BuzzFlash Reviews
Leonard Cohen: Live In London (2009) DVD -- 26 Songs from Perhaps His Last Concert Tour (159 Minutes)
Leonard Cohen
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"Leonard Cohen commands attention for the entire concert, which is amazing considering his 74 years. He is warm, humorous and humble to his audience and hardly makes an error in presenting over 40 years of his music.
Cohen looks and speaks like a benevolent Tony Bennett-like figure who beams at his audience after each song and clutches his hat to his chest like an aging grandfather greeting cherished old friends at a local bus stop.
His backing musicians and female vocal group are top-notch as well."
This DVD is a live concert in London as the master singer/song writer -- in the tradition of great emotionally moving, poetic troubadours -- gracefully performs some of his most moving and evocative songs:
1. Dance Me To The End Of Love
2. The Future
3. Ain't No Cure For Love
4. Bird On The Wire
5. Everybody Knows
6. In My Secret Life
7. Who By Fire
8. Hey, That's No Way To Say Goodbye
9. Anthem
10. Introduction
11. Tower Of Song
12. Suzanne
13. The Gypsy's Wife
14. Boogie Street
15. Hallelujah
16. Democracy
17. I'm Your Man
18. Recitation w/ N.L.
19. Take This Waltz
20. So Long, Marianne
21. First We Take Manhattan
22. Sisters Of Mercy
23. If It Be Your Will
24. Closing Time
25. I Tried To Leave You
26. Wither Thou Goest
"As for Leonard Cohen...if he were to do nothing but sing, that would be enough given the wonderful breadth of material performed at this concert.
However, his gentle and gracious command of the stage provides this show an added depth and dimension. Within the span of minutes he can be hilarious, self-deprecating, humble, poignant, appreciative...and I could easily go on with the superlatives to describe his on-stage demeanor.
Very often I make a point of remembering to trust the art and not the artist. In the case of Leonard Cohen, I tend to trust both. His warmth seems genuine. Unlike so many of his stature, his humility comes across as real. His spoken words are every bit as powerful as those that are sung. Given the way that the barriers are broken down between the singer and the band and the audience...to the point where it feels as though they are all part of one celebratory evening...such humility, graciousness and warmth cannot be anything but genuine.
The highlights are too many to mention: "Suzanne" sounds as fresh as it did 40 years ago. "Anthem" sounds more urgent today than when it was first penned. "The Future" & "First We Take Manahattan" are even more biting now in the 21st Century than when they were first penned. Cohen's increased age gives songs such as "Boogie Street," "Tower of Song," & "Democracy" a world weariness that makes these songs all the more penetrating. His lovely "If It Be Your Will" sounds as much like a prayer as it does one of the loveliest songs ever written. If I don't stop now, I'll wind up writing accolades about every song on this DVD. Yes, it is that wonderful!"
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