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Enigmatic Leonard Cohen quietly releases new album Dear Heather

Mon Oct 25, 3:45 PM ET

ANGELA PACIENZA

TORONTO (CP) - Leonard Cohen (news)'s newest work hits stores this week and the icon is letting the album, Dear Heather, stand on its own merit.



Fans will have to read between his well-crafted lines to deduce who Heather is and what caused him to write such an unusual song about her.


But the dedications on the disc help to solve parts of this enigmatic work.


The disc and several songs are dedicated to friends and mentors who have passed away, among them R&B singer and actor Carl Anderson, who died of leukemia earlier this year, writer A.M. Klein, and Jack McClelland, the well-known Canadian book publisher who gave Cohen his start and passed away in June.


Cohen has released more than a dozen records, two novels and countless poems since he started his career in the early 1960s. His life has been well documented by the media (especially while he was romancing actress Rebecca DeMornay).


But he's declined to do any press to discuss Dear Heather, turning down interview requests and telling a reporter friend of his that the record "speaks for itself."


"You also confessed that, years after your depression mysteriously lifted, you're enjoying life more than ever," wrote Brian Johnson recently in a Maclean's column about the reclusive singer. "To go on about that in a world ravaged by unspeakable misery just didn't sit well with you."


The record is distinctively Cohen, with rich psalm-like poems. The music has been stripped of layers to a simple almost lullaby format, making it a dreamy and hypnotic experience.


His partner Anjani Thomas, who has been singing with Cohen since the mid-'80s, and longtime co-writer and producer Sharon Robinson share singing duties. Their soft, angelic vocals strike a captivating contrast to Cohen's distinctive gravelly baritone.


Like much of Cohen's music, this record is a showcase for his poetry, with attention to all his passions including politics, Zen meditation and, of course, relationships with women.


It opens with a soulful interpretation of a Lord Byron poem where Cohen promises to Go No More A-Roving "so late into the night."


He then moves into the moody Because Of, where the 70-year-old legend reflects on his own sex appeal. "Because of a few songs, wherein I spoke of their mystery, women have been exceptionally kind to my old age," he says. "They say 'Look at me Leonard, Look at me one last time."'


The Letters is a sultry duet with Robinson, who co-wrote the track. It suggests the story of a tug-of-war between reluctant lovers. Undertow features a beautiful sax solo performed by Cohen.


The disappointing On That Day, Cohen's reflection on 9-11, comes across as a bit too obvious for the usually subtle artist.


"Some people say/they hate us of old/our women unveiled/our slaves and our gold," he sings.


As well, the title track is difficult to digest with Cohen asking Heather to "please walk by me again/with a drink in your hand/And your legs all white/From the winter" over and over again in an awkward trance-like metre.


Based on a Quebec folk song, The Faith shows off Cohen's gospel choir side. The disc wraps with a powerful live recording of the country-western standard Tennessee Waltz.