Various Positions
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| Various Positions | ||
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| Studio album by Leonard Cohen | ||
| Released | Canada: December 1984 U.S.: February 1985 | |
| Recorded | June 1984, Quadrasonic Sound, New York | |
| Genre | Folk-rock | |
| Length | 35:29 | |
| Label | Columbia Records, Passport Records | |
| Producer(s) | John Lissauer | |
| Professional reviews | ||
|---|---|---|
| Leonard Cohen chronology | ||
| Recent Songs (1979) |
Various Positions (1984) |
I'm Your Man (1988) |
Various Positions, the seventh studio album by Leonard Cohen, was released in December 1984 (and February 1985). It marked not only Cohen's turn to the modern sound and use of synthesizers (particularly on the opening track), but also - after her work on harmonies and background vocals on the previous Recent Songs (1979) - even further Jennifer Warnes's contribution to Cohen's records, with her being equally contributed as vocalist of all tracks beside Cohen himself.
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[edit] Release history
After the abandoned 1975 project Songs for Rebecca Cohen again joined forces with producer John Lissauer. However, Cohen's label Columbia Records refused to release Various Positions in the United States. Walter Yetnikoff, president of the company, called him to his office in New York and said, "Look, Leonard; we know you're great, but we don't know if you're any good". It was subsequently picked up by the independent label Passport Records. The album was finally included in the catalogue in 1990 when Columbia released the Cohen discography on compact disc. A remastered CD was issued in 1995.
[edit] Track listing
- All songs written by Cohen
- "Dance Me to the End of Love"
- "Coming Back to You"
- "The Law"
- "Night Comes On"
- "Hallelujah"
- "The Captain"
- "Hunter's Lullaby"
- "Heart With No Companion"
- "If It Be Your Will"
[edit] Songs
"Dance Me to the End of Love", which All Music Guide calls "Serge Gainsbourg-esque" in their review of the album, remains one of Cohen's signature songs. The unusually straightforward love song "Coming Back to You" was covered by both Trisha Yearwood and Martin L. Gore on the Cohen tribute album Tower of Song. The best-known, and most-covered song on the album, however, is the fifth track, "Hallelujah". "If It Be Your Will" also appears on Tower of Song, performed by Jann Arden.
[edit] References
- ↑ Cohen, quoting Yetnikoff, in Yakety Yak, 1994. Retrieved on October 8, 2005.
- ↑ Various Positions. Retrieved on October 8, 2005.
