Songs Of Leonard Cohen

Sorry, Leonard. I gave 'You Want It Darker' a 4, so I came to this one hopeful. But this is the album where the gloom is turned all the way up and the tunes are turned down. 'Suzanne' is lovely and 'So Long, Marianne' gets a nod, but by 'Sisters of Mercy' I'd stopped noticing where one track ended and the next began. Same fingerpicked guitar, same hushed delivery but without the gravel - everyone wants gravel in their voice, but noone wants sand! It's sleepy, a decent lullaby for the kids. I respect the lyrics, but I wanted more than poetry on a loop. 2 stars.

I think sometimes poems can just stay poems… Melodically this was just really uninteresting to me. I’ve heard of Cohen as influential, or he’s recommended to me every so often, I think I’m good.

This is nice and all, and I understand that Leonard Cohen is an essential songwriter and poet when it comes to...I'm not quite sure I admit - surely he touches a lot of people, and maybe someday I'll be one of those people, but for now I'm really bored.

I want this whole album to play at my funeral and everyone has to sit and listen to the whole thing. (Probably biased because I’ve listened to this album a lot)

It's fine.

Prefect rainy day album

It was a pretty cozy album

First listened 21st February 2026. Favourite song is Suzanne.

Nice voice, simple-ass rhyming scheme.

Not a fan. Felt very one dimensional. The constant vocal tone through out the album made it hard to listen to. Which is tough because I loved the first track, Suzanne. The guitar playing on the album was what earned the second star. The only other track I liked was Teachers. It had an amazing guitar riff and decent vocals.

bangers

Very claim

Great lyricism. One of the great songwriters.

Leonard Cohen is unbelievable. Songs like Suzanne, Master Song and So Long, Marianne are truly something great.

Ok

His voice is like a cozy blanket.

No disrespect, as I know about his influence and longevity, but it's tough to stay awake through the monotone voice and low energy.

I kind of love Leonard Cohen, he's a true poet and lyricist. let's see how this album goes.

Whole lot of meh

I was unfamiliar with Leonard Cohen, and so it was a pleasant surprise to hear that he was Canadian. Cohen presents some very sonically pleasing folk music on his debut album. The instrumentals are all done well, but what stands out is the vocals, at times angelic and at others haunting. Favorite Song: So Long, Marianne Score: 92/100

Ok

Nope

Not an awful album, but no songs the stood out and just a meh sound.

Sisters Of Mercy wouldn't exist if it wasn't for this album. 2/5

What a chill album. Nice and cakmt

Chill chill 3

There is an incredible softness to this record, tinged with sadness throughout, making for a downbeat and melancholic listen. It's a fantastic collection of mellow acoustic tracks, and is very pleasant to listen to assuming you're in the mood for sad music. Suzanne is particularly beautiful. As a whole it's not something I can imagine coming back today requently but I can't deny it's quality.

Quite a nice listen but ultimately not really for me. I prefer the middle section of the album where there is more melody but I feel the emphasis is more on Cohen’s lyrics at times - fine but I needed a bit more.

3.5 por Suzanne y So Long, Marianne

Liked it, feels deep, the sound is just perfect, the type of music that I wanted to hear today, so good

It was good and full of somber and lonely music about love longing and heartbreak. I liked it :)

more of a poet than a singer, but I liked it. I have listened to greatest hits before

A lyricist's album if I've ever heard one before. Fairly spartan guitar arrangements that don't get in the way of the lyrics, which are the real strength of this album imo (I feel like I've been saying that a lot with our recent run of albums). Cohen's writing is truly beautiful, and are more akin to poetry than song lyrics, not fully decipherable with just one listen. Cohen's sleepy singing gives the whole album a dreamlike quality, somewhere between a quiet morning coffee and a late night whiskey. It’s an enjoyable listen, and his droning tenor belies the emotional depth of his deliveries. Where I take issue with this album is that every song sounds basically the same. As a collection of songs, this is a wonderful record, but as an album and a musical evolution through 40 minutes, I am left wanting. Still, I can't knock it too much for that, since an album can sometimes just be a collection of songs. this is a good sneak peek of early Cohen, and a foreshadowing of the artist he would later blossom into. 6/10 Favorites: - The Stranger Song - Hey, That's No Way To Say Goodbye - Stories of the Street

The most Leonard Cohen-y album ever. Jangly guitar, free-verse poetry, all said in weird contradictory orders. It’s almost like a dream. Where stuff keeps happening that doesn’t make a lot of sense. It’s an enjoyable listen, and he does convey a lot of emotion despite the simplicity of the style. The main problem is just how similar all the songs sound and feel. They’re all roughly the same tempo, same dynamics, very little variety to the sound. He occasionally has some back up harmonies, but it’s very infrequent. Nice listen, wouldn’t seek it out again though.

