Leonard Cohen on Leonard Cohen: Interviews and Encounters

by Jeff Burger (Editor)

Overview

Leonard Cohen, one of the most admired performers of the last half century, has had a strange and eventful life. Now, for the first time, he tells his story in his own words, via more than fifty interviews conducted worldwide between 1966 and 2012.
 
In Leonard Cohen on Leonard Cohen—which includes a foreword by singer Suzanne Vega and eight pages of rarely seen photos—the artist talks about “Bird on the Wire,” “Hallelujah,” “Famous Blue Raincoat,” and his other classic songs. He candidly discusses his famous romances, his years in a Zen monastery, his ill-fated collaboration with producer Phil Spector, and his long battle with depression. He also comments on his classic poetry and novels, the financial crisis that nearly wiped out his savings, and his remarkable late-career resurgence.
 
Here you’ll find interviews that first appeared in the New York Times and Rolling Stone, along with conversations that have not previously been printed in English. Some have been broadcast but never published. And some of the material has not been available until now in any format, including the many illuminating reminiscences that contributors supplied specifically for this definitive anthology.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781613731789
Publisher:	Chicago Review Press, Incorporated
Publication date:	08/01/2015
Series:	Musicians in Their Own Words
Pages:	624
Product dimensions:	5.50(w) x 8.70(h) x 1.30(d)

About the Author

Jeff Burger is the editor of Springsteen on Springsteen: Interviews, Speeches, and Encounters. He has contributed to Barron’s, Family Circle, GQ, the Los Angeles Times, Reader’s Digest, and more than seventy-five other magazines, newspapers, and books, including many national and international music periodicals. He has published interviews with such leading musicians as Bruce Springsteen, Billy Joel, Tom Waits, the Righteous Brothers, and the members of Steely Dan. He lives in Ridgewood, New Jersey.

Table of Contents

Foreword Suzanne Vega xiii

Preface Jeff Burger xv

Part I The Sixties and Seventies: Cohen draws attention with his poetry and fiction, then picks up a guitar and delivers classics like "Suzanne," "Sisters of Mercy," "Bird on the Wire," and "Famous Blue Raincoat."

TV Interview: May 23, 1966, Take 30, CBC (Canada) Adrienne Clark 3

After the Wipeout, a Renewal: February 3, 1967, the Ubyssey (Vancouver, Canada) Sandra DJWA 10

Ladies & Gents, Leonard Cohen: Late 1970, interview February 4, 1971, Rolling Stone (US) Jack Hafferkamp 18

Famous Last Words from Leonard Cohen (The Poet's Final Interview, He Hopes): June 1972, Maclean's (Canada) Paul Saltzman 27

Cohen Regrets: March 1973, interview March 10, 1973, New Musical Express (UK) Austair Pirrie 41

Leonard Cohen: Summer 1973, interview December 1973, Beetle (Canada) Pat Harbron 45

Depressing? Who? Me?: June 29, 1974, New Musical Express (UK) Steve Turner 51

Interview: September 15, 1974, interview October 1974, ZigZag (UK) Robin Pike 57

Interview: October 12-14, 1974, interview 1978, Leonard Cohen (Spain) Jordi Sierra I Fabra 74

Leonard Cohen: The Romantic in a Ragpicker's Trade: March 1975, Crawdaddy! (US) Paul Williams 81

Suffering for Fan and Profit: The Return of Leonard Cohen: May 24, 1976, interview July 3, 1976, Sounds (UK) Mick Brown 96

Leonard Lately: A Leonard Cohen Interview: Fall 1976, interview May 7, 2012, nodepression.com Bill Conrad 103

The Obscure Case of Leonard Cohen and the Mysterious Mr. M.: Late 1976, interview February 1977, After Dark (US) Bruce Pollock 107

What Happened When Phil Spector Met Leonard Cohen?: January 1978, the Los Angeles Phonograph (Los Angeles) Harvey Kubernik 113

Part II The Eighties: Cohen offers only two studio albums, but they feature such monumental works as "Hallelujah," "I Can't Forget," and "Tower of Song."

