson Oryema, who was a cabinet minister, beginning a life...
performed it on the earlier tribute I'm Your Fan
I'm Your Fan
I'm Your Fan: The Songs of Leonard Cohen is a tribute album to Leonard Cohen, released in 1991, produced by the French music magazine Les Inrockuptibles. The album features Cohen's songs interpreted by some of the most respected rock acts of the time...
. Italian singer Fabrizio de André
Fabrizio De André
Fabrizio De André was an Italian singer-songwriter.Known for his sympathies towards anarchism, libertarianism, and pacifism, he also was a convicted atheist , and his songs often featured marginalized and rebellious people, prostitutes and knaves, and attacked the Catholic Church...
sang an Italian version of the song on his CD Canzoni. The British experimental rock group The Flying Lizards
The Flying Lizards
The Flying Lizards were an English experimental rock band, who were formed in 1976 in England. They are best remembered as New wave one-hit wonders, thanks to their deliberately eccentric cover of Barrett Strong's "Money", which became a UK and US chart success in 1979.-Career:Formed by and led by...
released a version with detached, cold vocals sung over dark samples on their 1984 LP Top Ten. Nick Cave
Nick Cave
Nicholas Edward "Nick" Cave is an Australian musician, songwriter, author, screenwriter, and occasional film actor.He is best known for his work as a frontman of the critically acclaimed rock band Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds, established in 1984, a group known for its eclectic influences and...
performed "Suzanne" in the film Leonard Cohen: I'm Your Man
Leonard Cohen: I'm Your Man
Leonard Cohen: I'm Your Man is a 2005 film by Lian Lunson about the life and career of Leonard Cohen. It is based on a January 2005 tribute show at the Sydney Opera House titled "Came So Far for Beauty", which was produced by Hal Willner...
.
The song "Sisters of Mercy" was the inspiration for the name of the Post-punk
Post-punk
Post-punk is a rock music movement with its roots in the late 1970s, following on the heels of the initial punk rock explosion of the mid-1970s. The genre retains its roots in the punk movement but is more introverted, complex and experimental...
/Gothic rock
Gothic rock
Gothic rock is a musical subgenre of post-punk and alternative rock that formed during the late 1970s. Gothic rock bands grew from the strong ties they had to the English punk rock and emerging post-punk scenes...
band The Sisters of Mercy
The Sisters of Mercy
The Sisters of Mercy are an English rock band that formed in 1980. After achieving early underground fame in UK, the band had their commercial breakthrough in mid-1980s and sustained it until the early 1990s, when they stopped releasing new recorded output in protest against their record company...
, who also took a line from the song "Teachers" as the title of their 1992 compilation album
Compilation album
A compilation album is an album featuring tracks from one or more performers, often culled from a variety of sources The tracks are usually collected according to a common characteristic, such as popularity, genre, source or subject matter...
Some Girls Wander By Mistake
Some Girls Wander by Mistake
-Personnel:Tracks 1-2-3-4-11-12-13-17-18-19*Andrew Eldritch - vocals*Gary Marx - guitar*Craig Adams - bass guitar*Ben Gunn - guitar*Doktor Avalanche - drumsTracks 5-6-7-8-9-10*Andrew Eldritch - vocals, guitar*Craig Adams - bass guitar...
. Sting and The Chieftains
The Chieftains
The Chieftains are a Grammy-winning Irish musical group founded in 1962, best known for being one of the first bands to make Irish traditional music popular around the world.-Name:...
performed a Celtic music
Celtic music
Celtic music is a term utilised by artists, record companies, music stores and music magazines to describe a broad grouping of musical genres that evolved out of the folk musical traditions of the Celtic people of Western Europe...
