The Icon: Leonard Cohen, the iconic ladies' man proves it's far from closing time
Canada.com - December 21, 2009 by Sheri Levine
Everybody knows 2009 was Leonard Cohen's year.
The 75-year-old Montreal native and world renowned poet-singer-songwriter is, in a word, an icon.
His iconic status is nothing new; the famous ladies man established himself as one of the world's poetic greats long ago. What is new is his meteoric resurrection. This past year, Cohen has been busy touring the globe playing to sold-out crowds for close to three hours and leaving behind glowing reviews.
Canwest editors chose Cohen's highly successful comeback tour as the biggest Canadian entertainment story of 2009 in an end-of-year survey.
In September, he performed to a crowd of 47,000 in Tel Aviv. The controversy surrounding the show didn't faze the bard of the boudoir, who expressed to the audience how much it meant to him to perform in Israel for the first time in almost 30 years. That same month he celebrated his 75th birthday at a show in Barcelona — just three days after collapsing on stage and being hospitalized for possible food poisoning — where he was greeted with a standing ovation from an audience of 14,000. "Thank you for your birthday wishes, I don't know when I will celebrate it like this again," he said.
The man who penned such famously memorable songs as Suzanne, So Long, Marianne and Bird on a Wire continues to inspire new generations of musicians and writers. In August, several artists took to the stage at the hipster indie music festival South by Southwest for a tribute performance of some of Cohen's work. The kids aren't the only ones honouring the fedora-clad poet laureate — in January, the Grammys will present Cohen with a Lifetime Achievement Award.
Last March, Cohen released Live In London on DVD and CD from his 2008 show at the O2 Arena, both of which were huge successes commercially and critically.
Still, Cohen did not release any new material in 2009. His last collection of new songs was 2004's Dear Heather, and his last book of poetry, Book of Longing, was published in 2006. And yet this year, he dazzled audiences and impressed critics across the world. So, the question begs, why has the icon garnered such high praise this far into his career?
The Edmonton Journal's night editor, Ashley Geddes, provides some insight: "For a poet-musician in his mid-70s, he generated a surprising amount of excitement and front page coverage across Canada. I attended the concert in Edmonton, and he even blew away the 20-somethings in the audience."
And when Cohen returned to the nation's capital for the first time in almost 20 years, the Ottawa Citizen's Chris Cobb was left awestruck.
"He runs onto the stage in defiance of his (then) 74 years and launches into Dance Me to the End of Love. From that point, it's one beautifully crafted song after another. . . . Then again, when the people give a performer a standing ovation just for walking onstage, the battle for their hearts and minds is already won. It's a privileged position for any artist to occupy and one that Leonard Cohen deserves more than most," said the arts reporter in his review of Cohen's May show.
But it's a line in Cobb's review that perhaps best sums up the poet's renaissance: "It's the songs, dummy."
Hallelujah!
Quotes about Leonard Cohen's comeback from Canwest Editors:
"I think Leonard Cohen's tour was the most impactful arts and entertainment story of 2009. Cohen's sold-out concerts were proof that poetry still sells and that audiences around the world will pay big bucks to listen to it."
— Denise Helm, online news director, Victoria Times Colonist.
"The comeback of Leonard Cohen, who toured extensively in Canada this year. Masterful performances from a true professional."
— Bryan Demchinsky, Montreal Gazette Business editor.
Other noteworthy Canadian entertainment stories that had Canwest editors talking...
Speaking Cohen Home
Archives - Search Engine
Backgrounds provided by Eos Development
|