The selection of artists on this release is outstanding, both for its diversity and for the very high quality of the performances these artists deliver. Fronting the band are Martha Wainwright, Teddy Thompson, Nick Cave, Kate and Anna McGarrigle, Beth Orton, Rufus Wainright, Anthony, Jarvis Cocker, The Handsome Family, Perla Batalla, Julie Christensen, U2, and Leonard Cohen himself. The backing band includes Batalla and Christensen, Steven Bernstein, Rob Burger, Charlie Burnham, Dave Coulter, Don Falzone, Smokey Hormel, Briggan Krauss, Maxim Moston, Chris Spedding, Joan Wasser, and Kenny Wolleson.
Each of these new interpretations of Cohen songs is excellent. There are some powerful treatments here of Cohen's words and music and, while the theme is unified, each performance is unique and stands on its own. Without writing a small book, it would be impossible to comment on each of these songs, and to comment on only one or two would be unfair to the others. The excellence of the work presented here is a fitting tribute to Leonard Cohen, the artist and the man.
If I'm disappointed in this release at all, it's only that there isn't more. There were many more performances in the film, enough that a double CD set could have been created without much difficulty. What I've heard here has been tasty, but it's only made me hungry for the rest of it.
This CD belongs in the collection of every Leonard Cohen fan. It should also be added to the collection of anyone who wants to learn more about the work of Leonard Cohen. I would definitely recommend this soundtrack recording to anyone.
You can find everything you could want to know about the film Leonard Cohen - I'm Your Man at it's own website. The site looks like a poster for the film but most of the credits in gold at the bottom are links to other pages. Click on the "soundtrack" link and you'll find a full track listing for this CD plus a player on which you can listen to clips of the songs. If you want to know more about Leonard Cohen, just type his name into your search engine. There's a lot out there.
Leonard Cohen - I'm Your Man
Motion Picture Soundtrack: Various Artists
Verve Forecast
2006
16 tracks
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