The Essential Leonard Cohen is a career-spanning collection of 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...

 songs released in 2002. It is part of Sony BMG's The Essential series.

The songs are arranged in chronological order; all studio albums released before 2002 are represented, except the 1977 album Death of a Ladies' Man

Death of a Ladies' Man

Death of a Ladies' Man is the fifth of Leonard Cohen's albums. Produced and co-written by the storied Phil Spector, it was a surprise to some fans when the voice of typically minimalist Cohen was surrounded, some critics said submerged completely, by Spector's Wall of Sound, which included multiple...

. All tracks were digitally remastered by Leonard Cohen and Bob Ludwig.

The album was re-released in August 2008, as part of The Essential 3.0 series, with an extra disc of previously not included tracks (presented as the selection of "fans' favorite" songs).

Disc one

1. "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....
   
   " – 3:48
2. "The Stranger Song" – 5:00
3. "Sisters of Mercy" – 3:34
4. "Hey, That's No Way to Say Goodbye" – 2:54
5. "So Long, Marianne" – 5:39
6. "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...
   
   " (misspelled as "Bird on a Wire" on tracklist) – 3:25
7. "The Partisan" – 3:25
8. "Famous Blue Raincoat
   Famous Blue Raincoat
   "Famous Blue Raincoat" is a song by Leonard Cohen. It is the sixth track on his third album, Songs of Love and Hate, released in 1971.-Summary:...
   
   " – 5:09
9. "Chelsea Hotel #2" – 3:06
10. "Take This Longing" – 4:06
11. "Who by Fire" – 2:34
12. "The Guests" – 6:40
13. "Hallelujah" – 4:38
14. "If It Be Your Will" – 3:42
15. "Night Comes On" – 4:40
16. "I'm Your Man" – 4:25
17. "Everybody Knows" – 5:37
18. "Tower of Song" – 5:37

Tracks 1–5 are from 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...

(1968).

Tracks 6–7 are from 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....

(1969).

Track 8 is from 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 ...

(1971).

Tracks 9–11 are from 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...

(1974).

Track 12 is from Recent Songs

Recent Songs

Recent Songs was the sixth studio album by Leonard Cohen, released in 1979. Produced by Henry Lewy and the artist himself, the album was a return to Cohen's acoustic folk music after the Phil Spector experimentation of Death of a Ladies' Man, but now with many jazz and Oriental influences.The album...

(1979).

Tracks 13–15 are from Various Positions

Various Positions

Various Positions, the seventh studio album by Leonard Cohen, was released in December 1984 . It marked not only Cohen's turn to the modern sound and use of synthesizers , but also - after her work on harmonies and background vocals on the previous Recent Songs - an even greater contribution from...

(1984).

Tracks 16–18 are from I'm Your Man (1988).

Disc two

1. "Ain't No Cure for Love
   Ain't No Cure For Love
   "Ain't No Cure for Love" is a pop song by Canadian singer/songwriter Leonard Cohen. It was first released by Jennifer Warnes on her 1987 tribute album Famous Blue Raincoat....
   
   " – 4:49
2. "Take This Waltz" – 5:58
3. "First We Take Manhattan" – 5:50
4. "Dance Me to the End of Love
   Dance Me to the End of Love
   "Dance Me to the End of Love" is a 1984 song by Leonard Cohen. It was first performed by Cohen, on his 1984 album Various Positions. It has since been recorded by various artists, and has been described as "trembling on the brink of becoming a standard"....
   
   " (live) – 6:04
5. "The Future" – 6:40
6. "Democracy" – 7:03
7. "Waiting for the Miracle" – 7:42
8. "Closing Time" – 5:57
9. "Anthem" – 5:59
10. "In My Secret Life
    In My Secret Life
    "In My Secret Life" is a song written and performed by Leonard Cohen and Sharon Robinson. Bob Metzger plays the guitar. The song first appears on the album Ten New Songs, released in 2001....
    
    " – 4:53
11. "Alexandra Leaving" – 5:22
12. "A Thousand Kisses Deep" – 6:26
13. "Love Itself" – 5:21

Tracks 1–3 are from I'm Your Man (1988).

Track 4 is from Cohen Live

Cohen Live

Cohen Live is a live album by Leonard Cohen released in 1994.The songs were recorded live in 1988 and 1993. Several of the songs have altered lyrics, which are given as sung in the booklet.-Track listing:...

(1994).

Tracks 5–9 are from The Future

The Future

The Future is a studio album from 1992 by Leonard Cohen. It has come to be recognized as his "film-score" album as nearly every one of the songs on the album has appeared in some notable form in a Hollywood film....

(1992).

Tracks 10–13 are from Ten New Songs

Ten New Songs

Ten New Songs is Leonard Cohen's tenth studio album, released in 2001. It was co-written and produced by Sharon Robinson. She played all the instruments except Bob Metzger's guitar on 'In My Secret Life'...

(2001).

Disc three (The Essential 3.0 re-release)

1. "Seems So Long Ago, Nancy" from 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....
   
   (1969)
2. "Love Calls You by Your Name" from 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 ...
   
   (1971)
3. "A Singer Must Die" from 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...
   
   (1974)
4. "Death of a Ladies' Man" from Death of a Ladies' Man
   Death of a Ladies' Man
   Death of a Ladies' Man is the fifth of Leonard Cohen's albums. Produced and co-written by the storied Phil Spector, it was a surprise to some fans when the voice of typically minimalist Cohen was surrounded, some critics said submerged completely, by Spector's Wall of Sound, which included multiple...
   
   (1977)
5. "The Traitor" from Recent Songs
   Recent Songs
   Recent Songs was the sixth studio album by Leonard Cohen, released in 1979. Produced by Henry Lewy and the artist himself, the album was a return to Cohen's acoustic folk music after the Phil Spector experimentation of Death of a Ladies' Man, but now with many jazz and Oriental influences.The album...
   
   (1979)
6. "By the Rivers Dark" from Ten New Songs
   Ten New Songs
   Ten New Songs is Leonard Cohen's tenth studio album, released in 2001. It was co-written and produced by Sharon Robinson. She played all the instruments except Bob Metzger's guitar on 'In My Secret Life'...
   
   (2001)
7. "The Letters" from Dear Heather
   Dear Heather
   Dear Heather is Leonard Cohen's eleventh studio album, released in 2004.It shows a further departure from Ten New Songs, with more female lead singing and a marked increase in read poetry over sung lyrics, two of these being poems by other writers....
   
   (2004)