Leonard Cohen. In general. My wife was a longtime fan and I just couldn't get past his relatively limited range, despite his lyrics being some of the sharpest, wittiest this side of Lyle Lovett and Randy Newman.
But I didn't get him at all until I saw his tour hit Molde, Norway in 2010. For a guy who was touring to refill his coffers after pretty much being financially decimated by his then-manager, Cohen could have done the easy thing and played 90 minutes of big hits, with a small group. Instead, he brought a large band with instruments from around the world and delivered nearly three hours of songs mostly familiar but some less so. It was impressive, and his voice had clearly aged like a fine wine.
Then I began checking out his catalog, all of which my wife had and, while it was good, it still didn't quite hit me.
And then, the release of Old Ideas and, this year, Popular Problems. Cohen isn't just at the top of his game, he's delivered two of the very best records of his career as he hit 80 this year. Live in Dublin, a three-CD/Blu Ray release also out this year, finally captured a full live performance...and what a show.
All three records have caused me to go back to his earlier records with new ears, though I still prefer his grizzled voice as it is today to his smoother tone from the '60s/'70s. But the writing and production of many of those records? Fantastic, and while he may not have much vocal range, the film I'm Your Man, a tribute where many known artists tried to interpret his songs and, with the exception of Teddy Thompson (because he got it), failed because in their objective of showing how well they could sing, they forgot about the core of his Cohen's music and poetry. Thompson got it because his delivery was as understated and nuanced (well, almost) as Cohen's...no doubt his lineage (Richard & Linda Thompson) has taught him the same lesson: that when you sing with subtlety and delicate nuance you don't need to go all melisma on the material, because the slightest gesture becomes dramatic enough.
Anyway, I would say my 'getting it' artist for 2014 is Leonard Cohen, and for those who've not heard Popular Problems, it's also exceptionally well produced, with Cohen's voice way out in front and sounding better than ever whether he's talking his way through a song or actually singing. The instrumentation is mixed in an unusual but very intriguing fashion, and the way they readjust the stereo landscape when background vocals come in is just wonderful.
The album also sounds better in the air, so while headphones are fine, my recommendation is to play them on the best speakers you can, because it really makes a difference.
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