‘Popular Problems’: one of the 10 best albums of the year

Rolling Stone readers have selected ‘Popular Problems’ as one of the 10 best albums of the year.

“Leonard Cohen’s amazing comeback that began with his 2008 tour and his 2012 disc Old Ideas continued this year with Popular Problems, his 13th LP since emerging on the scene back in 1967. The disc is produced by Patrick Leonard, best known for his work with Madonna in the 1980s. “We were both, I think, quite compassionately savage about our vision,” Cohen told Rolling Stone. “If something’s obscure or just on the wrong side of accessible, then Pat will mention that and I’ll happily redirect.” Check out the songs “Almost Like the Blues” and “Nevermind.” They are some of the greatest songs ever produced by an octogenarian.”

Leonard Cohen – ‘Live In Dublin’ is now available worldwide.

Leonard Cohen – Live In Dublin, the Artist’s First High Definition Full Concert Recording is now available worldwide.

American Songwriter – “5 out of 5 stars”

Leonard Cohen – Live In Dublin is an full-length concert recording and film. It is the first (and only) release of a complete Leonard Cohen concert to be shot in high definition. Live In Dublin is available in 3CD/DVD, 3CD/Blu-ray and digital configurations.

Lensed and recorded at Dublin’s 02 Arena on September 12, 2013, Leonard Cohen – Live In Dublin documents a peak performance from the musician’s monumental sold-out 2012-2013 world tour, introducing Cohen’s then-latest release (2012’s Old Ideas) within a major canonical on-stage retrospective.

This state-of-the-art audio-visual HD presentation of a full-length concert from the Old Ideas World Tour delivers this artist’s repertoire (backed by a band recognized by critics as his best ever) with the intimacy, intensity and poetic beauty that have become hallmarks of a Leonard Cohen concert. Live In Dublin recreates the deep emotional connection that audiences felt so powerfully and critics praised universally with five-star reviews during Cohen’s most recent tour.

An immersive viewing experience, Leonard Cohen – Live In Dublin’s three hours of music and magic includes an 11-song first set, a 10-song second set and an 8-song encore. The DVD features bonus live tracks recorded in Canada in 2013.

Live In Dublin is the singer-songwriter-novelist-performer’s second new release this year. On September 23, 2014, two days after Cohen’s 80th birthday, Popular Problems, the Canadian bard’s 13th studio album of new material was released. As the year comes to a close, Popular Problem is appearing on many “Best Album of 2014” lists including: #2 Uncut Magazine and #2 The Telegraph UK: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/music/cdreviews/11252866/best-albums-of-2014.html

3CD/BluRay – http://smarturl.it/LC_dublin_amznBR
iTunes audio – http://smarturl.it/LC_dublin_itunes

American Songwriter gives ‘Live In Dublin’ 5/5 stars

American Songwriter begins their 5 out of 5 star review with;

“Concerts by veteran musicians, even ones as respected as Leonard Cohen, don’t get any classier than this. The 80 year old singer/songwriter says more with a momentary raised eyebrow, a dip down to one knee or a tip of his trademarked black fedora than Mick Jagger does in a show of frantic dashing around an enormous stage.”

Read the rest here:
http://www.americansongwriter.com/2014/12/leonard-cohen-live-dublin/

Winter Is a Time For Lists

Rolling Stone magazine has asked Leonard Cohen fans to build a list of their favourite songs:
http://www.rollingstone.com/music/lists/readers-poll-the-10-best-leonard-cohen-songs-20141126

‘Popular Problems’ has also made some lists:
The Telegraph UK: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/music/cdreviews/11252866/best-albums-of-2014.html

American Songwriters:
http://www.americansongwriter.com/2014/11/american-songwriters-top-50-albums-2014/3/

Mojo Magazine:
http://www.mojo4music.com/17483/50-best-albums-2014-final-score/

The Guardian:
http://www.theguardian.com/music/musicblog/2014/nov/26/-sp-the-best-albums-of-2014?CMP=fb_gu

Leonard Cohen will release Live In Dublin on Tuesday, December 2, 2014

Columbia Records and Legacy Recordings, the catalog division of Sony Music Entertainment, will release Leonard Cohen – Live In Dublin, an extraordinary full-length concert recording and film, on Tuesday, December 2, 2014.

