LEONARD COHEN ** (Good)
Ten New Songs
Columbia 501202 2
Leonard Cohen once asked Bob Dylan how long it took him to write a song and was surprised to find the
answer involved the word hours; Cohen's preferred unit of
measurement is months. Perhaps that should be years. It's nine
years since his last album, The Future. Ten New Songs' 10 new
songs are co-written and co-performed with the soul singer
Sharon Robinson. At 67, Cohen sounds, if not exactly happy,
then at least less melancholic. The backing tracks are
underproduced, sometimes giving the impression that one of the
great voices of our time is singing over a preset pattern on a
home keyboard. But Cohen's deepening growl, his unique
vocabulary and his continuing knack for a simple but hypnotic
melody combine to wonderful effect on songs like "In My Secret
Life" and "Alexandra Leaving" - worthy additions to his impressive canon.
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