| Songs from a Room | ||||
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| Studio album by Leonard Cohen | ||||
| Released | April 1969 | |||
| Recorded | October 1968 Columbia Studio A, Nashville |
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| Genre | Folk | |||
| Length | 35:38 | |||
| Label | Columbia | |||
| Producer | Bob Johnston | |||
| Professional reviews | ||||
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| Leonard Cohen chronology | ||||
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Songs from a Room is the second album of Canadian musician Leonard Cohen, released in 1969. It reached #63 on the Billboard list and #2 at UK charts.
Cohen reportedly said he chose producer Bob Johnston to achieve the spartan sound he considered appropriate for his songs, after the disputes he had with John Simon during the mixing sessions of Songs of Leonard Cohen. The album also features some prominent (if strictly ornamental) jaw harp. The album's sound is thus closer to the archetype (or stereotype) of an "early" Leonard Cohen record.
Among uncredited sessions musicians it is known that Ron Cornelius played acoustic and electric guitar, Charlie Daniels played bass, fiddle and acoustic guitar, Elkin "Bubba" Fowler participated on banjo, bass and acoustic guitar, while producer Bob Johnston played keyboards. Johnston toured with Cohen in 1970 and 1972 (playing keyboards, harmonica and guitar), leading to termination of his collaboration with Bob Dylan.
In sheet music for the album, a song titled "Priests" was included, and although reportedly recorded, it didn't appear on the actual LP or any other Cohen record. The song was recorded by Judy Collins on her 1967 album Wildflowers, and by Richie Havens on his 1969 album Richard P. Havens, 1983.
Songs from a Room was released on CD in 1990. In 2001, French musician Red released a re-recording of the entire album.
In 2009, the album (including the bonus tracks listed below) was included in Hallelujah - The Essential Leonard Cohen Album Collection, an eight-CD box set issued by Sony Music in the Netherlands.
Contents |
All songs written by Leonard Cohen except "The Partisan" by Hy Zaret and Anna Marly.[3]
"Bird on the Wire", described by Cohen as a simple country song, has been covered by many people including his one-time backup singer Jennifer Warnes, by The Neville Brothers on the soundtrack for the 1990 film Bird on a Wire, by Willie Nelson on the Cohen tribute album Tower of Song and by Johnny Cash for his 1994 album American I: American Recordings. It also appeared on the earlier tribute I'm Your Fan, covered by The Lilac Time.
"Story of Isaac" is based on the Old Testament story of God's demand that Isaac be sacrificed by his father Abraham. It ends with an admonishment to fathers to no longer sacrifice their sons, which was commonly interpreted as criticism of the then-current Vietnam War. Judy Collins' 1968 recording, which predated Cohen's, features slightly different lyrics. Suzanne Vega performed the song on the Tower of Song album. The song was also covered by Pain Teens on their 1993 album Destroy Me, Lover.
"The Partisan" is based on the poem "La complainte du partisan" by "Bernard" (Emmanuel D'Astier), a prominent figure in the French resistance during World War II.
"Seems So Long Ago, Nancy" tells the story of Nancy Challies, a depressed young woman from Montreal, who committed suicide after having been forced by her family to put her son up for adoption. [1] However, in 1979 Cohen (perhaps disingenuously) told the filmmaker Harry Rasky that "Nancy" was only a waitress in an American juke joint with whom he had been slightly acquainted. (The interview is recounted in Rasky's book, The Song of Leonard Cohen.)
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