Leonard Cohen's vocals have always been an acquired
taste, and perhaps never more so than recently
when the seventy-two-year-old poet and singer's
voice has bottomed out into not much more than
a gravelly growl. For some, it still goes down like a
peaty, single-malt Scotch, especially given Cohen's
penchant for dark, cynical love songs. Others, however,
will cheer the opportunity provided by Blue
Alert to enjoy an entire album of Cohen songs as
interpreted by girlfriend/keyboardist/muse Anjani, who sings ten new works by
Cohen (for all of which she shares co-writing credits) in minimalist, spare cabaretrock
and jazz-pop arrangements that showcase her delicate, smoky-yet-sweet vocal
instrument.
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