Tracks
- Avalanche
- Last Year's Man
- Dress Rehearsal Rag
- Diamonds in the Mine
- Love Calls You by Your Name
- Famous Blue Raincoat
- Sing Another Song, Boys
- Joan of Arc
Songs of Love and Hate is a bitter album. The music is folk. There is generally very little accompaniment to Leonard Cohen's singing. Generally, it's vocals, a guitar and string arrangement.
The lyrics are the central feature of this album. And as the album title indicates, these songs are about love and hate. They seem to be personal songs. Filtered through Leonard Cohen's singing, the lyrics become cynical, scornful and angry. So, I'd say there's more hate than love. But I'm not very good at deciphering lyrics.
Despite that, I think Leonard Cohen is the best folk singer/songwriter. His lyrics are more personal, more authentic, more universal, less whiny and less narcissistic than what is emerging among the pop and new folk singer/songwriters. While his songs and lyrical themes wouldn't work well in the mainstream, it would have been wise had the new crop of singer/songwriters approach their lyrics with more seriousness.
I think this is a great album. It's dark and moody. It's an album worth listening to. Folk enthusiasts will definitely want to add this to their collection. Of course, folk has been done to death, and this album isn't extending the genre in any significant way, so it doesn't belong on the 1001 Albums list.
All the songs are excellent. The stand outs are Avalanche, Dress Rehearsal Rag, Diamonds in the Mine and Joan of Arc.
★★★★★★★★★★
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