The Essential Leonard Cohen

by Leonard Cohen

The Essential Leonard Cohen cover art
  • Type: Compilation
  • Released: October 2002
  • Label: Columbia
  • Country: Canada
  • Length: 2:35:53
  • Community rating: 4.07/5 from 3 ratings

Album Notes & Community Reviews

A meticulously assembled, two-disc summation of the legendary Canadian poet's profoundly influential recording career. The anthology expertly navigates his transformation from the sparse, nylon-stringed acoustic folk of the 1960s into the heavily synthesized, darkly humorous sophisti-pop of his later decades. It serves as an absolutely flawless introduction to his romantic, deeply existential songcraft.

Genres

Descriptors: Folk, Acoustic

Tracklist

  1. Suzanne (3:47)
  2. The Stranger Song (4:58)
  3. Sisters of Mercy (3:32)
  4. Hey, That's No Way to Say Goodbye (2:53)
  5. So Long, Marianne (5:36)
  6. Bird on the Wire (3:24)
  7. The Partisan (3:24)
  8. Famous Blue Raincoat (5:07)
  9. Chelsea Hotel #2 (3:05)
  10. Take This Longing (4:05)
  11. Who By Fire (2:32)
  12. The Guests (6:38)
  13. Hallelujah (4:38)
  14. If It Be Your Will (3:41)
  15. Night Comes On (4:38)
  16. I'm Your Man (4:25)
  17. Everybody Knows (5:34)
  18. Tower of Song (5:36)
  19. Ain't No Cure for Love (4:49)
  20. Take This Waltz - Paris Version (5:58)
  21. First We Take Manhattan (5:50)
  22. Dance Me to the End of Love - Live in Toronto, 1993 (6:04)
  23. The Future (6:40)
  24. Democracy (7:03)
  25. Waiting for the Miracle (7:42)
  26. Closing Time (5:57)
  27. Anthem (5:59)
  28. In My Secret Life (4:53)
  29. Alexandra Leaving (5:22)
  30. A Thousand Kisses Deep (6:26)
  31. Love Itself (5:21)

Credits

  • Jon Newman - product manager [packaging manager]
  • Stephan Moore - project manager [project director]
  • Anna Marly - written-by
  • Federico Garc铆a Lorca - written-by
  • Hy Zaret - written-by

More from Leonard Cohen: full discography