TV Interview: February 1 and 8, 1980, Authors, CBC (Canada) Patrick Watson 120

A Conversation with Leonard Cohen: May 1983, interview August 1983, Shades (Toronto) Steve Venright 137

Radio Interview: May 1984, interview September 6, 1984, Variety Tonight, CBC (Canada) Vigki Gabere 144

Interview: December 1984, interview December 1986, Malahat Review (Canada) Roberi Sward 163

Interview: January 1985, interview 2001, Book of Changes (US) Kristine McKeh 172

TV Interview: May 24, 1985, the Midday Show with Ray Martin, Nine Network (Sydney, Australia) Ray Martin 176

Songs and Thoughts of Leonard Cohen: January 1987, interview September 1987, RockBill (US) Robert O'Brian 182

Len: December 1987, interview February 1988, Blitz (UK) Jon Wilde 187

Interview: March 1988, interview May 6, 1988, L.A. Weekly (Los Angeles) Kristine McKenna 200

Leonard Cohen: The Profits of Doom: April 1988, Q (UK) Steve Turner 207

I'm Your Man: May 1988, Rockdelux (Spain) Alberto Manzano 214

Dinner with Leonard: June 18, 1988, interview September 1988, the Athenian (Greece) Elizabeth Boleman-Herring 225

Radio Interview: July 13, 1988, Morning Becomes Eclectic, KCRW-FM (Santa Monica, California) Tom Schnab 236

Radio Interview: October 1988, Eight Hours to Harry, KCRW-FM (Santa Monica, California) Kristine McKenna 240

Part III The Nineties: Cohen issues The Future and a book of poems and songs, thon climbs Mount Baldy to try out the life of a monk.

Leonard Cohen and the Death of Cool: November 1991, interview Spring 1992, Your Flesh (US) Deborah Sprague 249

The Smoky Life: January 1992, Music Express (North America) Jennie Punte 257

Leonard Cohen: Inside the Tower of Song: February 1992, interview April 1993, SongTalk (US) Paul Zollo 261

TV Interview: November 19, 1992, OTV (Ontario, Canada) Barbara Gowby 292

The Loneliness of the Long-Suffering Folkie: November 22, 1992, Newsday (New York) Wayne Robins 302

Growing Old Passionately: November 22, 1992, the Observer (London) Alan Jackson 306

Leonard Cohen: The Lord Byron of Rock and Roll: November 29, 1992, the New York Times (New York) Karen Schoemer 310

The Future: May 1993, interview Spring 1993, El Europeo (Spain) Alberto Manzand 318

Radio Interview: June 13, 1993, Idiot's Delight, WXRK-FM (New York) Vin Scelsa 337

The Prophet of Love Looks into the Abyss: A Conversation with Leonard Cohen: August 18, 1993, Metro Times (Detroit) Thom Jurek 362

"I Am the Little Jew Who Wrote the Bible": November 23, 1993, interview January 1994, the Jewish Book News (US) Arthur Kurzweil 369

Radio Interview: December 1993, Morning Becomes Eclectic, KCRW-FM (Santa Monica, California) Chris Douridas 394

Interview: December 12, 1993, the Sunday Times Magazine (London) Richaro Guilliatt 401

TV Interview: September 1997, Swedish National Television (Scandinavia) Stina Lundberg Dabrowski 411

TV Interview: October 28, 1997, W5, CTV (Canada) Valerie Pringle 428

Part IV The New Millennium: Down from the mountain, Cohen enjoys a fresh outlook on life-and the biggest successes of his half-century career.