I like his words better than mine.

I smile and i was 11years old or younger

ещё один фолк альбом для сна. я вижу в нем некую красоту и мелодичность, но это слишком скучно для меня. я не смог его дослушать до конца. я представляю, что это можно послушать за кофе или на прогулке в красивом месте, поэтому музыка очень ситуативная для меня. моя оценка: 3/5

The music is pleasant, and at times very beautiful, but ultimately this is prett boring.

Heard of this singer but hadn’t listened before. Didn’t care for it. Sorry.

Another sleepy folk rock album. Again, not bad but just too boring for me. Lyrics are nice and all but it's just not too interesting to me

Two Leonard Cohen albums down. This one was better than Songs of Love and Hate, but at least that album had "Diamonds In The Mine." Leonard, you are a goddamn chore, I'm telling you.

Songs steeped in coffee, red wine, French cigarettes, and mysterious, beguiling women, delivered in a slightly flat, dreary vocal style An important record, of course, but a stodgy listen.

Just boring

It was fine, but a little repetitive.

I really liked this one. More than I expected. So 4 starts.

Achei meio sem graça, meio desinteressante, mas fiquei com vontade de dar outra chances

Listening to this was like being back in high school social studies class all over again, with Mr Dower’s monotonous monotone voice putting me to sleep during second period.

A collection of musically spoken words in front of flowing and peaceful tunes. This is a lot different from the previous Leonard Cohen album as it’s no where near as dark. Similar outcome though as this is a one and done for me.

It’s too bad he stopped in New York and recorded this album instead of making it all the way to Nashville. That way, he could’ve ruined country music instead of folk.

I know he's a great songwriter and all, but he delivers some strange lyrics. His voice sounds a bit young, feels like he's singing songs written by his dad. Overall this wasn't very good.

Не мой формат музыки, американский бард фолк какой-то, без оценки

Smooth

5,50/10 No llega a aprobar porque es aburrido. Muy tranquilo, demasiado por muchos momentos, pero no es malo. Para tener de fondo en un contexto super chill debe ir como piña, pero sino medio un bodrio

Listening session: october 14th, while getting ready in the morning Listened to before: no Thoughts: nice folk album with relaxing instrumentals, but it gets a bit boring and repetitive towards the end Favourite tracks: Suzanne, The Stranger Song & Hey, That’s No Way To Say Goodbye

Great

Hauntingly beautiful instrumentals paired with depressing lyrics. Sounds like a Cohen album to me. Likes: Suzanne; So long Marianne; Teachers; One of us cannot be wrong

great

One of the merits of this project was introducing me to Leonard Cohen's albums (that I never listened to back to back before). Everything (lyrics, voice, guitar, arrangements...) about this one is simply amazing.

The GOAT

For an artist that has a very specific sound/look/feel, I'm surprised that Leonard Cohen has 5 albums in this book. He is awesome, but so many entries dilute his contribution and also blocks the potential for other artists to join the list (looking at you cranberries!)

2 Cohen's in 6 days! I enjoyed this one, it feels like Bob Dylan if he was actually good and wasn't obsessed with harmonicas, crossed with a bit of Simon and Garfunkel.

Youthful, poetic narrative and has excellent pacing. A grim fairytale grounded in reality Favorite tracks - "So long, Marianne" and "Teachers"

There's something about his deep voice that is enticing. I only knew a few Leonard Cohen songs before hearing this but one of them was Stranger Song which I adore. The songs are rich and deep and intense. A fun listen

Cohen nunca será fácil de escutar. Não só por ter um estilo peculiar criando atmosfera estranhas, como se vagasse entre o sublime e o vazio. Músicas que conduzem à meditação, naõ tem como escapar. Não é para escutar a qualquer tempo, mas vale demais a pena quando é no momento certo. Disco de estreia que poderia ser já um greatest hits. Dos grandes.

I don't know if I know this album, but I love Leonard Cohen, so that bodes well for me. As expected, it's great.

Gorgeous, minimalist folk music. Similar to Tom Waits’ Closing Time as a more melodic and traditional album from an artist who frequently subverted convention.

This is a beautiful album

Good grief, this is so boring.

Very much storytelling while singing. Very calm, but not really my vibe.

All right, pal. Just take your five stars and get lost.

I love a bunch of artists influenced by Leonard Cohne, but I just don't love Leonard Cohen myself.

