This Is A Record Store Day 2012 Indie-Exclusive Item! This item will be available at the store on Saturday, April 21st, 2012, and online on Sunday, April 22nd, if any remain. Mail order requests will be filled first-come, first-served, while supplies last. We will make every effort to fill all orders, but as supplies extremely limited, we cannot guarantee all online orders will be filled.
Leonard Cohen Live in Fredericton EP 12-inch Vinyl EPPrice: $9.99Tracks: "Dance Me To The End of Love" "In My Secret Life" "Heart With No Companion" "Bird On The Wire" "Who By Fire"
I put this video together for my wife, Penny, aka the Duchess, and it possesses all the enhancements and flaws one might expect in such a project. Nonetheless we are proud of the result and believe it evokes the mood of Leonard Cohen's compositon.
These intersections of the lives of Leonard Cohen and his one time mentor and long time friend Irving Layton are offered in celebration of the centenary of the birth of the man Cohen called "our greatest poet."
There was Irving Layton, and then there was the rest of us. He is our greatest poet, our greatest champion of poetry. Alzheimer's could not silence him, and neither will death.
I always think of something Irving Layton said about the requirements for a young poet, and I think it goes for a young singer, too, or a beginning singer: 'The two qualities most important for a young poet are arrogance and inexperience.' It’s only some very strong self-image that can keep you going in a world that really conspires to silence everyone.
- Leonard Cohen (The John Hammond Years, Interview with John Hammond and Leonard Cohen. BBC, September 20, 1986. Found at LeonardCohenFiles)
Always after I tell him what I intend to do next, Layton solemnly inquires: Leonard, are you sure you're doing the wrong thing?
- Leonard Cohen (Our National Muse By Judith Fitzgerald The Toronto Star, August 1, 1999)
He stood up for Nietzsche I stood up for Christ He stood up for victory I stood up for less
I loved to read his verses He loved to hear my song We never had much interest In who was right or wrong
His boxer's hands were shaking He struggled with his pipe Imperial tobacco Which I helped him light
- Irving and Me at the Hospital by Leonard Cohen, from Book of Longing, which is dedicated to Irving Layton (1912-2006)
My personal favorite of the videos about Leonard Cohen and Irving Layton is this clip of Leonard Cohen singing "The Banana Song" to Irving Layton, who, as I pointed out in the May 14, 2009 Heck Of A Guy post, Leonard Cohen Has Gone Bananas, plays second banana.
[Layton's] work moves us.... This is the tonic, the elixir. Irving, I salute the aching and triumphant impeccability of your life.
- Leonard Cohen, speaking at a 1991 tribute to Irving Layton (Various Positions - A Life Of Leonard Cohen by Ira Nadel. Random House of Canada, 1996)
Credit Due Department: Photo atop this post by Wayne Cuddington. Photo of Leonard Cohen and Irving Layton found at A Quiet Madman (Ottawa Citizen, Jan 5, 2006). Photo of Leonard Cohen, Jack McClelland, and Irving Layton from Canadian writing enjoys a golden age despite takeover of McClelland & Stewart - The Star (Jan 13, 2012). Photo of Leonard Cohen with Layton's book of poetry (at Layton's funeral) by Ian Barrett.
Emily Bindiger graciously contributed this photo from the 1974 Tour in support of 1974's New Skin For the Old Ceremony included 29 concerts throughout Europe from September 1 to October 19 and 12 shows in New York and LA from November 29 to December 12.
Leonard Cohen – guitar, vocals
John Lissauer – woodwinds, keyboards
Emily Bindiger – vocals
Erin Dickins – vocals
John Miller – bass
Jeff Layton – banjo, mandolin, strings
Video: Lady Midnight - Sept 24, 1974 (Berlin) Uploaded by ALB123Videos
Leonard Cohen performed "Do I Have To Dance All Night" many times in concerts during the 1976 and 1980 tours, but it was never released in the US.
As part of my crusade to popularize this wonderful song, I cobbled together 2 videos - one for the semi-funky 1976 version with Laura Branigan and one for the 1980 more gypsy, less disco version - that kinda sorta fit the music.
As of Feb 9, 2012, the video of the 1976 version of Do I Have To Dance All Night has been viewed 48,325 times; the 1980 version has been viewed 11,386 times.
Be aware, however, that if you happen to be as infatuated with Do I Have To Dance All Night as I am, you may find yourself spontaneously singing, at the most unexpected times, the refrain of
Ooh tell me, Bird of Paradise, do I have to dance all night?
This can be a wonderful thing if it happens, for example, while one is dancing and the words are sung just barely above a whisper through lips that are almost touching a sweetheart’s ear. If it takes place in the middle of ones presentation on shower curtain sales trends in the Midwest, not so much.
Leonard Cohen - Do I Have To Dance All Night (1976 version - with Laura Branigan)
Leonard Cohen's 1980 "Do I Have To Dance All Night" (Amsterdam Concert)
The genesis of the videos and links to keys to the sources of the clips and the identities of the backup singers and others who are featured can be found at
On January 16, 2012, “Going Home” will become, thanks to The New Yorker, the third song from Leonard Cohen’s Old Ideas album available for online listening (“Show Me The Place” and “Darkness,” are currently available at their respective links).
