Cohen issued Various Positions on a fringe label, where it sold in dribs and drabs. Reputationally, he was on the skids, reduced to appearing in the TV cop series Miami Vice. Dylan admired one of his new songs and ground it out on tour, but "Hallelujah" went virtually unacknowledged until first John Cale, then Jeff Buckley, interpreted the song on record, secularising the message, taking it far from Cohen's Biblical-erotic fantasy to a steelier, mass-marketed utility. Buckley's early death endowed "Hallelujah" with tragic grandeur. DreamWorks soundtracked it on Shrek. It was warbled on television talent shows. In one generation, "Hallelujah" went from oblivion to the most covered lyric of modern timesI don't know if this is true, or what the source is, but it is certainly the case that "Hallelujah" seems to be one of those rare songs that transcends its genre. Here are some different versions of the song. First the original studio recording by Leonard Cohen:
An early cover by John Cale:
One by Jeff Buckley that got a lot of attention:
Here is K. D. Lang:
Allison Crowe:
Bon Jovi:
And a live version by the master himself:
Yep, that's quite a song.
2 comments:
The Leonard Cohen Files now lists 567 different recordings of this Leonard Cohen's masterwork:
http://www.leonardcohenfiles.com/coverlist.php
That's fewer covers than numerous songs in pop, rock, folk, jazz and other canons - including several tunes by The Beatles, as you've noted "Yesterday", or, another example, "Both Sides Now", by Joni Mitchell (which has been covered nearly 1000 times to date - http://jonimitchell.com/music/covers-most.cfm ).
That sort of knowledge is relevant if you're in a pub quiz.
When it’s the music that matters most – it’s a plain that "Hallelujah" is a most beautiful song and is a globally-loved standard – moving countless people in all its forms.
As you say, it's transcendent!
Thanks for the info, Adrian. I thought that Norman Lebrecht's assertion was incorrect.
Post a Comment