Leonard Cohen

Songs of Love and Hate

Love or Hate

Review Score:

(10/10)
You will either love or hate this album (and the author), there is no in-between.

This was my first album of Cohen, bought back in 1971. It is now almost 30 years later, and I am still of the opinion that this man is among the greatest of all modern poets.

Here you will find a much younger voiced Cohen, and the music is not as polished at his later attempts (Recent Songs, I'm Your Man, The Future), but the raw power and unmistakable haunting is there - even in these early days.

As always the great emotional confusion between love and lust is paramount in Cohen's writing, mixing God and the flesh in an almost terrifying way. To that end, his poetry is ageless, and extremely pertinent to the fundamental predicament of man. It is conveyed in the unique musical style that has made him object of great affection for his fans, but also earned him the total scorn from his critics.

There really is no way go get away from this art without a gut-wrenching emotional reaction. But, art it is - in it's purest soul-searching form. If you can handle it - welcome to the surprising mind and perception of Leonard Cohen.

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