DANCING PARTNERS

The closest relations to Cohen’s final work

10/10

SONGS OF LEONARD COHEN

COLUMBIA, 1967

Cohen’s timeless debut is still one highlight of his career, and the free-flowing poetry of “Master Song” is echoed in Thanks For The Dance’s skillful opener, “Happens To The Heart”. Elsewhere, the violent imagery of “Puppets” brings to mind the earthy, vivid likes of his debut’s “Stories Of The Street”. 7/10

RECENT SONGS

COLUMBIA, 1979

A return to a more stripped-down style of production after Phil Spector’s work on 1977’s Death Of A Ladies Man, Recent Songs added evocative international touches to his spare fingerpicking – a mariachi band here, a gypsy fiddle or an oud there – not unlike the global textures on Thanks For The Dance. 9/10

YOU WANT IT DARKER

COLUMBIA, 2016

The final album Cohen shepherded to completion in his lifetime, this remains arguably the most affecting of his latter-day rejuvenation. With Adam Cohen, Michael Chaves and Javier Más heavily involved, the record examined the nature of life, death and love with some of the most organic arrangements to grace Cohen’s songs in years.