The first (and only) release of a complete Leonard Cohen concert to be shot in high definition, Live In Dublin will be available in 3CD/DVD, 3CD/Blu-ray and digital configurations.

Lensed and recorded at Dublin’s 02 Arena on September 12, 2013, Leonard Cohen – Live In Dublin documents a peak performance from the musician’s monumental sold-out 2012-2013 world tour, introducing Cohen’s then-latest release (2012’s Old Ideas) within a major canonical on-stage retrospective.

This state-of-the-art audio-visual HD presentation of a full-length concert from the Old Ideas World Tour delivers this artist’s repertoire (backed by a band recognized by critics as his best ever) with the intimacy, intensity and poetic beauty that have become hallmarks of a Leonard Cohen concert. Live In Dublin recreates the deep emotional connection that audiences felt so powerfully and critics praised universally with five-star reviews during Cohen’s most recent tour.

Live In Dublin is the singer-songwriter-novelist-performer’s second new release this year. On September 23, 2014, two days after Cohen’s 80th birthday, Columbia Records released Popular Problems, the Canadian bard’s 13th studio album of new material since his 1967 debut, Songs of Leonard Cohen. An international success, Popular Problems reached #1 on the iTunes chart in 31 countries and entered the Billboard 200 at #15 while debuting at #1 on the Austrian, Canadian, Dutch, New Zealand and Swiss album charts; the new album also debuted Top 5 in Belgium (#2), Finland (#2), Germany (#4), Italy (#5) and Sweden (#5)

An immersive viewing experience, Leonard Cohen – Live In Dublin’s three hours of music and magic includes an 11-song first set, a 10-song second set and an 8-song encore. The DVD features bonus live tracks recorded in Canada in 2013.

Leonard Cohen – Live In Dublin

Set 1
Dance Me to the End of Love
The Future
Bird on the Wire
Everybody Knows
Who By Fire
The Gypsy’s Wife
Darkness
Amen
Come Healing
Lover Lover Lover
Anthem

Set 2
Tower of Song
Suzanne
Chelsea Hotel #2
Waiting for the Miracle
The Partisan
In My Secret Life
Alexandra Leaving (Sharon Robinson)
I’m Your Man
Recitation w/ N.L.
Hallelujah
Take this Waltz

Encore
So Long, Marianne
Going Home
First We Take Manhattan
Famous Blue Raincoat
If It Be Your Will (Webb Sisters)
Closing Time
I Tried to Leave You
Save the Last Dance for Me

DVD Bonus songs
Show Me The Place – Halifax, NS, Canada – April 13, 2013 – Halifax Metro Centre
Anyhow – St. John’s, NL, Canada – April 20, 2013 – Mile One Centre
Different Sides – St. John, NB, Canada – April 15, 2013 – Harbour Station

In celebration of his milestone 80th birthday (September 21), Cohen’s endless poetic energy and enduring legacy are honored with a new artist page on iTunes (www.itunes.com/leonardcohen), which features Popular Problems and includes all 12 prior studio albums Mastered For iTunes.

www.LeonardCohen.com.

ABOUT LEONARD COHEN:

Leonard Cohen is a master songwriter, musician, poet, novelist and visual artist whose stunning body of original work has touched the lives of millions with a career spanning six decades.

His explorations of spiritual, interpersonal, romantic and political themes have impacted countless contemporary recording artists and writers. He has sold over 23 million albums, worldwide and published 12 books, the most recent of which was 2006’s ‘Book of Longing’, a collection of poetry, prose and drawings, which reached #1 on the Top 10 Hardcover Fiction Books in Canada.

Cohen’s influence on musical and theatrical artists the world over is inestimable. In fact, when Cohen was inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall Of Fame in March 2008, the revered Lou Reed singled out Leonard as one of the “highest and most influential echelon of songwriters.” Cohen’s songbook has been covered by hundreds of recording artists including Jeff Buckley, Bob Dylan, Nina Simone, Johnny Cash, Lou Reed, Tori Amos, Nick Cave, Joan Baez, Harry Belafonte, Rufus Wainwright and the Civil Wars. Tribute albums have been released in Cohen’s honor in France, Norway, Canada, Spain, Swedish, Czech Republic, South Africa and the United States. In 2008 Cohen’s “Hallelujah” became the fastest-selling digital single in European history when three separate versions of the song appeared simultaneously on the UK singles chart – Cohen’s own original recording, a version from Jeff Buckley and another from X Factor winner Alexandra Burke. Additionally, Leonard’s songs have been frequently selected to illustrate the emotion of motion pictures and television programs and have been heard in Watchmen, The Passion of The Christ, Natural Born Killers, The Wonder Boys, Pump Up The Volume, Secretary, The West Wing, The O.C. and many others.

