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Are there any other Leonard Cohen fans out there? The Arbor in Austin is showing Leonard Cohen: I’m Your Man, which both Philo & I greatly enjoyed. This movie is part tribute concert, part interview, part biography, and part history. The film includes old home movies of the child Leonard growing up in Canada as well as recent images.
In the clips from a tribute concert in Sydney, Australia you can watch Nick Cave, Beth Orton, Teddy Thompson and longtime Cohen backup singers Perla Batalla and Julie Christensen interpret Cohen songs, along with Cohen songs sung by the extended Wainwright family – Rufus himself, his sister Martha, their mom Kate McGarrigle and their Aunt Anna McGarrigle. Back in NY, it’s fun to watch Bono & company drop phrases of praise while trying to remain cool behind the wraparound glasses. It’s even more fun when Leonard himself casually takes the mic and steals the film back from the tribute-givers.
Yes,
ReplyDeleteI LOVE Leonard Cohen. My favorite song of his is "Suzanne". I read once that there really was a Suzanne, and that she did feed him tea and oranges...
The way he performed the song reminds me of the way the Catholic Sisters up in Quebec used to play during folk masses. My friend Jack (Jacques) and I used to travel up there together every few years to visit his aunt who was one of the nuns working at a home where they cared for the elderly retired priests. I love that style of folk guitar-playing and singing...
I have an old Leonard Cohen cassette packed away -- I'm going to go dig it out now. I also plan to find out where that movie is playing around here -- one of our local news magazines will probably have it listed.
I heard of him but I don't really know his story. Perhaps it's time for me get a DVD copy of the movie.
ReplyDeleteI have a Leonard Cohen CD in my living room right now. I bet I can convince my friend (from whom I've permanently "borrowed" the CD) to go check out the film with me. People have pretty strong feeling about LC- either they love him or hate him. (My favorite is "Everybody Knows.")
ReplyDeleteAnother LC fan here! I admit, though, that I only found him via Concrete Blond's wonderful cover of "Everybody Knows" from the "Pump Up the Volume" soundtrack.
ReplyDeleteBy the way, for some reason I keep wishing that I could hear LC cover Bob Dylan's "I'll Be Your Baby Tonight"... sometimes I imagine what it would sound like just to amuse myself. :)
Annie, by the way... I love Beth Orton--have all of her studio albums and have seen her once in concert, too. I hadn't known that she covered Cohen, though. Once I have a little free internet time I'll need to further investigate this tribute concert, and whether I can happen upon a bootleg of it somewhere. :)
ReplyDeleteSuzanne, both the person and the song, are talked about in the movie, Christin.
ReplyDeleteSometimes I need to hear, "I Can't Forget", many times it's "I'm Your Man" or "Everybody Knows", once in awhile it's "Who By Fire" or Joan of Arc. The first time "Take This Waltz" came on my radio I was pulling into a parking lot, and was too overcome to leave the car right away. The scary thing about "Everybody Knows" is that LC didn't have to change the words with the years - those things are even more true now.
Blackswamp girl, if he sings that Bob Dylan song, let me know! I'd like to hear how it works.
Oh, I hope the movie comes to Charleston. I'd love to see it.
ReplyDeleteI love Leonard cohen - he takes me back to my university days. favourites : Suzanne, marianne, The sisters of Mercy
ReplyDeleteHello Joan and Sue - thanks for the comments. I'll check out your sites, too.
ReplyDeleteI hope you get to see this movie - if not at the theaters, well, it will come to DVD eventually! I can't say that any of the performances beat Leonard's versions of his own songs... although they had interesting interpretations. A few years ago, the late Jeff Buckley's ethereal take on "Alleluia" was the the most wonderful voice singing a wonderful song.
Annie