-influenced version of the song on Tower of Song. "Sisters of Mercy" was also covered by Area, a darkwave band from Champaign, Illinois on their 1988 CD The Perfect Dream. Beth Orton
Beth Orton
Beth Orton is a BRIT Award–winning English singer-songwriter, known for her 'folktronica' sound, which mixes elements of folk and electronica. She was initially recognised for her collaborations with William Orbit and the Chemical Brothers in the mid 1990s. However, these were not Orton's first...
performed "Sisters of Mercy" in the film Leonard Cohen: I'm Your Man
Leonard Cohen: I'm Your Man
Leonard Cohen: I'm Your Man is a 2005 film by Lian Lunson about the life and career of Leonard Cohen. It is based on a January 2005 tribute show at the Sydney Opera House titled "Came So Far for Beauty", which was produced by Hal Willner...
.
"Hey, That's No Way to Say Goodbye" was sung by Roberta Flack on her album, First Take (1969), and by The Vogues
The Vogues
The Vogues are an American vocal group from Turtle Creek, Pennsylvania, a suburb of Pittsburgh. The original group consisted of Bill Burkette , Don Miller , Hugh Geyer and Chuck Blasko .-Career:...
in 1970. It was performed by Ian McCulloch
Ian McCulloch (singer)
Ian Stephen McCulloch is an English singer, born in Liverpool, and is best known as the frontman for the rock group Echo & the Bunnymen.-Career:...
on I'm Your Fan; by Michael Monroe (singer of Hanoi Rocks
Hanoi Rocks
Hanoi Rocks was a Finnish rock band formed in 1979, whose most successful period came in the early 1980s. The band broke up in 1985 after the death of their drummer, Nicholas "Razzle" Dingley...
) on his Whatcha Want album as a tribute to his late wife, Jude Wilder; and by The Lemonheads
The Lemonheads
The Lemonheads are an American alternative rock band first formed in 1986 by Evan Dando, Ben Deily and Jesse Peretz. Dando has remained the band's only constant member....
on their album Varshons
Varshons
Varshons is an album of covers by alternative rock band The Lemonheads. On 27 March 2009, it was announced that Varshons would be released in the US on 23 June on The End Records....
(2009). Brian Hyland
Brian Hyland
Brian Hyland is an American pop recording artist who was particularly successful during the early 1960s. He continued recording into the 1970s...
released "So Long, Marianne" as a single
Single (music)
In music, a single or record single is a type of release, typically a recording of fewer tracks than an LP or a CD. This can be released for sale to the public in a variety of different formats. In most cases, the single is a song that is released separately from an album, but it can still appear...
in 1971, while the britpop
Britpop
Britpop is a subgenre of alternative rock that originated in the United Kingdom. Britpop emerged from the British independent music scene of the early 1990s and was characterised by bands influenced by British guitar pop music of the 1960s and 1970s...
group James
James (band)
James are a British rock band from Manchester, England. They formed in 1982 and were active throughout the 1980s, but most successful during the 1990s. Their hit singles include "Come Home", "Sit Down", and "She's a Star" as well as their American College Radio hit "Laid"...
recorded it on I'm Your Fan. Indie rock
Indie rock
Indie rock is a genre of alternative rock that originated in the United Kingdom and the United States in the 1980s. Indie rock is extremely diverse, with sub-genres that include lo-fi, post-rock, math rock, indie pop, dream pop, noise rock, space rock, sadcore, riot grrrl and emo, among others...
band Straitjacket Fits
Straitjacket Fits
Straitjacket Fits formed in Dunedin, New Zealand in 1986 and were a prominent band in the Flying Nun label's second wave of the Dunedin Sound.-Biography:...
also covered it on their 1988 debut. Harvey Milk
Harvey Milk (band)
Harvey Milk are an American experimental rock/noise rock band that formed in Athens, Georgia in the early 1990s. While Harvey Milk invariably draws comparisons to the Melvins, due to their penchant for slow, heavy riffs, the band has touched upon such artists as ZZ Top, Led Zeppelin, Leonard Cohen,...
covered "One Of Us Cannot Be Wrong" on the album Courtesy And Good Will Towards Men. Will Oldham
Will Oldham
Will Oldham , better known by the stage name Bonnie 'Prince' Billy, is an American singer-songwriter and actor. From 1993 to 1997, he performed and recorded under variations of the Palace name, including the Palace Brothers, Palace Songs, and Palace Music...
