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{{refimprove|date=July 2014}}
{{Infobox album
{{Infobox album
| name = New Skin for the Old Ceremony
| name = New Skin for the Old Ceremony
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| cover = New skin for the old ceremony.jpg
| cover = New skin for the old ceremony.jpg
| alt =
| alt =
| released = {{Start date|1974|08|30}}<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.bpi.co.uk/award/|title=Belinda Carlisle, Heaven Is A Place On Earth, Single|website=Bpi.co.uk|access-date=August 11, 2024}}</ref>
| released = {{Start date|1974|08|11}}
| recorded = February 1974
| recorded = February 1974
| studio = Sound Ideas Studio, New York
| studio = Sound Ideas Studio, New York
Line 22: Line 21:
}}
}}
{{Album reviews
{{Album reviews
|rev1 = [[Allmusic]]
|rev1 = [[AllMusic]]
|rev1score = {{Rating|4.5|5}}<ref>[{{Allmusic|class=album|id=r105974|pure_url=yes}} Allmusic review]</ref>
|rev1score = {{Rating|4|5}}<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.allmusic.com/album/new-skin-for-the-old-ceremony-mw0000123304|title=Leonard Cohen - New Skin for the Old Ceremony|website=[[AllMusic]]|access-date=2023-03-02}}</ref>
|rev2 = [[Robert Christgau]]
|rev2 = [[Robert Christgau]]
|rev2Score = A−<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.robertchristgau.com/get_artist.php?name=leonard+cohen |title=Robert Christgau review |publisher=Robertchristgau.com |date= |accessdate=2013-03-14}}</ref>
|rev2Score = A−<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.robertchristgau.com/get_artist.php?name=leonard+cohen|title=Robert Christgau review|website=Robertchristgau.com|access-date=2013-03-14}}</ref>
|rev3 = ''[[Rolling Stone]]''
|rev3 = ''[[Rolling Stone]]''
|rev3score = (mixed)<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20080222102541/http://www.rollingstone.com/artists/leonardcohen/albums/album/235625/review/5946730/new_skin_for_the_old_ceremony Rolling Stone review]</ref>
|rev3score = (mixed)<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.rollingstone.com/artists/leonardcohen/albums/album/235625/review/5946730/new_skin_for_the_old_ceremony|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080222102541/http://www.rollingstone.com/artists/leonardcohen/albums/album/235625/review/5946730/new_skin_for_the_old_ceremony|url-status=dead|archive-date=2008-02-22|title=Leonard Cohen: New Skin For The Old Ceremony : Music Reviews|website=Rollingstone.com|date=February 22, 2008|access-date=August 11, 2024}}</ref>
| rev4 = ''[[Uncut (magazine)|Uncut]]''
}}<!-- Automatically generated by DASHBot-->
| rev4Score = {{Rating|3|5}}<ref>{{Cite magazine |last=Williamson |first=Nigel |author-link=Nigel Williamson |date=December 1997 |title=Cohen on CD: more songs about sex, death and raincoats... |magazine=[[Uncut (magazine)|Uncut]] |page=26-27 |issue=7}}</ref>
}}


'''''New Skin for the Old Ceremony''''' is the fourth studio album by [[Leonard Cohen]], released in [[1974 in music|1974]]. On this album, he begins to evolve away from the rawer sound of his earlier albums, with [[viola]]s, [[mandolin]]s, [[banjo]]s, [[guitar]]s, percussion and other instruments giving the album a more orchestrated (but nevertheless spare) sound. The album is silver in the [[UK]], but never entered the [[Billboard 200|Billboard Top 200]].
'''''New Skin for the Old Ceremony''''', released in [[1974 in music|1974]], is the fourth studio album by [[Leonard Cohen]]. On this album, he begins to evolve away from the rawer sound of his earlier albums, with [[viola]]s, [[mandolin]]s, [[banjo]]s, [[guitar]]s, percussion and other instruments giving the album a more orchestrated (but nevertheless spare) sound. The album is silver in the [[United Kingdom|UK]], but never entered the [[Billboard 200|''Billboard'' Top 200]] in the US.


A [[remaster]]ed CD was released in 1995 and in 2009 it was included in ''Hallelujah - The Essential Leonard Cohen Album Collection'', an 8-CD box set issued by [[Sony Music]] in the Netherlands.
A [[remaster]]ed CD was released in 1995, and in 2009 it was included in ''Hallelujah – The Essential Leonard Cohen Album Collection'', an 8-CD box set issued by [[Sony Music]] in the Netherlands.


== Cover ==
== Cover ==
The original cover art for ''New Skin for the Old Ceremony'' was an image from the [[alchemical]] text ''[[Rosarium philosophorum]]''. The two winged and crowned beings in sexual embrace caused his [[U.S.]] record label, [[Columbia Records]] to print one early edition of the album minus the image substituting instead a photo of Cohen.{{Citation needed|date=July 2014}} Another early manifestation of the cover art saw an additional angel wing collage added to cover the depicted figures presumably to render the image more “decent.”
The original cover art for ''New Skin for the Old Ceremony'' was an image from the [[alchemical]] text ''[[Rosarium philosophorum]]''. The two winged and crowned beings in sexual embrace caused his [[U.S.]] record label, [[Columbia Records]], to print one early edition of the album minus the image substituting instead a photo of Cohen.{{Citation needed|date=July 2014}} Another early manifestation of the cover art saw an additional angel wing collage added to cover the depicted figures, presumably to render the image more "decent".


