fri 13/12/2024

CD: Leonard Cohen - Popular Problems | reviews, news & interviews

CD: Leonard Cohen - Popular Problems

CD: Leonard Cohen - Popular Problems

As he nears 80, Leonard Cohen continues to shine, miraculously

High priest of rabbinical hip and consummate entertainer

Leonard Cohen has always been, first and foremost, a poet. His thoroughly grounded mix of Vedanta, Zen and Jewish mysticism places him in a class apart. He is both rabbinical high priest and consummate entertainer. As he’s never traded on borrowed African-American sex-and-swagger or matinée idol charisma, age hasn’t made him in any way ridiculous. He carries his gravitas lightly, not least because his deft way with words keeps us delicately poised between revelation and unknowing.

From the seductive drag of “Slow”, Cohen’s call to deceleration, to the redemptive Hallelujah call of  “You Got Me Singing” which closes the album with heart-warming serenity, Cohen takes us on a breathtaking cruise across the “mighty sea of sorrows”.  "You got me singing although the news is bad" he sings with a philosophical tone of resignation. There are potent allusions to the horrors of the Middle East in “Nevermind”, a spine-chilling but hypnotic song, but the sombre road he treads leads, paradoxically, to acceptance and even celebration. Cohen gets away with evoking sweetness and light because he never leaves humanity’s perennial murderous potential far behind.

The slow lilt of the blues, which fuelled so much of his previous album “Old Ideas” runs through the album as a potent leitmotiv, as if funky sensuality were the most fitting style for a man on the edge of his 80s. "Born in Chains", which apparently took Cohen 40 years to complete, is a kind of credo. The flight from Egypt is a metaphor for liberation and the song explores the unnamable power that lies beyond our understanding. His take on the Bible is both irreverent and respectful. Beyond the Old Testament references, there are echoes of the teachings he received in Bombay from his Vedanta teacher: "in the grip of sensual illusion", Cohen sings, "sweet unknowing unifies the name".

Cohen is brilliantly served, as he was on “Old Ideas”, by his Canadian collaborator Patrick Leonard, and the super-soulful counterpoint of his backing singers, a soothing feminine presence and chorus that provides a silver lining to the old man’s sometimes tortured introspection. He is perfectly served by the stripped-down sound of guitars and gently swirling Hammond organ, as well as discrete horn riffs and the occasional well-placed violin solo. This is profoundly rich music with a lack of adornment that allows for moments of great beauty and emotion.

His deft way with words keeps us delicately poised between revelation and unknowing.

rating

Editor Rating: 
5
Average: 5 (1 vote)

Share this article

Add comment

The future of Arts Journalism

 

You can stop theartsdesk.com closing!

We urgently need financing to survive. Our fundraising drive has thus far raised £33,000 but we need to reach £100,000 or we will be forced to close. Please contribute here: https://gofund.me/c3f6033d

And if you can forward this information to anyone who might assist, we’d be grateful.

Subscribe to theartsdesk.com

Thank you for continuing to read our work on theartsdesk.com. For unlimited access to every article in its entirety, including our archive of more than 15,000 pieces, we're asking for £5 per month or £40 per year. We feel it's a very good deal, and hope you do too.

To take a subscription now simply click here.

And if you're looking for that extra gift for a friend or family member, why not treat them to a theartsdesk.com gift subscription?

newsletter

Get a weekly digest of our critical highlights in your inbox each Thursday!

Simply enter your email address in the box below

View previous newsletters