Leonard Cohen’s new collection of tunes (on both CD and DVD), Songs from the Road (Columbia/Legacy), starts with “Lover, Lover, Lover,” recorded Sept. 24, 2009, at Ramat Gan Stadium, Tel Aviv, Israel. The dozen songs are compiled from performances during Cohen’s world tour, 2008-2009. This is not my favorite selection of tunes written and performed by the great Jewish troubadour of Montreal; but the performances on the DVD are wonderful (and evoke Cohen’s amazing Minneapolis show in May 2009). The set also includes a bonus 20-minute “behind the scenes” feature on the DVD, with interviews conducted by the singer’s daughter, Lorca Cohen.
And we should mention that Minneapolis native Leanne Ungar, who has worked as one of Cohen’s audio engineers since 1984, contributed her talents to this recording. — M.S.
