169. Leonard Cohen - Songs From a Room

Artist: Leonard Cohen
Album: Songs From a Room
Year: 1969

Songs From a Room is Leonard Cohen's second album, and a somewhat similar affair to his debut. This time out, things are a little more mellow (and if you'll recall, the first album was not exactly upbeat).

I felt this album was a little too close to its predecessor for comfort, in the sense that some of the songs are nearly identical to those on the first album. Take for example "A Bunch of Lonesome Heroes," which would be a totally solid song if not for the fact that it's basically just a retread of "So Long, Marianne." And then there's the issue of the omnipresent jew's harp on just about every song. A fine effect, but on every song? Seems a little much to me.

But for its faults, I think I might actually prefer this album over the original. It feels a little more haunting, and songs like "The Story of Isaac" and especially "Seems So Long Ago, Nancy" are spectacularly graceful. Cohen has a calming voice, and his lyric sheets read like poetry. If Bob Dylan's albums sounded more like this one (and to be sure, this one is not too far off from Dylan territory), I would definitely like them much more.

Rating: Worth a listen