Old Ideas
The comeback album that gave him his highest American chart position.
Leonard Cohen, 2012
- Released
- January 2012
- Recorded
- 2007 and January to August 2011
- Studio
- Cohen's home studio and 7th Street Sound, Los Angeles
- Label
- Columbia
- Producer
- Patrick Leonard, Ed Sanders, Anjani Thomas, Dino Soldo and Mark Vreeken
- Length
- 41:44
It reached number 3 in the United States, his highest position there, number 2 in Britain and number 1 in Canada and many European markets. Metacritic scores it 85. Mojo's Victoria Segal called it full of grace and sadness but, most importantly, full of life.
Cohen wrote Going Home, Show Me the Place, Anyhow and Come Healing with Patrick Leonard. Crazy to Love You was first released by Anjani on Blue Alert in 2006, and Darkness and Lullaby were played on tour before they were recorded. The album topped the charts in 11 countries, and in Finland Cohen at 77 became the oldest chart-topper. NPR streamed it online on 22 January 2012 and the Guardian on 23 January. It was nominated for the 2012 Polaris Music Prize, and Bob Dylan named Going Home, Show Me the Place and Darkness among his favorite Cohen songs.
Pitchfork's Mike Powell described the voice as a powerful body of peat smoke with a briny finish and the record as a spare, low-key album rooted in blues and gospel.
Track listing
- Going Home3:51
- Amen7:36
- Show Me the Place4:09
- Darkness4:30
- Anyhow3:09
- Crazy to Love You3:06
- Come Healing2:53
- Banjo3:23
- Lullaby4:46
- Different Sides4:06
Personnel
- Leonard Cohen vocals, guitar
- Patrick Leonard music, arranging and programming on Going Home, Show Me the Place, Anyhow and Come Healing
- Ed Sanders engineer; vocals and guitar on Lullaby
- Dino Soldo all instruments on Banjo except cornet
- Sharon Robinson vocals on Amen, Darkness, Banjo and Lullaby
- The Webb Sisters vocals on Darkness
- Dana Glover vocals on Going Home, Anyhow, Come Healing and Different Sides
- Jennifer Warnes vocals on Show Me the Place
- Neil Larsen Hammond B3, piano, synth bass, percussion on Different Sides; cornet on Banjo
More from Leonard Cohen
Songs of Leonard Cohen (1967), Songs from a Room (1969), Songs of Love and Hate (1971), Live Songs (1973), New Skin for the Old Ceremony (1974), Death of a Ladies' Man (1977), Recent Songs (1979), Various Positions (1984), I'm Your Man (1988), The Future (1992), Ten New Songs (2001), Dear Heather (2004), Popular Problems (2014), You Want It Darker (2016), Thanks for the Dance (2019)
Sources
- Old Ideas, Wikipedia
- Leonard Cohen: Old Ideas, Pitchfork (2012-02-01)