I grew up in a house full of public radio, not much music, but this was one of the few CDs my parents had. I didn't appreciate it at the time but 30 years later it is fun basking in the nostalgia and the beautiful songwriting.

These songs sound like a collection of home made melodies that your dad plays from muscle memory when he’s 5ft or less from a guitar

Chill and calm but flawed

Nearly a five star until his bizarre wailing at the end! Such a great collection of words with sympathetic and well produced instrumentation. But Leonard, stick to the low range

I really like Leonard Cohen, poet. His voice is so young here and without the rasp of decades of smoking. Was odd, at first.

my favorite by leonard cohen. unsurprisingly his most melodic. honestly so many albums for a man whose sound didnt change all that much through his career. 3.5

Gran poeta

I see the appeal, but this album isn’t for me. It was too boring for my taste. I had no desire to finish the album.

Genius, personified.

I find this collection of opaque mysticism, sensual melancholy, biblical allusions, shaggy dog stories, and just straight-up perving, totally intriguing. Musically, it's restrained. There are some striking moments, such as the plunge to B minor on the word "laugh" in the verse of "Stories of the Street" - but on the whole, there's just enough to sustain the poet's spell. Apparently, during recording, Cohen and producer John Simon had some fundamental disagreements about the arrangements - Cohen, perhaps unsurprisingly given that he was a poet first, wanted it very stripped back, originally stipulating vocals and guitar, some bass, and no drums at all. As a compromise, the accompaniments, such as the folk fiddle in "So Long, Marianne", or the accordion and flamenco guitar in "Stories of the Street", are often too delicate and too in thrall to Cohen's voice to be fully appreciated. Even the duet between a whistling owl and a screaming man in "One of Us Cannot Be Wrong" - a genuinely weird and unsettling moment - is kept offstage. Primarily, the music is a vehicle for Cohen's poetry, of which I understand basically nothing. It's possible that's what keeps me coming back: maybe *this time* I'll figure out what it means. Well, either that or I acknowledge this meaningless stream of consciousness just happens to sound great. Til then, lines like "you held on to my like some kind of crucifix" will continue to be lodged in the mind. And everytime I think about where my tea bags have come from, I'll think of Suzanne.

Some outstanding songs on here - Suzanne, and So Long Marianne in particular. But too much of it lacks any melodic or musical punch - just LC half talking and half singing over a meandering Spanish guitar. Not awful by any means, but just a bit meh. The lyrics often feel too wilfully obscure and pretentious - like Dylan but without the crucial humour or the equally crucial musical or vocal impact. Similarly his semi-spoken delivery often feels a bit cloying and pretentious. Remastered and through earphones exacerbates this and it almost feels creepy - might not have felt like this via 1960s audio.

too many Leonard Cohen albums on this list

I won't be listening to this album again. The music is not bad per se, but it doesn't move me, it doesn't give me any feelings at all. 2,5/5.

Really good. Love his voice and some very nice tunes.

Liker stemninga.

Har ikke hørt alt for mye på fyren, men hadde store forhåpninger her. Ble litt underhvelmet av låtene som framsto litt like. Veldig få store høydepunkter, selv om skiva jevnt over er fin. Litt streng her.

Har aldri blitt grepet av Cohen, ei heller denne gang. Blir for esoterisk.

Old people music - nice though

lentos romanticos re lindos

Lovely stuff.

Very nice!

- I wrote a lot about it on another Cohen review, but tldr version: pedo (and prob a Zionist) - More than a few of his famous songs are on this debut, and they are beautiful. - The other songs can't really compete with those, though. - Throughout, I like how the instrumentation is pared down and sparse, but nicely arranged. It complements the poetic lyrics. - Even though it's emotive, I don't really find his voice super enjoyable on this album. It sounds kinda thin and nasal, and it doesn't have much range or variation.

If you can’t hear the music over the sound of yourself crying that still counts right? Haunting; beautiful.

Love this. Leonard Cohen is somewhere between a modern Certified Lover Boy and a philosopher etching his words and wisdom into stone.

The kind of music you'd hear played by a hobo beside a metal-drum campfire in the parking lot of an abandoned gas station after the fallout. Wonderfully Old Testament. Next-level background textures--always restrained and complementary and haunting--who is that female singer?

Ok 2/5

Some wonderful lyrics with a thin veil of music draped over to give it a shape. Kind of like Dylan, but not as folky. I’ll definitely listen to Leonard when I’m in a melancholy mood.

First steps into Leonard Cohen, honestly found it a bit dull. I would listen to see what else he's done but this isnt an album i'll likely be returning too. Favourite track: So Long, Marianne

Needs to cheer up