Leonard Cohen albums flying off store shelves
The songs of Leonard Cohen are more popular than ever.
Since the singing poet died this month, Cohen’s most recent CD — You Want It Darker — has flown off store shelves in Cohen’s native Montreal.
At the HMV store in the Fairview shopping centre in Pointe-Claire, there is a waiting list for the album, released Oct. 21.
Cohen died Nov. 7 in Los Angeles, but his death was not announced until Nov. 10, when he was buried in Montreal.
Not only have his songs like Hallelujah shot up the music charts, HMV cannot keep up with demand for his CDs.
“Every other customer is asking for Cohen’s newest CD,” said Jeff Labbé, an employee at HMV in Fairview, on Black Friday.
“We received a shipment early on of 50 copies and as soon as the Thursday we found out Leonard Cohen had died, we sold out immediately,” he said.
“We placed an order for 300 total
... And every time we receive a shipment, all of them are held aside for other customers. Right now I’ve got 50 to 60 people that are waiting for the album.”
Labbé said some of Cohen’s earlier releases are also selling briskly.
“There’s also a tonne of people going after the Essential Leonard Cohen (2002 album) because it’s a double disc. It’s got Hallelujah and Suzanne on it.
“There is also the Various Positions (1984). That tore right off our shelves,” he said. “We also had the I’m Your Man documentary (2005) that came out. People were all over that as well.
“It’s basically anything people can get their hands on.”
Labbé said the same spike in CD sales took place following the sudden death of British rock legend David Bowie on Jan. 10, 2016.
“It’s died down since then,” he added. “But today, obviously, because it’s Black Friday, a lot of customers are asking for Bowie. I do see a steady stream of Bowie albums coming past the cash every day.”
The Amazon.ca online shopping website listed Cohen’s You Want It Darker as “temporarily out of stock”, but the downtown HMV outlet had copies of the CD on sale for $12.99.