Leonard Cohen
's first album was an unqualified triumph which announced the arrival of a bold and singular talent, and many who heard it must have wondered what
Cohen
could do for an encore. By comparison,
's second album, 1969's
Songs from a Room
, was something of a letdown. While it's a fine LP, it ultimately feels neither as striking nor as assured as
Songs of Leonard Cohen
.
Bob Johnston
stepped in as producer for
, and his arrangements are simpler than those
John Simon
crafted for the debut, but they're also full of puzzling accents, such as the jew's harp that punctuates several tracks, the churchy organ line in
"The Old Revolution,"
and the harsh synthesizer flourishes on
"A Bunch of Lonesome Heroes."
Johnston
also had trouble coaxing strong vocal performances from
; his singing here sounds tentative and his meter is uncertain, which regardless of how one feels about
's much-debated vocal prowess is not the case with his other work. And finally, the quality of the songs on
is less consistent than on
; as fine as
"Bird on a Wire,"
"You Know Who I Am,"
"The Story of Isaac"
and
"Seems So Long Ago, Nancy"
may be,
"The Butcher"
"A Bunch of Lonesome Heroes"
simply aren't up to his usual standards. Despite the album's flaws,
's strongest moments convey a naked intimacy and fearless emotional honesty that's every bit as powerful as the debut, and it left no doubt that
was a major creative force in contemporary songwriting. [In 2007,
was given a remastered reissue by
Sony/BMG
as part of a revamping of
's back catalog. The new edition includes two bonus tracks, early versions of
"Bird on a Wire"
which were produced by
David Crosby
. While he might seem an unlikely studio partner for
, the results are better suited to
's talents than what
brought to the songs, and one wonders how the album might have turned out with
Crosby
at the controls. The reissue has been given a handsome book-style package with plenty of archival photos, song lyrics and new liner notes from
Anthony DeCurtis
.] ~ Mark Deming