TV Interview: Early 2001, Swedish National Television (Scandinavia) Stina Lundberg Dabrowski 439

Happy at Last: The Poet Returns from His Zen Retreat with a New Album and a Sunnier Disposition: November 2001, Pulse! (US) J Poet 481

Exile on Main Street: November 2001, Elm Street (Canada) Brett Grainger 486

The Prince of Prurience and Loss: November 2001, GQ (US) John Leland 493

Brother of Mercy: Late 2001, interview March 2002, Spin (US) Mikal Gilmore 502

Radio Interview: February 7, 2006, Sounds Like Canada, CBC (Canada) Shelagh Rogers 512

Life of a Ladies' Man: May 26, 2007, the Globe and Mail (Toronto) Sarah Hampson 520

He's Your Man: June 2007, Harp (US) Gillian G. Gaar 530

Cohen Wore Earplugs to a Dylan Show?: June 4, 2008, interview June 12, 2008, macleans.ca (Canada) Brian D. Johhson 539

TV and Radio Interview: April 16, 2009, Q with Jian Ghomeshi, QTV (Quebec), CBC Radio One (Canada) Jian Ghomeshi 549

"All I've Got to Put in a Song Is My Own Experience": January 19, 2012, the Guardian (London) Dorian Lynskey 563

The Works of Leonard Cohen 571

About the Contributors 573

About the Editor 584

Credits 585

Index 591

Editorial Reviews

" Jeff Burger has selected interviews and quotes, many of which haven’t [previously] been published in English, that will prove as fascinating to Cohen newcomers as to his most diehard fans.”— Parade magazine 
 




“I love the way Cohen speaks [in this book]—he is so disarming and seductive. I always burst out laughing; he is funny and deep.”—Bella Freud, Vanity Fair

From the Publisher

01/13/2014
The past two years have been good to the enigmatic and sometimes mysterious Cohen. He released Old Ideas, his first studio album in eight years, to wide acclaim, and Sylvie Simmons published a highly praised biography of Cohen, I’m Your Man. Now we get to hear the man himself in these interviews that music writer Burger gathers from various music magazines and newspapers—some hard to find and others not previously published in English—from 1966 to the present. On his musical predecessors: “I am very much aware of where I stood in a long line of singers or poets… and to be one of the figures that allows the tradition to continue is very gratifying.” In an early interview, Cohen comments that he doesn’t “go around looking for joy. I don’t go around looking for melancholy either… I’m not on an archaeological expedition.” In the most recent interview, from 2012, Cohen reflects on the nature of song: “Song operates on so many levels… it addresses the heart in its ordeals and its defeats but it is also useful in getting the dishes done or cleaning the house.” Every collection like this has its uneven and repetitious moments, but Burger’s discerning editorial hand selects those conversations with Cohen that offer insights into his music. For longtime and fans as well as newcomers to Cohen’s work. (Apr.)

Publishers Weekly

02/15/2014
Burger (editor, Business Jet Traveler; Springsteen on Springsteen: Interviews, Speeches, and Encounters) presents a close-up and personal portrait of novelist, poet, singer/songwriter, cult figure, and sometime philosopher Leonard Cohen (b. 1934) through more than 50 collected interviews conducted between 1966 and 2012. Montreal-born Cohen's literary style was heavily influenced by the Spanish poet Federico García Lorca, the Beats, Pete Seeger, the Almanac Singers, and the synagogue prayers of his childhood. His 1966 encounter with folk singer Judy Collins and her subsequent recording of his song "Suzanne" led to the start of his recording career. Cohen's later work, "Hallelujah," has become a modern-day hymn, covered by the likes of Jeff Buckley, Rufus Wainwright, John Cale, and others. VERDICT This book will appeal to Cohen aficionados and researchers. Readers will gain a wealth of information about his take on life while enduring the repetition of facts that occurs with multiple interviews. Those interested in further exploration would enjoy Sylvie Simmons's 2012 biography, I'm Your Man: The Life of Leonard Cohen, which covers the artist's early years and Stranger Music: Selected Poems and Songs, a notable compilation of his best works.—Elizabeth D. Eisen, Appleton P.L., WI

Library Journal