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Ok, first of all, this is an album you must listen to all alone, even without yourself. After my first listening session, it comes to me that it was a kind of good Tacoma trailer album. With a truly comfortying booklet, of course. If at the beginning, Go no more a-roving sounds like a modified Be for real, There for you like A 1000 kisses deep (in a not-that-much-deeper-way), The letters and The Faith like outtakes from TNS and Recent songs, (respectively), I think it is well expiated all along the way.
I got a great laugh for Dear Heather which is everything but a song of tenderness (Yeah! It is Grumbacher).

But the only and big problem that occured to me for this album and the next one (I hope not) got the name SHARON ROBINSON. Does Leonard, at 70, need a babysitter? Where the real and franker voice of Leonard appears is in the song she is not in : the so-splendid-and-too-sadly-short Nightingale. Even with Leonard's guitar!!! Will she let him someday do an album by his own? That was ok for Everybody knows, waiting for the miracle and even with TNS, but I think this collaboration is becoming to be foul. We want to hear women in background!!! Not to hear Leonard as a simple sensual low sigh. He still got the golden voice. I want more Nightingale and less Robinson. I hope it is not only my own wish. For the rest, it is a good album to listen to. Thanks for The faith Leonard, a song from our common homeland. Keep it in the heart.

But September_Cohen, Sharon Robinson sang and produced only three songs, and of that three, The Letters is duet (what's OK with me), and on There For You she really sings only back ups (and she's credited for back ups in booklet, for other two it says "vocals LC and SR"). So I cannot actually see what's wrong with her, she really droped out this time. Also, Sharon had nothing with Nightingale.
Anjani sang 9 songs! And I have problem with that, although her voice is gorgeous, I want hear LEONARD singing the beautiful Undertow, and also, I want to hear LEONARD singing the whole Faith!

The good information is that the real name for this album was OLD IDEAS, but he changed it because somebody could think it's new compilation I think that title was more appropriate:)

Speaking about next record, I believe that these three TNS-like Sharon-produced songs were left after TNS sessions, and that LC started working with Anjani after that (expect for Villanelle). I also think - and that makes me sad - that there will be no Sharon on next album.

By the way, Croatian radio is airing The Letters, and reviewers claim that song like "Cohen classic", "spooky beautiful", "the best on this record". One here said about Dear Heather that it reminds on Dylan's Rainy Day Women in deadly slow "robotic love" masterpiece performed by Air!

Old Ideas would have been an excellent title for this album. It works on several levels. What a shame Leonard got talked out of it (presumably by the marketing department, most of whom freak out at the thought of trying to sell anything old).

Olde Ideas would have been fine, too. However, Dear Heather it is....and a rose by any other name is still a rose. So is heather.