''The Essential Leonard Cohen'' is a career-spanning collection of

Leonard Cohen Leonard Norman Cohen (September 21, 1934November 7, 2016) was a Canadian singer-songwriter, poet and novelist. His work explored religion, politics, isolation, depression, sexuality, loss, death, and romantic relationships. He was inducted in ...

songs released in 2002. It is part of

Sony BMG Sony BMG Music Entertainment was an American record company owned as a 50–50 joint venture between Sony Corporation of America and Bertelsmann. The venture's successor, the revived Sony Music, is wholly owned by Sony, following their buyout o ...

's ''The Essential'' series. The songs are arranged in chronological order; all studio albums released before 2002 are represented, except the 1977 album '' Death of a Ladies' Man''. All tracks were digitally remastered by Leonard Cohen and Bob Ludwig. All songs on the compilation were chosen by Cohen himself. The album was re-released in August 2008 with an extra disc of previously not included tracks (presented as the selection of "fans' favorite" songs).

Track listing

Disc one

#" Suzanne" – 3:48 #"The Stranger Song" – 5:00 #"Sisters of Mercy" – 3:34 #"

Hey, That's No Way to Say Goodbye "Hey, That's No Way to Say Goodbye" is a song by Leonard Cohen. It was first released in November 1967, in a version by Judy Collins on her album '' Wildflowers''.

" – 2:54 #"

So Long, Marianne "So Long, Marianne" is a song written by Canadian poet and musician Leonard Cohen. It was featured on his debut album, ''Songs of Leonard Cohen''. Pitchfork Media placed it at number 190 on their list of "The 200 Greatest Songs of the 1960s". ...

" – 5:39 #"

Bird on the Wire "Bird on the Wire" is one of Leonard Cohen's signature songs. It was recorded 26 September 1968 in Nashville and included on his 1969 album ''Songs from a Room''. A May 1968 recording produced by David Crosby, titled "Like a Bird", was added to ...

" (misspelled as "Bird on a Wire" on track list) – 3:25 #"

The Partisan "The Partisan" is an anti-fascist anthem about the French Resistance in World War II. The song was composed in 1943 by Russian-born Anna Marly (1917–2006), with lyrics by French Resistance leader Emmanuel d'Astier de La Vigerie (1900–1969), ...

" – 3:25 #"

Famous Blue Raincoat "Famous Blue Raincoat" is a song by Leonard Cohen. It is the sixth track on his third album, ''Songs of Love and Hate'', released in 1971. The song is written in the form of a letter (many of the lines are written in amphibrachs). The lyric tells ...

" – 5:09 #"Chelsea Hotel #2" – 3:06 #"Take This Longing" – 4:06 #"Who by Fire" – 2:34 #"The Guests" – 6:40 #"

Hallelujah ''Hallelujah'' ( ; he, ''haləlū-Yāh'', meaning "praise Yah") is an interjection used as an expression of gratitude to God. The term is used 24 times in the Hebrew Bible (in the book of Psalms), twice in deuterocanonical books, and four tim ...

" – 4:38 #"If It Be Your Will" – 3:42 #"Night Comes On" – 4:40 #" I'm Your Man" – 4:25 #" Everybody Knows" – 5:37 #"

Tower of Song ''Tower of Song: The Songs of Leonard Cohen'' is a tribute album to Leonard Cohen, released in 1995 on A&M Records. It takes its name from a song by Cohen which originally appeared on Cohen's album '' I'm Your Man.'' However the song "Tower of ...

" – 5:37 Notes

Disc two

#" Ain't No Cure for Love" – 4:49 #" Take This Waltz" – 5:59 #"

First We Take Manhattan "First We Take Manhattan" is a song written by Canadian singer-songwriter Leonard Cohen. It was originally recorded by American singer Jennifer Warnes on her 1986 Cohen tribute album ''Famous Blue Raincoat'', which consisted entirely of songs wr ...

" – 5:50 #"

Dance Me to the End of Love "Dance Me to the End of Love" is a 1984 song by Canadian singer Leonard Cohen. It was first performed by Cohen on his 1984 album '' Various Positions''. It has been recorded by various artists and in 2009 was described as "trembling on the brink ...

" (live) – 6:04 #"The Future" – 6:40 #"Democracy" – 7:03 #"Waiting for the Miracle" – 7:42 #"Closing Time" – 5:57 #"Anthem" – 5:59 #"

In My Secret Life "In My Secret Life" is a song written and performed by Leonard Cohen and Sharon Robinson (songwriter), Sharon Robinson. Bob Metzger plays the guitar. The song first appears on the album ''Ten New Songs'', released in 2001. Cohen first revealed he ...

" – 4:53 #"Alexandra Leaving" – 5:22 #"A Thousand Kisses Deep" – 6:26 #"Love Itself" – 5:21 Notes

Disc three (The Essential 3.0 re-release)

#"Seems So Long Ago, Nancy" from ''

Songs from a Room ''Songs from a Room'' is the second album by Canadian musician Leonard Cohen, released in 1969. It reached No. 63 on the US ''Billboard'' Top LPs and No. 2 on the UK charts. Background The recording sessions for ''Songs From a Room'' began in ...

'' (1969) #"Love Calls You by Your Name" from ''

Songs of Love and Hate ''Songs of Love and Hate'' is the third studio album by Canadian singer-songwriter Leonard Cohen. Produced by Bob Johnston, the album was released on March 19, 1971, through Columbia Records. Recording and composition Cohen reunited with produ ...

'' (1971) #"A Singer Must Die" from ''

New Skin for the Old Ceremony ''New Skin for the Old Ceremony'' is the fourth studio album by Leonard Cohen, released in 1974. On this album, he begins to evolve away from the rawer sound of his earlier albums, with violas, mandolins, banjos, guitars, percussion and other ...

'' (1974) #"Death of a Ladies' Man" from '' Death of a Ladies' Man'' (1977) #"The Traitor" from ''

Recent Songs ''Recent Songs'' is the sixth studio album by Leonard Cohen, released in 1979. Produced by Cohen alongside Henry Lewy, it was a return to his normal acoustic folk music sound after the Phil Spector-driven experimentation of '' Death of a Ladies' ...

'' (1979) #"By the Rivers Dark" from ''

Ten New Songs ''Ten New Songs'' is Leonard Cohen's tenth studio album, released in 2001. It was co-written and produced by Sharon Robinson. It was produced in Cohen's and Robinson's home studios in Los Angeles. It was also his first album in nearly 10 years. ...

'' (2001) #"The Letters" from ''

Dear Heather ''Dear Heather'' is the 11th studio album by Canadian singer-songwriter Leonard Cohen, released by Columbia Records in 2004. It was dedicated "in memory of Jack McClelland 1922-2004." Background The album features Cohen experimenting with diffe ...

'' (2004)

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Certifications

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Essential Leonard Cohen 2002 greatest hits albums Leonard Cohen compilation albums Columbia Records compilation albums Sony Music compilation albums Legacy Recordings compilation albums