Again I haven't included live albums but I would like to point to two very good Cohen live albums released on the same year (2009): "Live in London" (I was lucky enough to see Cohen live at the Festival of Benicàssim in 2008, one of the best live shows I've ever seen) and "Live at the Isle of Wight 1970" (it's amazing to see the way "he Charmed the Beast" in Kris Kristofferson words, see the Wikipedia entry for more details).
Albums:
1.
Songs of Leonard Cohen (1967, my #30 album of all time)
Canadian poet Leonard Cohen was probably the first worldwide bedroom star. I can imagine various generations of sensitive boys and girls listening to him religiously in his/her bedrooms at night. The minimalist but perfect arrangements (that snare drum on "So Long Marianne"!), the European flavours and the poetic texts were outstanding features of his (unrivaled) debut.
2.
I'm Your Man (1988)
An unexpected update of Cohen somber ruminations, now using synths and drum machines as the basis of his sound and not only not floundering miserably like many of his peers before him during the 1980s but even enhancing his universe of apocalyptic and sinister visions and gaining a whole new audience even amidst the daydream nation. Yes, yes, he's our man.
3.
Songs of Love and Hate (1971)
The most desolate album of his career, with "high lyrical density, downhearted singing and austere aesthetics" (Rockdelux).
4.
New Skin for the Old Ceremony (1974)
A brilliantly produced and textured sound and lyrics that "uses the metaphor of love and relationships as battlegrounds" (AMG).
5.
You Want It Darker (2016)
Cohen's serene acceptance of his own mortality. I'm going to get really upset if this album doesn't end on the Top 10 of 2016.
6. Songs From a Room (1969)
7. The Future (1992)
8. Recent Songs (1979)
9. Popular Problems (2014)
10. Various Positions (1984)
11. Ten New Songs (2001)
12. Old Ideas (2012)
13. Death of a Ladies' Man (1977)
14. Dear Heather (2004)
Songs:
1.
Suzanne (1967, my #38 song of all time)
Poetry. The revolution of Folk and Rock music that Dylan ignited allowed Leonard Cohen, already an acclaimed Canadian writer on his thirties (with 4 poetry books and 2 novels published), to try his luck as a singer/songwriter in the late 1960s. And he opened his first album with this intimate but powerful gem (only backed by Spanish guitar and spectral female vocals and strings), filled with religious references (Jesus "sank beneath your wisdom like a stone"), strange-love references ("you know that she's half crazy, but that's why you want to be there"), and of course, poetry. Among the garbage and the flowers.
2.
Famous Blue Raincoat (1971)
A hauntingly beautiful melody for maybe the most intriguing lyrics penned by Cohen. On a first listen it's a letter to the third person on a love triangle, displaying ambivalent attitudes toward the infidelity (the third person is called both brother and killer). But the real threat came when Cohen explained years later that the famous blue raincoat belonged to him, a Burberry he bought in London in 1959. So is this third person Cohen himself? Is the Cohen of the present the sender and a Cohen from the past the receiver of the letter? Is Cohen missing the Cohen he was? Or (maybe) the Cohen that could have been?
3.
First We Take Manhattan (1988)
The synth-bass line that opens the song signals the most amazing (and credible) transformation of a singer-songwriter ever.
4.
Hallelujah (1984)
Cohen at his tower of song, Cohen's summa theologica than only got his deserved status in other voices and ten years after.
5.
So Long Marianne (1967)
Cohen vetoed the use of drums on his first album but fortunately he allowed the fantastic snare drum that can be heard here.
6. Chelsea Hotel No. 2 (1974)
7. The Partisan (1969)
8. Bird on the Wire (1969)
9. Who by Fire (1974)
10. Everybody Knows (1988)
11. You Want It Darker (2016)
12. The Future (1992)
13. Take This Waltz (1986)
14. Dance Me to the End of Love (1984)
15. Dress Rehearsal Rag (1971)
16. Seems So Long Ago, Nancy (1969)
17. Hey, That's No Way of Say Goodbye (1967)
18. The Gypsy's Wife (1979)
19. Sisters of Mercy (1967)
20. Leaving the Table (2016)
21. Closing Time (1992)
22. Nevermind (2014)
23. One of Us Cannot Be Wrong (1967)
24. In My Secret Life (2001)
25. Tower of Song (1988)
26. Democracy (1992)
27. There Is a War (1974)
28. Joan of Arc (1971)
29. Traveling Light (2016)
30. I'm Your Man (1988)
31. Avalanche (1971)
32. The Stranger Song (1967)
33. Memories (1977)
34. Darkness (2012)
35. Story of Isaac (1969)
36. Alexandra Leaving (2001)
37. Night Comes On (1984)
38. The Lost Canadian (Un Canadien Errant) (1979)
39. The Letters (2004)
40. A Thousand Kisses Deep (2001)
41. Master Song (1967)
42. Take This Longing (1974)
43. The Guests (1979)
44. Last Year's Man (1971)
45. Treaty (2016)
46. If It Be Your Will (1984)
47. True Love Leaves No Traces (1977)
48. Lover Lover Lover (1974)
49. Waiting for the Miracle (1992)
50. Amen (2012)
51. Anthem (1992)
52. The Window (1979)
53. Boogie Street (2001)
54. Is This What You Wanted (1974)
55. Samson in New Orleans (2014)
56. Slow (2014)
57. Going Home (2012)
58. It Seemed the Better Way (2016)
59. Almost Like the Blues (2014)
60. Lady Midnight (1969)
61. Ain't No Cure for Love (1988)
62. Paper Thin Hotel (1977)
63. The Traitor (1979)
64. Teachers (1967)
65. Love Calls You by Your Name (1971)
66. Never Any Good (1997)
67. Come Healing (2012)
68. The Faith (2004)
69. Stages (2015)
70. On That Day (2004)
71. Field Commander Cohen (1974)
72. You Know Who I Am (1969)
73. Crazy to Love You (2012)
74. Born in Chains (2014)
75. Give Nobody Trouble (2015)
76. Coming Back to You (1984)
77. Diamonds in the Mine (1971)
78. Winter Lady (1967)
79. The Smokey Life (1979)
80. Jazz Police (1988)
81. Don't Go Home with Your Hard-On (1977)
82. That Don't Make It Junk (2001)
83. Banjo (2012)
84. The Captain (1984)
85. Ballad of the Absent Mare (1979)
86. The Old Revolution (1969)
87. Because Of (2004)
88. Light as the Breeze (1992)
89. The Land of Plenty (2001)
90. Came So Far for Beauty (1979)
91. A Singer Must Die (1974)
92. Tonight Will Be Fine (1969)
93. Please Don't Pass Me By (A Disgrace) (1973)
94. String Reprise / Treaty (2016)
95. Death of a Ladies' Man (1977)
96. Always (1992)
97. La Manic (2015)
98. You Have Loved Enough (2001)
99. If I Didn't Have Your Love (2016)
100. The Great Event (1997)