The Essential Leonard Cohen

The Essential Leonard Cohen is a career-spanning collection of Leonard Cohen songs released in 2002. It is part of Sony BMG's The Essential series.

The songs are arranged in chronological order; all studio albums released before 2002 are represented, except the 1977 album Death of a Ladies' Man. All tracks were digitally remastered by Leonard Cohen and Bob Ludwig.

The album was re-released in August 2008, as part of The Essential 3.0 series, with an extra disc of previously not included tracks (presented as the selection of "fans' favorite" songs).

Track listing

Disc one

1. "Suzanne" – 3:48
2. "The Stranger Song" – 5:00
3. "Sisters of Mercy" – 3:34
4. "Hey, That's No Way to Say Goodbye" – 2:54
5. "So Long, Marianne" – 5:39
6. "Bird on the Wire" (misspelled as "Bird on a Wire" on tracklist) – 3:25
7. "The Partisan" – 3:25
8. "Famous Blue Raincoat" – 5:09
9. "Chelsea Hotel #2" – 3:06
10. "Take This Longing" – 4:06
11. "Who by Fire" – 2:34
12. "The Guests" – 6:40
13. "Hallelujah" – 4:38
14. "If It Be Your Will" – 3:42
15. "Night Comes On" – 4:40
16. "I'm Your Man" – 4:25
17. "Everybody Knows" – 5:37
18. "Tower of Song" – 5:37

Tracks 1–5 are from Songs of Leonard Cohen (1968).
Tracks 6–7 are from Songs from a Room (1969).
Track 8 is from Songs of Love and Hate (1971).
Tracks 9–11 are from New Skin for the Old Ceremony (1974).
Track 12 is from Recent Songs (1979).
Tracks 13–15 are from Various Positions (1984).
Tracks 16–18 are from I'm Your Man (1988).

Disc two

1. "Ain't No Cure for Love" – 4:49
2. "Take This Waltz" – 5:58
3. "First We Take Manhattan" – 5:50
4. "Dance Me to the End of Love" (live) – 6:04
5. "The Future" – 6:40
6. "Democracy" – 7:03
7. "Waiting for the Miracle" – 7:42
8. "Closing Time" – 5:57
9. "Anthem" – 5:59
10. "In My Secret Life" – 4:53
11. "Alexandra Leaving" – 5:22
12. "A Thousand Kisses Deep" – 6:26
13. "Love Itself" – 5:21

Tracks 1–3 are from I'm Your Man (1988).
Track 4 is from Cohen Live (1994).
Tracks 5–9 are from The Future (1992).
Tracks 10–13 are from Ten New Songs (2001).

Disc three (The Essential 3.0 re-release)

1. "Seems So Long Ago, Nancy" from Songs from a Room (1969)
2. "Love Calls You by Your Name" from Songs of Love and Hate (1971)
3. "A Singer Must Die" from New Skin for the Old Ceremony (1974)
4. "Death of a Ladies' Man" from Death of a Ladies' Man (1977)
5. "The Traitor" from Recent Songs (1979)
6. "By the Rivers Dark" from Ten New Songs (2001)
7. "The Letters" from Dear Heather (2004)