I mean, I could do anything for you.
I could take off my jacket.
I could sing naked.
I mean we are all here with our
terribly shabby human limitations.
What can I possibly do except sing
a few of these .. ..appallingly simple
songs that I’ve written?
What did you expect?
The Collection Of Leonard Cohen Rarities
For my next number here at the Cabalistic Cohen Cabaret, I take you back to a time when a Leonard Cohen performance was characterized by casual variations in lyrics of his own songs, philosophical monologues banter with the audience, improvisations, and a surprising repertoire of covers.
Fifty or so of his live songs and comments, many of which are representative these qualities, are offered at Leonard Cohen - Rare Live Songs. While a notation on the web site indicates that the concerts and dates of the tapings are unknown, it appears that most, if not all are from the 1970’s.
The quality of the recordings ranges from poor to uninterpretable, but the content makes listening a joy for anyone interested in Leonard Cohen and his music. Transcripts of the songs and prose from these MP3 files are conveniently available at notes and transcripts.1
The Best Of
While I am enamored of each of these tracks (quelle surprise, eh?), I’ve listed a few of my favorites, with brief descriptions, below.
[Note: The titles in the links are the ones used on the site; any italicized comments after the links are my own annotations. To download, right-click on the link and choose "Save Link As …" or its equivalent in your browser.]
Another Saturday Night
Yep, it’s the Sam Cooke classic.
As Time Goes By
“As Time Goes By” was, of course, the theme to the 1943 film, Casablanca, starring Humphrey Bogart and Ingrid Bergman. The song has been covered by many singers, perhaps most notably by Frank Sinatra – and Leonard Cohen.
Broken Lip
“Broken Lip” is an improvisation in response to an audience member’s request for a nonexistent song.
Can’t Help Falling In Love
Leonard Sings Elvis. Perhaps this is something LC picked up while driving Elvis’s Rolls Royce
Chelsea Hotel 1
Note that this is “Chelsea Hotel #1,” the unreleased predecessor to “Chelsea Hotel #2,” that is available on CD.
I’m The Man Who Wrote Suzanne
LC forgets the lyrics to “Suzanne” and improvises a replacement, “I’m The Man Who Wrote Suzanne.”
Improvisation With Audience
In response to an audience member shouting, “Your songs are schmaltz,” LC replies, “This may be schmaltz to you, but it’s real life to me.” The conversation continues and includes the quotation at the top of this post, LC’s mock offer to commit suicide because he has disappointed the audience member, and LC asking him if he wants “to step outside and fight.”
Misty Blue
“Misty Blue” is another song covered by many acts. My personal favorite is the version done by the Crystals.
Silent Night
I admit that I never anticipated hearing Leonard Cohen sing this Christmas classic. Judging from the audience’s reaction, I am not the only one surprised. The female voice that joins in after the first verse belongs, I believe, to Jennifer Warren.
To Love Somebody
In case anyone has forgotten, “To Love Somebody” was one of pre-disco hits by the Brothers Gibb, AKA the Bee Gees.
You Are My Sunshine
I cannot think of anything to add to Leonard Cohen singing “You Are My Sunshine”
There is also an MP3 file of my personal obsession, Do I Have To Dance All Night on the site, but it’s the standard version and the quality of my own copy of Do I Have To Dance All Night is substantially better.
Footnotes
- Another Leonard Cohen addict’s site, Leonard Cohen in his own live words, has memorialized the prologues LC has offered at various concerts before specific songs, all indexed by song title.↩
