Songs From A Room

Songs from a Room is the second album by Canadian musician Leonard Cohen, released in 1969. It reached #63 on the US Billboard 200 and #2 on the UK charts. Cohen reportedly said he chose producer Bob Johnston to achieve the spartan sound he considered appropriate for his songs, after the disputes he had with John Simon during the mixing sessions of Songs of Leonard Cohen. The album also features some prominent (if strictly ornamental) jaw harp. This project was first begun in Hollywood in May, 1968 with David Crosby as producer. That didn't work out, and the album was eventually produced in Nashville with Bob Johnston. Two of the tracks from the Crosby sessions are included as bonus tracks on the 2007 remaster version. Among uncredited sessions musicians it is known that Ron Cornelius played acoustic and electric guitar, Charlie Daniels played bass, fiddle and acoustic guitar, Elkin "Bubba" Fowler participated on banjo, bass and acoustic guitar, while producer Bob Johnston played keyboards. Johnston toured with Cohen in 1970 and 1972, playing keyboards, harmonica and guitar. In sheet music for the album, a song titled "Priests" was included, and although reportedly recorded, it didn't appear on the LP or on any subsequent Cohen record. The song was recorded by Judy Collins on her 1967 album Wildflowers, and by Richie Havens on his 1969 album Richard P. Havens, 1983. Songs from a Room was released on CD in 1990. A Digitally remastered version, including two bonus tracks produced by David Crosby, was released in February 2007. (wiki) ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ by Mark Deming Leonard Cohen's first album was an unqualified triumph which announced the arrival of a bold and singular talent, and many who heard it must have wondered what Cohen could do for an encore. By comparison, Cohen's second album, 1969's Songs from a Room, was something of a letdown. While it's a fine LP, it ultimately feels neither as striking nor as assured as Songs of Leonard Cohen. Bob Johnston stepped in as producer for Songs from a Room, and his arrangements are simpler than those John Simon crafted for the debut, but they're also full of puzzling accents, such as the jew's harp that punctuates several tracks, the churchy organ line in "The Old Revolution," and the harsh synthesizer flourishes on "A Bunch of Lonesome Heroes." Johnston also had trouble coaxing strong vocal performances from Cohen; his singing here sounds tentative and his meter is uncertain, which regardless of how one feels about Cohen's much-debated vocal prowess is not the case with his other work. And finally, the quality of the songs on Songs from a Room is less consistent than on Songs of Leonard Cohen; as fine as "Bird on a Wire," "You Know Who I Am," "The Story of Isaac" and "Seems So Long Ago, Nancy" may be, "The Butcher" and "A Bunch of Lonesome Heroes" simply aren't up to his usual standards. Despite the album's flaws, Songs from a Room's strongest moments convey a naked intimacy and fearless emotional honesty that's every bit as powerful as the debut, and it left no doubt that Cohen was a major creative force in contemporary songwriting.