I swore I would not begin this DVD until after seeing L. Cohen in Oakland the Monday after next. But I’m so pleased I broke my command.
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This is one of the most improbable concerts I’ve ever seen captured on DVD.
The band and Leonard’s singers are valid, and one senses that they feel as though they are a piece of something special.
The songs span nearly 40 years of a canon that is second to none.
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Most unbelievable of all,though, is how a digital disc can slit through its maintain technology and exude so remarkable warmth and passion. Even when the camera shows a conclude shot of Cohen, one can level-headed sense the warmth, worship and admiration coming from the jubilant London audience.
As for Leonard Cohen…if he were to do nothing but train, that would be enough given the astounding breadth of material performed at this concert.
However, his gentle and excellent divulge of the stage provides this present 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 report his on-stage demeanor.
Very often I invent 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 edifying. Unlike so many of his stature, his humility comes across as steady. His spoken words are every bit as distinguished as those that are sung. Given the plan 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 share of one celebratory evening…such humility, graciousness and warmth cannot be anything but superb.
The highlights are too many to mention: “Suzanne” sounds as current as it did 40 years ago. “Anthem” sounds more urgent today than when it was first penned. “The Future” & “First We Seize 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 comely “If It Be Your Will” sounds as mighty like a prayer as it does one of the loveliest songs ever written. If I don’t close now, I’ll wind up writing accolades about every song on this DVD. Yes, it is that amazing!
I’ve been fortunate to watch so many of the greats in my lifetime - legends whose works will be remembered for decades to near. Some have been surly and stand-offish. Others have been appreciative and welcoming toward their audience.
It is refreshing to behold the best of everything embodied in this Leonard Cohen concert. Songs that are amongst the best ever written, serene performed with a passion (as well as with the added wisdom that comes from Cohen being 74 years young), with a band & audience & singer all equally committed to one another.
There are moments when I laughed out loud at Leonard’s deadpan, wry humor. There were times when tears welled in my eyes from the sincerity of the words that came out of his mouth, either spoken or in song.
In a day and age where so distinguished seems packaged and perfunctionary, it is refreshing to seek & hear someone such as Cohen whose observations can warm the heart or carve like a knife to accumulate to the heart of a matter. He is the genuine deal. No airs, no faux modesty…objective a man with four decades’ worth of majestic material, with an worthy band whose respect for Cohen is reciprocated by their singer with his respect for their talents & abilities, along with a pleasant warmth & sense of humanity that allows Leonard Cohen to turn a colossal London venue into a setting that is as intimate as being in one’s living room.
Without a doubt, one of the finest, most attractive and most satisfying concert DVDs I’ve ever seen.
I’m satisfied that I opened this prior to April 13. Seeing this makes me stare forward to seeing Cohen in a miniature Oakland theater even more so than I already was.
However, had I not been fortunate enough to have gotten a imprint for his upcoming concert, I have to say that this DVD would have been a more than magnificent consolation. It is worth every cent. The staging, lighting, musicianship, song selection and sound are painstakingly stellar, obviously given sizable care & noteworthy concept.
This is a proper gem, a most obedient representation of one of the greatest songwriters of our time.
This is glowing grand a bare bones DVD featuring extended London concert footage. I have no beef with the camera work. It is simple, but effective, and worthy preferable to so many concert videos where the camera moves so distinguished and cuts from one angle to the next occur so posthaste it threatens to give one vertigo, or at least a headache.
The choice of 4:3 aspect ratio, in an era where even run-of-the-mill TV shows are widescreen, is inexplicable. The video quality is agreeable, but not tremendous.
The audio could have been better. Happily, an uncompressed LCPM stereo track is available (the default) on the DVD, which should get for maximum sound quality. But the disc producers chose to muck this up, too. The sound is dynamically compressed, i.e. the soft parts are made loud so the dynamic difference between soft and loud is blunted. When the band gets going paunchy blast, the sound is congested — it loses some clarity. Nevertheless, I would rate the sound as qualified, not gargantuan — equivalent in sound quality to a musical segment on the Letterman display or Tonight Prove on digital TV.
The concert is tall, and Leonard is burly of warmth and grit, whatever is called for. Leonard Cohen appears to be having the time of his life, and the band is perfect. His angelic choir, a trio of female backup singers, is comely. The guitarist provides Knopfler-esque lead lines, and his “wind instrument” and keyboard players add richness to the mix.
This is the perfect introduction to Leonard Cohen. It represents his best compositions (though I am disappointed that Joan of Arc is not portion of the site list) . At age 74 Cohen’s convey is a bit husky, but these performances are as helpful as any I’ve ever heard on his studio albums or live material. (Granted, I do not have a tremendous collection of Cohen albums, however I relish very powerful his songs, including those performed by other artists.) It’s hard to imagine him ever topping this.
If you are strange with Leonard Cohen’s music, it is generally quite simple, with well-liked chord progressions and easy melodies. You might like a flash glean yourself singing along with these tunes. Cohen’s strengths are his poetry and his delivery of the poetic line. He has always loved embellishing the simplicity of the songs with female choruses and fuller arrangements, while the structure retains the essence of folk music. Sometimes he favors a Spanish rhythm.
For me, this is the definitive Leonard Cohen live performance, worthy as Joni Mitchell’s Shadows and Light concert DVD highlights her best songs and best performances a with dream team band. That DVD is also deficient technically, but the music shines through. So it is here. It’s a five star concert with one star deducted for technical quality that does not measure up to the artistry of the performance.
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