, recording under the name Palace Music, released a version of "Winter Lady" on his 1994 EP Hope
Hope (EP)
Hope is the name of a Palace Songs EP released in 1994 on Drag City. The title "Agnes, Queen of Sorrow" is a reference to the short story "Jane Sinclair; or, the Fawn of Springvale" by 19th century author William Carleton.-Track listing:...
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"Winter Lady" was performed by Kate and Anna McGarrigle
Kate and Anna McGarrigle
Kate and Anna McGarrigle, were a pair of Canadian singer-songwriters from Quebec, who performed as a duo until Kate McGarrigle's death on January 18, 2010.-Profile:...
with Martha Wainwright
Martha Wainwright
Martha Wainwright is a Canadian-American folk-rock singer-songwriter. She is the daughter of American folk singer and actor Loudon Wainwright III and Canadian folk singer-songwriter Kate McGarrigle...
in the film Leonard Cohen: I'm Your Man
Leonard Cohen: I'm Your Man
Leonard Cohen: I'm Your Man is a 2005 film by Lian Lunson about the life and career of Leonard Cohen. It is based on a January 2005 tribute show at the Sydney Opera House titled "Came So Far for Beauty", which was produced by Hal Willner...
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On September 4, 2009, Beck
Beck
Beck Hansen is an American musician, singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist, known by the stage name Beck...
announced that his second Record Club
Record Club
Record Club is a musical project initiated by Beck Hansen in June 2009.The purpose of the project is to cover an entire album by another artist in one day, using an informal and fluid collective of musicians...
cover album would be Songs of Leonard Cohen. Contributers include MGMT
MGMT
MGMT is an American alternative rock band founded by Benjamin Goldwasser and Andrew VanWyngarden. After the release of their first album, the members of their live band, Matthew Asti, James Richardson and Will Berman, joined the core band in the studio...
, Devendra Banhart
Devendra Banhart
Devendra Obi Banhart is a singer-songwriter and visual artist. Banhart was born in Houston, Texas and was raised by his mother in Venezuela, until he moved to California as a teenager. He began to study at the San Francisco Art Institute in 1998, but dropped out to perform music in Europe, San...
, Brian LeBarton
Brian LeBarton
Brian Manuel LeBarton is a keyboardist, composer, and electronic musician from Los Angeles, California.-Work with Beck:Brian LeBarton is the keyboardist and musical director for Beck...
, Andrew Stockdale of Wolfmother
Wolfmother
Wolfmother is an Australian rock band from Erskineville, Sydney. Formed in 2000, the group was originally a trio composed of vocalist and guitarist Andrew Stockdale, bassist and keyboardist Chris Ross and drummer Myles Heskett. Wolfmother released their self-titled debut album in October 2005,...
and Binki Shapiro of Little Joy
Little Joy
Little Joy is a Brazilian/American rock band formed in 2007 by Los Hermanos singer/guitarist Rodrigo Amarante, The Strokes drummer Fabrizio Moretti and Binki Shapiro. Amarante and Moretti met in 2006, at a festival in Lisbon where both their bands were performing, and the idea came up to start a...
. Andrew VanWyngarden of MGMT chose the album.
Guilt Machine
Guilt Machine
Guilt Machine is a musical project by Dutch musician Arjen Anthony Lucassen, owner of other musical projects such as Star One, Ayreon and Ambeon. The project's debut release, On This Perfect Day, was released in August 2009.- Background :...
covered "The Stranger Song" on their debut album, On This Perfect Day
On This Perfect Day
-DVD :Audio Bonus Tracks#The Stranger Song - vocals Jasper #Michelangelo - vocals Arjen #Fan Messages #Perfection? - guide vocals Arjen...
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