(John Cassavetes)
There was a time in my late teens when I used to confuse Leonard Cohen and John Cassavetes . They both intrigued me and somewhat scared me. This was not Gilligan's Island or The Monkees anymore, it required another level of engagement. I sensed a danger I liked. Both were smart and made artistic choices that explored and celebrated life in a thought provoking way. They even have a similar physical look. The two have a way in that, if you let their vision of the world into your heart, you could see the beauty of celebration, disaster, love, despair, pain and joy and view it all through an artistic lens of your own.
I just put on the 1977 album, "Death Of A Ladies Man". The horns, the strings, the seventies, the gluttony of it all, in the form (mostly) of loving a woman. He had comfortably evolved from his acoustic folk sound. The evolution began on the previous release, one of my all time favorite albums, 1974's,
"New Skin For The Old Ceremony". It opens with this:
You were the promise at dawn,
I was the morning after.
You were Jesus Christ my Lord,
I was the money lender.
You were the sensitive woman,
I was the very reverend Freud.
You were the manual orgasm,
I was the dirty little boy.
And is this what you wanted
to live in a house that is haunted
by the ghost of you and me?
Is this what you wanted ...
You were Marlon Brando,
I was Steve McQueen.
You were K.Y. Jelly,
I was Vaseline.
You were the father of modern medicine,
I was Mr. Clean.
You where the whore and the beast of Babylon,
I was Rin Tin Tin.
And is this what you wanted ...
And is this what you wanted ...
You got old and wrinkled,
I stayed seventeen.
You lusted after so many,
I lay here with one.
You defied your solitude,
I came through alone.
You said you could never love me,
I undid your gown.
And is this what you wanted ...
And is this what you wanted ...
I mean is this what you wanted ...
That's right, is this what you wanted ...
Is This What You Wanted- Leonard Cohen
I love this era in his career. "Skin" is the beginning of moving away from the lonely acoustic guitar, but it doesn't make you miss it; when the creative drum part with accompanying horns roll gently in on,"Is this What You Wanted", Cohen shows he can do whatever the hell he wants and still succeed artistically. This just happened to be the Leonard Cohen era I stumbled upon. Fortunately, when it comes to his discography, you don't have to mine for the more inspired work. It is all inspired.
By 1992, Leonard is using drum machines, synths and what have you. But 1992's, "The Future" holds up on substance and pure intent. He continued to use whatever sounds he wanted. It wasn't about the latest trends, it was just the stone he had walked by, picked up, examined and used in his latest sculpture.
I found out about the passing of Leonard Cohen from a childhood friend this morning. He said," On the occasion of the passing of Leonard Cohen, which has made me very sad, I sat up on the deck and drank copiously while working my way through his catalog. Eventually, I came to "The Future," which always seemed borderline too dark (as I think you and I have discussed), but which now, in the post-Trump world, seems just plain prescient."
Leonard Cohen passed away on Nov 7th, it was not announced until Nov 10th, after the US election of Donald Trump. We do not know what lies ahead in a world without Leonard Cohen... along with these recent developments. I'll do my best to see it all through that artistic lens, find beauty, use it and try to make something more of it.
