Which Hallelujah is the Highest (The Guardian article)

[yentek]

A blog and hundreds of comments from today's Guardian.

http://blogs.guardian.co.uk/music/2008/ ... ighes.html

[dalsh327]

Jeff Buckley defined it. "Grace" is one of the best albums of all time. Lilac Wine that Nina Simone had done isn't too shabby.

Even his "Live at Sin-e" 2 CD set is pretty damn good for one person to cover as much ground as he did. That's pretty impressive for being one person.

John Cale reinterpreted it in the first place, and it might be blasphemy, but his version defined all the others that have since been recorded. At least Cale is a peer of Cohen's. An insane, mad Welshman of a peer. One of the greatest shows I've ever seen was when he got his viola out and Siouxie Sioux sang "Venus in Furs".

Rufus was in the movie and also has the lineage... not sure how close his parents were to LC, but it sounds like they were friendly.

[astranger]

my favorite Hallelujah covers are by Rufus, Cale, and K.D. Lang; in that order

[The Partisan]

There was an interview on CBC Radio yesterday (Mar. 19) with an American music critic who was ranting about how much he hates the Jeff Buckley version. His argument is that the lyric portrays lots of different situations and moods that lead to the Hallelujah refrain, but that Buckley's version sticks to one emotional, melancholy strain, and does not convey the other moods/emotions suggested by the lyric.

[Undertow]

Buckleys version blows them all out of the water IMO (including Cohens)

His tonal range and the emotion available in his take of that song is just phenomenal. And on Grace, he follows that up with Lover You Should've Come Over, its like an emotional knock out.

[Gerrida]

Well said, Undertow. I totally agree.

[jill]

I agree that Buckley's is the best. Everytime I play it I get chills. I think that LC mentions Bucklely's version on the "I'm your Man" film. Buckley
starts out quietly then takes the song and his emotions higher and higher. K.D. Lang has a wonderful voice. Her version seems mournful. LC's is special with the choir in the background (sing it angels)
Jill

[Chubi]

French magazine Télérama has just posted five cover extracts, adding Keren Ann to those already mentioned here.
I for one find John Cale's the best. I'm not very moved by the other versions I've heard...

[jill]

also Bon Jovi's rendition is special to me because it was watching him sing his version of Hallelujah that brought me to Leonard Cohen -- hIs music, his novels, his poetry, and this website.
Jill

[Adrian]

That there are many, wonderful, versions - each loved passionately by different people - reveals it is in the song, not the singer, that is the greatest magic of Hallelujah.

All hail to Leonard Cohen for creating such beauty.

My own favorite recording is, naturally, Allison Crowe's Tidings album version. This helped me weather a bout of bronchitis/pneumonia years back, and its strength has never diminished. I also hold much appreciation for John Cale - particularly his vision in selecting those verses which have become pretty much the standard interpretation. Still, there's no doubting that Rufus Wainwright and the dozens more artists who cover Hallelujah today each feel it just as strongly as one another, and the song's ever-growing audience.

[LuNo]

I like Jeff Buckley's version a lot, but I undoubtedly prefer John Cale's.
I feel that JF's voice is too light for the poem especially when compared to Cale's baritone which is enlightened by the piano arrangement.
But Jeff Buckley's rendition is very good indeed.

[friscogrl]

I just listened to John Cale's version for the first time and i thought it to be quite beautiful But i also must say i prefer jeff Buckley's version more. I don't find his voice to be too light (though i can see how someone might). I think it has an ethereal quality to it which suits the song especially when he sings the word Hallelujah. Lovely. Second favorite is K.D. Lang and for the opposite reason. Her version is powerful with that incredible voice of hers It is lyrically and musically a perfect song isn't it.

[Doctor Bob]

I think Leonard's own version from "Leonard Cohen Live in Concert" is the greatest

As covers go, definitely the great John Cale would be my pick, what a fantastic artist

[bruinsy19]

Leonard's original version from Various Positions is the best,in my opinion.

[cotefra]

I've now listened to dozens of Hallelujah covers. My favorite, by far, is New-York based singer-songwriter Ari Hest's version. Ari seems to find the right "feel" for each verse. His vocal range is remarkable, from a warm and deep natural voice to a perfectly controlled high falsetto. Check it out on YouTube (search Ari Hest and Hallelujah). There are a couple different versions on YouTube. Ari Hest is also a very good songwriter; Look up his website.
Francois