 "I'll Raise the Ante" | 2007-11-25 |
| - Reviewed By billsheasf |
| "What better singer to interpret the dark, enigmatic songs of Canadian bard Leonard Cohen than the equally enigmatic Judy Collins?"asked one reviewer. I'll respond: Jennifer Warnes. Check out the 20th anniversary release of Famous Blue Raincoat with four new songs on it and most will agree with me . . . except of course the truly die hard Judy Collins fans (which in most cases I am but not when it comes to Cohen and Warnes). Sorry. |
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| "Judy Collins gets better with age" | 2007-02-19 |
| - Reviewed By User: AY8YJAECS9ELU |
| Like a fine wine, Judy Collins has only gotten better with age. Her golden voice echos beauty with every note. If you are a Leonard Cohen fan or not you will turn up your player and listen how Judy has made these songs her own. My wife and I have listened to this collection over and over again as she waves her magic with Cohens best songs.As Great as Judy has been through the years, this collection reaches new levels. I can only hope she makes another one. |
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| "an excellent overview" | 2007-01-10 |
| - Reviewed By User: A3BFTRNU1EPVYW |
This CD is an outstanding compilation of Leonard Cohen songs sung by the premier interpreter of his works. It showcases the uniqueness of Cohen's
composing as well as the versatility and beauty of Judy Collins' voice. |
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 "A great "Suzanne" but others fall short" | 2006-12-02 |
| - Reviewed By trtl4 |
| Judy Collins has a voice and style that shines on the lilting ballads. She owns "Suzanne" and "Sisters of Mercy", but doesn't have the depth, range or emotion to carry "Joan of Arc" or "Famous Blue Raincoat". If you want to hear, according to Cohen himself, the best interpretations of his songs, get the "Famous Blue Raincoat" CD by Jennifer Warnes...also a master disc recording you can use to demo the best stereo systems available. |
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 "Painful" | 2006-10-26 |
| - Reviewed By jsokolow |
| I like Judy Collins and I like Leonard Cohen, so I thought this album was a no-brainer for me. Boy was I wrong. Judy's gimmick of recording everything as though she's in an echo-chamber is getting tired. And all her interpretations of the songs are *painfully* slow. I enjoyed "Democracy" (the first song on the album), but the rest was a total wash. I almost didn't listen to the entire thing, but I thought it would be unfair to write a review without giving the whole album one full hearing. But I'm listening to "Song of Bernadette" as I write this review, so I can now say that the entire album, with the exception of "Democracy," as stated above, is just slow, tired, echo-y, and painful. Barely a step above elevator music--not at all what I expected from Judy Collins with such great material! If you like Leonard Cohen, I highly recommend the "Tower of Song" tribute album from a number of different artists, rather than this one. |
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| "His first interpreter" | 2006-10-05 |
| - Reviewed By irridium |
This tribute album contains previously released tracks from 1966 to 1999 plus new recordings: Democracy, A Thousand Kisses Deep and Night Comes On. The old material is drawn from her albums In My Life (1966), Wildflowers (1967), Who Knows Where The Time Goes (1968), Living (1971), Bread & Roses (1976) and Live At Wolf Trap 1999.
The blend of the old and the new is a definite plus, as it ensures variety in the arrangements and instrumental mix. For example, the title track with its marching beat, piano and keyboards is followed by the lovely acoustic guitar textures of Suzanne, whilst Hey That's No Way To Say Goodbye is quite atmospheric with its enchanting flute.
In my opinion, the songs Dress Rehearsal Rag and Priests do not work so well, but they've never been amongst my favourite Cohen compositions. Her version of Night Comes On is a real masterpiece, as is this elegant rendition of Sisters Of Mercy with its intricate instrumentation.
Just like Emmylou Harris slightly altered the lyrics of Dylan's Every Grain Of Sand on her Wrecking Ball album, Collins tweaks a word or two in her version of Story Of Isaac, a song with a very pertinent message for our time. Probably to reflect their personal beliefs in both cases. The song is embellished with beautiful organ and harpsichord.
Bird On A Wire has a distinct country flavour with full instrumentation including pedal steel guitar. In contrast, Famous Blue Raincoat gets an intimate treatment with sparse acoustic guitar. Produced by Arif Mardin, Take This Longing has a delicate recorder flute in the mix, whilst three backing vocalists assist on Joan Of Arc. The album concludes with a live version of the evocative Song Of Bernadette, co-written by Jennifer Warnes.
The CD booklet contains Judy's account of her meeting with Leonard and his enduring influence on her career. Amongst the black and white pictures there is one of them performing together onstage. There is also a dedication from LC and the complete lyrics of Democracy.
As far as LC tribute albums go, Democracy is a huge success. I also recommend Famous Blue Raincoat by Jennifer Warnes and I'm Your Fan with its great variety of contributors. The one titled Tower Of Song is not quite as memorable as the aforementioned although it does contain a gem or two.
