Album Review : Leonard Cohen - Ten New Songs (2001)
Fans and music enthusiasts in general remember Leonard Cohen for twenty-five songs or so. It is way more songs than what artists are usually remembered and canonized for, but it still projects a skewed idea of who Cohen really was. Since most of his immortals were released prior to his 1994 Mt. Baldy disappearing act, there’s an entire era of his career that is wildly overlooked. This era starts with his awesome, underrated new millennium comeback Ten New Songs.
Ten New Songs is mostly remembered for the lead single In My Secret Life, a sweet, pensive R&B song he allegedly worked on for thirteen years. While the melodic economy and the Sharon Robinson back vocals are infectious, it’s the journey into Leonard Cohen’s inner self that make it so memorable. Because that inner self is inherently normal and relatable. We all smile while we’re angry and feel despair while reading the news. At least, Leonard Cohen fans do.
The video is also fucking gorgeous.
But In My Secret Life is the only conventionally catchy song on Ten New Songs. That’s a wrinkle of Cohen’s career that tends to be overlooked: for him, music was merely a vessel to say things. Therefore, a lot of his songs are constructed in a similar way. There’s a lot of repetitive harmonies to his work and his most memorable songs often stand out by their lyrics alone. Being into Leonard Cohen is partly accepting that he will only rarely make you dance.
Sometimes, Cohen’s rudimentary melodic approach doesn’t serve some of his most gorgeous work like You Have Love Enough, a ballad expressing how loving someone can change their lives. If you’ve ever been in love with a fiery, passionate person, it’ll immediately become one of your favorite Cohen songs. The other under-the-radar gem on Ten New Songs is By The Rivers Dark, a long and heartfelt complain about the feeling of exile.
I’m not done with the good songs. A Thousand Kisses Deep does not explore the nature of love with crippling passion like its poem counterpart, but it’s irresistibly pulsing with a minimalist sexual tension. Boogie Street is a B-level classic (that I don’t fully understand the appeal of) and That Don’t Make It Junk is a quirky, but sincere appreciation of living your life with nuance. You know, that thing we’ve killed with the internet ten years ago or so?
So, it this all? Kind of. Six awesome songs out of ten is a lot. Some people enjoy Alexandra Leaving a lot. For my part, I think it’s one of these songs that is OK but doesn’t stand up to the beauty of the others. They’re not bad, but they’re forgettable. They have forgettable titles too, like Here It Is and Love Itself. Maybe it’s hindsight talking, but I feel songs like these are remnant of an era where you contractually HAD to have a certain number of songs on your record.
Quick word for Sharon Robinson, who really gives the laconically named Ten New Songs an identify with her soulful, but slightly apprehensive voice. It’s powerful, but there’s a delicate, ephemeral quality to it, like it could go out at any time. Ten New Songs is a really, REALLY underrated Leonard Cohen record. It is more consistent, self-aware and profound than some considered his best, like Various Positions. It is the Leonard Cohen we love, wall to wall.
8.3/10
