Songs of Love and Hate

Couple of decent songs but it was too poetic and not musically interesting enough for me

Interesting and melodic.

Tämä on Cohenin alkupään levyistä epätasaisin, mutta silti huippuhetket on aivan huippuja. Helppo nelonen siis.

Teniendo en cuenta que es el vigésimoquinto disco de Leonard Cohen que me sale ya soy bastante familiar con su juego, por lo que no me sorprende mucho este álbum. Sin embargo, me sigue pareciendo bueno y entretenido, solo que no tiene nada muy destacable.

Canción destacada: Joan of Arc

This was a beautiful record. I loved all of it. Especially the songs with the choir behind him. I need to listen to this again and pay attention to the lyrics too

On paper I should love Leonard Cohen. He checks most of my boxes - but I simply can’t get too into him. I don’t find anything he does on this terribly interesting.

The first live tune on this was the highlight for me - the rest was meh.

Singing is still as bad as the first two albums, but I enjoyed this one much more. It's a big step up songwriting wise - especially on Avalanche, Diamonds, Famous Blue Raincoat, and Joan of Arc. Really liked a lot of the guitar work and his use of strings.

Mixed feelings about this one. Some songs are interesting, others sounded just like mumbling

This is my third Cohen album on this project, I still don't really like his singing. Like, you can have a low gravelly voice, and do the whole speaking-not-really-singing thing, and not sound this terrible. 1*
Lowlight: Did he have to sing/grunt like that for diamonds in the mine? Maybe drink some honey tea?
Mild highlight: famous blue raincoat was actually kind of nice, but I think it just cancels out "diamonds"

Loved it lyrically, not fond of it sonically. I want to love Cohen so much, I just don't.

Favourite songs: Diamonds in the Mine, Avalanche, Dress Rehearsal Rag

Least favourite songs: Love Calls You By Your Name

4/5

Opinion for this album would massively change depending on the mood you are in. Personally I thought it was okay but I don't think I was quite in the head-space to really appreciate it

Pretty Leonard Cohen-y.

Well, this is the second Leonard Cohen album I've listened to on my journey, after hearing Songs of Leonard Cohen. My feelings towards this album are about the same as they were for his debut, if not more.

There are some improvements from Leonard's first album. He gets more abrasive in his vocal delivery on some songs, accompanied by more female background vocals. His guitar playing has improved, incorporating more syncopated patterns such as on "Avalanche". The lyrics invoke more historical and cultural references in the context of relationships, such as the lament of Joan of Arc's burning at the stake on the closing track or the small allusions to Scientology and Christian biblical readings on "Famous Blue Raincoat".

The only track that seemed a bit of an odd inclusion was "Sing Another Song, Boys" but that's only because it was recorded live at Isle of Wight Festival and was not recorded in the studio like the rest of these songs.

Ultimately, Songs of Love and Hate showcased that Leonard found his pocket and refined his sound. It's certainly worth a listen if you're curious.

That's enough Leonard now thanks.

Really different with semi poetry reading mixed with acoustic guitar. More like an open mic night than a music album.

This guy has the singing ability of Bob Dylan (not a good thing) and boring songs. 1.5/5

The songwriting on here must be good because this guy is not the best singer. He’s not bad, but he has a unique voice. It works really well for his slower songs but was a bit rough on the faster ones. I might come back to this because I wasn’t able to focus on the lyrics as much as I wanted to. I’m sure these are interesting songs but I do get bored when it’s just a singer and a guitar which is most of these songs. Again, I have a feeling these are really good songs that need a little work to really appreciate.

I’m still learning how to love Leonard Cohen. This one may connect with me more if/whenever I get more into him. I can tell how good the writing is, and certain songs resonate with me. I’m just not all the way there with it.

3.5/5

Well, he got me again.

Last time we got a Leonard Cohen album, I mentioned the weight of a life long lived bearing down on me, but that doesn’t apply as much here – he was only 36 at the time of making this album. By comparison, that’s rather short. However, the allegory I wrote of seeing music as art in that classical sense still applies rather deeply here, to me.

This is an album of poetry, and while it’s not an album of a life long lived, it is an album guided by experience, hope, heartbreak, and a bit more. In a way, it feels like the midway point; obviously, he couldn’t have known that at the time of writing and composing these, but so much of what guides his spiritual belief in You Want It Darker is present here, without the life stories that lead to their definitive definitions in that album.

To cut to the point, I’m rather shocked at the quality of these lyrics – I’ll still need to dive more deeply into them, but the imagery present here simply paints a picture that I still don’t feel like I can fully articulate, appreciate and comprehend. In terms of the instrumentals, I’m at least glad to hear a slightly lighter overall sound on this album; there’s some brighter instruments spread throughout that keep this from feeling overwhelmingly dreary.

I could keep trying to go on, but I just deeply, deeply enjoyed this. It’s a damn good album, and I’d be a fool to give it anything other than a 5.