POETIC FUSION OF SOUND AND WORD

Review Score: (8/10)
New Skin For The Old Ceremony represents Cohen's first break from the early folk simplicity of his classic albums Songs Of Leonard Cohen, Songs From A Room and Songs Of Love And Hate, as it boasts a wider array of instruments including trombone, viola, percussion, mandolin and trumpet. This fuller instrumentation, together with a less restrained vocal style, makes the collection more varied. It's as if he deliberately veered closer to the rock tradition here. In retrospect, the delivery on some of these songs now sound not dissimilar to the feel of Death Of A Ladies' Man (1978), especially on e.g. Is This What You Wanted? His trademark spirituality is much in evidence on tracks like Chelsea Hotel No. 2, Lover Lover Lover, Who By Fire and Take This Longing. Although not all the songs here live up to his highest achievements, this album confirms Cohen's unusual gift for striking sexual/political metaphor and rich allusive imagery.

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