Review
'Songs of Love and Hate' is like a dense forest of emotion, where Leonard Cohen's raw, poetic lyrics tangle with sparse musical arrangements to create something truly wild. This 1971 release is best enjoyed during a solitary hike through misty mountains, where the haunting melodies can echo off rocky cliffs and seep into your bones.
Cohen's third studio album digs deep into the soil of the human experience, unearthing gems like 'Avalanche' and 'Famous Blue Raincoat' that shine with brutal honesty. The addition of a children's choir in 'Last Year's Man' and Paul Buckmaster's string arrangements are like unexpected clearings in the woods, offering brief moments of light in an otherwise shadowy journey.
Recorded in Nashville and London, this album might not have set the charts on fire in the US, but it found its tribe elsewhere, climbing to No. 4 in the UK. It's a testament to Cohen's ability to craft songs that are as timeless as ancient redwoods, standing tall against the winds of changing musical trends. Even if Cohen himself later grumbled about it being over-produced, 'Songs of Love and Hate' remains a musical trail worth exploring time and time again. - Oakley
