{mosgoogle right} Leonard Cohen's musical life began as a teenager when he picked up a guitar and formed a country-folk band. His music was helped along by his deceased father's will. Leonard later published poetry and novels that had the Canadians buzzing. His ambition kept him writing and soon the hard work paid off when he was finally given the chance to record an album.

Cohen is more of a poet, to some extent, than a songwriter. He even speaks of poetry as the flame of creation, "Poetry is just the evidence of life. If your life is burning well, poetry is just the ash." Leonard can turn a poem into a beautiful melody, but what strikes you is not the music so much as it is the words lurking behind it. When listening to "Hey, That's No Way to Say Goodbye" from Songs of Leonard Cohen, the opening generates a picture, "...our kisses deep and warm, your hair upon the pillow like a sleepy, golden storm."

Take a dare to decipher all of Leonard's lyrics and find out what he continues to write about. If you listen hard enough you might catch the continuing themes of depression, women and religion. Leonard was clinically depressed through most of his life. In the song "Dress Rehearsal Rag", from Songs of Love and Hate, Mr. Cohen sounds as if he is talking to himself about committing suicide, saying things such as, "Why don't you try unwrapping a stainless steel razor blade..."

In "One of Us Cannot Be Wrong" from Songs of Leonard, the song ends with Leonard practically crying—a sad soul screaming for whomever will listen.

Like every man usually does, Leonard wrote about women. One of the most stunning songs he has written is "Suzanne". As Leonard says, "You've touched her perfect body with your mind..."

Besides the written themes, Mr. Cohen also follows two other constant elements. One is a chorus of women singing, which pops up in "The Partisan" from Songs from a Room. You wouldn't think this would make much of a difference, but Leonard's voice attempting to sing just as loud as the women is eerie and salient. The other element is the ever-present guitar picking. What would a folk song be without guitar picking and an unconventional voice squashed together to form a powerful song?

If you are the type of person who wants music that makes you think, feel emotional and even on occasion bob your head...then introduce yourself to the man behind these three eternal albums. The finest songs are "So Long, Marianne", "Bird on a Wire", and "Diamonds in the Mine", all on the albums Songs of Leonard Cohen, Songs from a Room, and Songs of Love and Hate, respectfully.

The reissues of these genius CDs show that somewhere out there someone still has hope that Leonard Cohen will reach a generation in need of a poet, as well as one that wants their poet back.

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3.25 Copyright (C) 2007 Alain Georgette / Copyright (C) 2006 Frantisek Hliva. All rights reserved."