Track Listing

1. Suzanne
2. Sisters Of Mercy
3. So Long Marianne
4. Bird On The Wire
5. Lady Midnight
6. Partisan
7. Hey That's No Way To Say Goodbye
8. Famous Blue Raincoat
9. Last Year's Man
10. Chelsea Hotel No 2
11. Who By Fire
12. Take This Longing

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #984 in Music
• Released on: 1990-07-16
• Number of discs: 1
• Format: Import

Customer Reviews

Gravest Hits
In March of this year Lou Reed inducted Leonard Cohen in to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame with the words, "We're so lucky to be alive at the same time Leonard Cohen is". This greatest hits collection, with its memorable front-cover photograph, shows why Reed was so unusually magnanimous and effusive. Cohen's self-deprecating words on `Chelsea Hotel' and impassioned vocal performance on `Take This Longing' are just two of twelve examples included here which illustrate why Cohen is talked of in the same breath as legends of popular music like Hank Williams, Johnny Cash and Bob Dylan (The only drawback of this particular collection is that it was first released in 1975 and therefore does not include later work, of comparable quality to that featured here, like 1984's `Hallelujah' nor 1988's `Tower Of Song').

Concise And Breathtaking
In many ways I'm almost glad that Cohen is loathed so much in some quarters. You used to be able to buy perfect copies of this on vinyl for a pound from boot-sales. You couldn't imagine a pound being better-spent. I won't go into great depth here: if you know the tracks (and you should) you'll know how resplendent and timeless they all are. But, for a bit of fun, I propose my own alternative list, had I compiled the original album. As follows: SUZANNE, STRANGER SONG, SISTERS OF MERCY, SO LONG MARIANNE, HEY THAT'S NO WAY TO SAY GOODBYE, BIRD ON THE WIRE, THE PARTISAN, AVALANCHE, FAMOUS BLUE RAINCOAT, JOAN OF ARC, WHO BY FIRE, FIELD COMMANDER COHEN.

Fantastic value for a great selection
This was the first Leonard Cohen album that I bought and it's still my favourite. There are others that have great songs, but with this collection they are ALL great. Particular favourites include Suzanne, Famous Blue Raincoat, So Long Marianne and Hey That's No Way To Say Goodbye, but there are no weak tracks here.

In short great value, and every track a winner. A fantastic introduction to the timeless mastery of Leonard Cohen.