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| "Beautiful voice interprets badly" | 2005-11-19 |
| - Reviewed By User: AUJV5I6K559TH |
"I was born like this. I had no choice. I was born with the gift of a golden voice." So says Leonard Cohen in the Tower of Song.
Judy Collins could have written those words about herself. So my mediocre rating is not about her voice, but about how she interpreted Leonard Cohen's work.
That is not say I believe tribute albums should be duplicates of an artist's original, either. There may be many ways to hit the mark, but this album does not do that on the whole.
Take Jennifer Warnes tribute album, Famous Blue Raincoat. Other than the title song and Joan of Arc (the latter accompanied by Cohen), Jennifer hit the mark with very different interpretations of her lifelong friend's music and really blew me away. Indeed, I prefer some of her work to Cohen's original.
While Warnes has a more 'perfect' voice than Collins, Collins voice is far and away more angelic. But if it were simply about perfect voice quality, Bob Dylan likely would never have been heard of.
I believe a purchase of this album will quickly go to the bottom of a stack of Judy Collins music as well as that of Leonard Cohen. |
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| "Cohen's Best Interpreter" | 2004-12-16 |
| - Reviewed By foscorb |
No singer is more qualified to sing Leonard Cohen's songs than Judy Collins. She introduced his music to a U. S. audience in 1966 ("Suzanne" and "Dress Rehearsal Rag"); she has continued to record his beautiful lyrics since then; and no one, including the composer himself, interprets his music better. For Collins and Cohen fans, most of the cuts here we've heard Ms. Collins sing before. Of the 14 selections, only three, "Democracy", "A Thousand Kisses Deep" and "Night Comes On" are the only new material here. I would love to hear her sing "First We Take Manhattan" or "Ain't No Cure For Love," to name two of Mr. Cohen's later offerings. Of course most of the Cohen classics are here: In addition to "Suzanne"-- that one for my money belongs to Ms. Collins alone-- there's "Sisters of Mercy", "Story of Isaac", "Bird On The Wire"-- the one that Cohen always opens his own concerts with-- and one of my all-time favorites, "Hey, That's No Way To Say Goodbye."
What is so amazing is that Ms. Collins' voice has changed little in the 40 or so years she's been singing. Someone not familiar with her recordings would be hard put to tell which cuts are old and which ones are new here. Her voice is as clear and beautiful as her blue eyes. And it doesn't hurt any that she always speaks out for the causes I care about too.
This CD would make a great gift to a Cohen/Collins fan or a great introduction to the few last beautiful people on earth who aren't already crazy about this duo. |
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| "Tremendous!" | 2004-11-30 |
| - Reviewed By el-chingon |
What better singer to interpret the dark, enigmatic songs of Canadian bard Leonard Cohen than the equally enigmatic Judy Collins? It is particularly apt given that the musical lives of these two have intertwined since early on.
I have been a sometimey fan of Judy Collins for many years. Among today's American female singers, perhaps only Tish Hinojosa comes even close to matching the pure, angelic, and heavenly voice that is Collins' gift to the world. If you listen to Collins' songs recorded over the span of forty-some years, you might note with wonder that she sounds essentially the same today as she did when she first began her recording career.
As for Cohen, he came on the scene nearly as long ago, his songs tinged with Keith Reid-like melancholy and inscrutability. I had always heard his songs as interpreted by others and only recently came to appreciate his own deep and rich vocal style.
Judy Collins Sings Leonard Cohen brings Collins' gorgeous soprano to interpret the songwriting genius of Cohen. And what a tremendous job she does! Sometime she even bests the original as she does with A Thousand Kisses Deep.
My favorites are the aforementioned, the ever-timely and ironic Democracy, Suzanne (of course), Dress Rehearsal Rag, Bird On the Wire, Famous Blue Raincoat, and Song of Bernadette.
If you are just a casual Judy Collins or Leonard Cohen fan, this could be the album that makes you a permanent part of their fan bases. Do I recommend it? Heck yeah, get it today. You won't be sorry.
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 "Worth a listen." | 2004-11-12 |
| - Reviewed By hejiraent |
First of all, I did not buy this album because of Judy Collins, I bought it to hear Leonard Cohen's message through another messenger. I have aquired a taste for his voice, like I aquired my taste for Scotch Whiskey. I had to be in the mood to alter my mood, and I had to force myself to swallow what my body was begging me not to!
Having said that, I believe he is the best interpreter of his words. Jennifer Warnes gets 5 stars. Judy gets 4. You can tell that (Whatever decade she recorded the song) she did her homework. The two standouts for me are "Take This Longing" and "Democracy" The backing music on anything Cohen writes needs to support what mood he is trying to convey. Simply accentuate the feeling behind the word and help the words do their magic. I feel that Judy Collins has hit the mark more than she has missed...In my opinion, you simply have to listen to his two tribute albums to see how easy it is to lose your way with his material. |
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