Recent Songs
Recent Songs by Leonard Cohen is a very good record. Cohen has a very unique voice and you can always hear that it is him. I have some issues with this release and it has nothing to do with the music. First of all the cover portrait looks ok but nothing more. Dianne Lawrence must have been a friend since otherwise I have no idea why Cohen accepted this substandard work. I think that Cohen is a great lyricist yet there are no lyrics included in the book-let. Even so this is a good recording that I give 4/5!

Recent Songs Leonard Cohen
Probably an apt title for 1979 the release date, but not for a 2008 Website. However his music, as usual is wonderful. The Mr. Cool of Poetry in song. I love the man.

An oddity in a marvelous canon
Being a transitional album, it's hard to view this in terms of Cohen's previous or future work. The songwriting remains strong, although stylistically there appears to be a lack of continuity. "Un Canadien Errant" is the very first French spaghetti western placed on a record anywhere. "The Guests" points to the density he would explore on future albums. "Ballad of the Absent Mare" is very much like his past catalogue, as is "The Gypsy Wife" and "The Smokey Life". For fans only.

Sublime and fragile beauty
The sound is fragile, almost ethereal, on tracks like The Window, The Guests and Our Lady of Solitude, while Humbled In Love is more earthy and The Lost Canadian (Un Canadien Errant) has a traditional mariachi arrangement with marvelous trumpets. Most outstanding feature is the presence of John Bilezikjian on guitar and Raffi Hakopian on "oud" (oriental lute).

None of these songs has been covered on the brilliant I'm Your Fan tribute, perhaps because they're not as instantly hummable as his well-known classics. Jennifer Warnes, however, does a respectable version of Came So Far For Beauty on her exquisite Famous Blue Raincoat tribute album.

My favourite track on Recent Songs is The Window, an esoteric excursion aglow with symbolism in which Cohen refers to inter alia the 14th century English mystical text The Cloud Of Unknowing. If you like the music of for example Jane Siberry, Nick Drake and Belle & Sebastian, you'll love this album.

recent songs
very enjoyable album .leonard cohen is in good musical form on this album.it is well worth a listen,great lyrics ,great songs.up there with bob dylan the great.