Leonard Cohen has been honored as a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award Recipient (2010), inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall Of Fame (2008), the Canadian Music Hall Of Fame (2006), the Canadian Songwriters Hall of Fame (2006) and the Songwriters Hall Of Fame (2010). He has received the prestigious Principe de Asturias Prize – the highest literary award in Spain (Spain, 2011) as well as the Glenn Gould Prize, awarded to an individual for a unique lifetime contribution that has enriched the human condition through the arts (Canada, 2011). The Canadian native has earned his country’s highest civilian honors – Officer of the Order of Canada (1991), Companion to the Order of Canada (2003), Grand Officer of the National Order of Quebec (2008).

Cohen’s return to live performance in 2008 was met with extraordinary and unanimous accolades as he performed around the world from through 2013. Cohen’s mesmerizing recent performances, deemed “a spiritual experience” by all accounts, totaled 470 shows in 31 countries attended by four million fans.

LEONARD COHEN’S ‘POPULAR PROBLEMS’ TOPS THE CHARTS IN CANADA AND AROUND THE WORLD

‘Popular Problems’ Hits Number One in 29 Countries

(Toronto, ON – October 1, 2014) The reverence and acclaim for Leonard Cohen’s Popular Problems, is undeniable as it hits No.1 on Nielsen SoundScan’s Top 200 Album Chart in Canada. The album awarded Cohen his first ever No. 1 album in Austria and Switzerland and also topped the charts in Belgium, Holland and Portugal, and was the best-selling album of the week in Israel. Popular Problems reached the top of the iTunes chart peaking at No. 1 in 29 countries across the globe and was Top 5 in an additional 15 countries.
Popular Problems, Cohen’s 13th studio album, arrived in stores two days after his 80th birthday. The album gets down into the avenues of our dreams and sets a new tone and speed of hope and despair, grief and joy. Receiving 5 star reviews and album of the week nods worldwide, Popular Problems has earned its place amongst Cohen’s most respected works.

The Mail (UK) – 5 Star review, “a paradoxical crowd pleaser”; “the subject matter is heavy but the tone, as usual, is capable of levity.”

The Telegraph (UK) -5 Star review, “at the age of 80, Leonard Cohen has created a masterpiece.”

The Sun (Canada) – Album of the Week, “it’s another slate of smart, sublime and sometimes hilariously horny song-poems about sex and love, sin and salvation, death and loneliness, war and horror.”

Popular Problems, in collaboration with co-writer Patrick Leonard, is a masterpiece from the ever-fresh imagination of a musical legend whose songs continue to captivate new listeners and devoted fans.

Leonard Cohen, Popular Problems, review: ‘a masterpiece’ by The Telegraph

‘Leonard Cohen has created a masterpiece at the age of 80, says Neil McCormick

At the age of 80, Leonard Cohen has created a masterpiece. It’s a smoky, late-night concoction delivered with a deceptively light touch that masks deep seriousness. Opening track Slow proves a gentle curtain raiser, played out with wry humour over a bluesy electric piano, Cohen taking the opportunity to dismiss notions that advancing years might be responsible for the sedate pace of the music: “It’s not because I’m old/ It’s not what dying does/ I always liked it slow/ Slow is in my blood.”’

Read the full review here!

‘POPULAR PROBLEMS’ IS OUT NOW

Leonard Cohen’s critically acclaimed newest studio album is now available everywhere!

Popular Problems is Cohen’s 13th studio album, and is available now on his artist store, iTunes, Google Play, Amazon and your favourite streaming service.

Check out these stellar reviews by Andrew Warner of the CBC, Ann Powers from NPR and Neil McCormick of the Telegraph who called it a masterpiece.

Popular Problems Tracklisting:
1. Slow
2. Almost Like The Blues
3. Samson In New Orleans
4. A Street
5. Did I Ever Love You
6. My Oh My
7. Nevermind
8. Born In Chains
9. You Got Me Singing