The image originally came to public attention in [[C.G.Jung]]'s essay, ''The Psychology of The [[Transference]]''<ref>{{Cite book |title=The Psychology of the Transference |last=Jung |first=Carl G. |publisher=Princeton University Press |date=1966 |isbn=0-691-01752-2}} (Part 2, "The conjunction".)</ref> where it is held by Jung to depict the union of psychic opposites in the consciousness of the enlightened saint. The sexual embrace as a symbol for this condition of psychic unity is also found frequently in Tibetan [[thangka]]s (sacred paintings). <ref>{{Cite book |title=Jung's Psychology and Tibetan Buddhism |last=Moacanin |first=Radmila |publisher=Wisdom Publication |location=Boston U.S.A. |date=1986 }} (Chapter 5, "The Union of the Opposites".)</ref><ref>{{Cite book |title=The Art of Tantra |last=Rawson |first=Philip |publisher=Oxford University Press |location= New York and Toronto |date=1978 |page=83 }}</ref>
The image originally came to public attention in [[Carl Jung|C. G. Jung]]'s essay ''The Psychology of the [[Transference]]'',<ref>{{Cite book |title=The Psychology of the Transference |last=Jung |first=Carl G. |publisher=Princeton University Press |date=1966 |isbn=0-691-01752-2}} (Part 2, "The conjunction".)</ref> where it is held by Jung to depict the union of psychic opposites in the consciousness of the enlightened saint. The sexual embrace as a symbol for this condition of psychic unity is also found frequently in Tibetan [[thangka]]s (sacred paintings).<ref>{{Cite book |title=Jung's Psychology and Tibetan Buddhism |last=Moacanin |first=Radmila |publisher=Wisdom Publication |location=Boston U.S.A. |date=1986 }} (Chapter 5, "The Union of the Opposites".)</ref><ref>{{Cite book |title=The Art of Tantra |last=Rawson |first=Philip |publisher=Oxford University Press |location= New York and Toronto |date=1978 |page=83 }}</ref>


== Track listing ==
== Track listing ==
All songs written by Leonard Cohen.
All songs written by Leonard Cohen.

;Side one
'''Side one'''

# "Is This What You Wanted" – 4:13
# "Is This What You Wanted" – 4:13
# "Chelsea Hotel #2" – 3:06
# "Chelsea Hotel #2" – 3:06
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# "Field Commander Cohen" – 3:59
# "Field Commander Cohen" – 3:59
# "Why Don't You Try" – 3:50
# "Why Don't You Try" – 3:50

;Side two
'''Side two'''

# "There Is a War" – 2:59
# "There Is a War" – 2:59
# "A Singer Must Die" – 3:17
# "A Singer Must Die" – 3:17
# "I Tried to Leave You" – 2:40
# "I Tried to Leave You" – 2:40
# "Who by Fire" – 2:33
# "[[Who by Fire (song)|Who by Fire]]" – 2:33
# "Take This Longing" – 4:06
# "Take This Longing" – 4:06
# "Leaving Green Sleeves" – 2:38
# "Leaving Green Sleeves" – 2:38


== Songs ==
== Songs ==
"Chelsea Hotel", the precursor to "Chelsea Hotel #2", was only performed live and co-written by Cohen and his guitarist [[Ron Cornelius]]. "Chelsea Hotel #2" refers to a sexual encounter in the [[Hotel Chelsea|Chelsea Hotel]], probably [[New York City]]'s most famous [[Bohemianism|Bohemian]] hostelry. For some years, when performing this song live, Cohen would tell a story that made it clear that the person about whom he was singing was [[Janis Joplin]]. Cohen would eventually come to regret his choice to make people aware that the song was about Joplin, and the graphic detail in which the song describes their brief relationship. In a 1994 broadcast on the [[BBC]], Cohen said it was "an indiscretion for which I'm very sorry, and if there is some way of apologising to the ghost, I want to apologise now, for having committed that indiscretion."&nbsp;<ref>{{cite web | url= http://www.webheights.net/speakingcohen/bbctrans.htm | title= Leonard Cohen on BBC Radio | publisher= webheights.net}}</ref>
"Chelsea Hotel #2" refers to a sexual encounter in the [[Hotel Chelsea|Chelsea Hotel]]. For some years, when performing this song live, Cohen would tell a story that made it clear that the person about whom he was singing was [[Janis Joplin]]. Cohen would eventually come to regret his choice to make people aware that the song was about Joplin, and the graphic detail in which the song describes their brief relationship. In a 1994 broadcast on the [[BBC]], Cohen said it was "an indiscretion for which I'm very sorry, and if there is some way of apologising to the ghost, I want to apologise now, for having committed that indiscretion."<ref>{{cite web | url= http://www.webheights.net/speakingcohen/bbctrans.htm | title= Leonard Cohen on BBC Radio | website=Webheights.net}}</ref>


In concert, a prolonged "I Tried to Leave You" was sometimes used to introduce the band. The 14-minute rendition from the 1985 [[Montreux Jazz Festival]] even featured extra lines given to the backup singers.
In concert, a prolonged "I Tried to Leave You" was sometimes used to introduce the band. The 14-minute rendition from the 1985 [[Montreux Jazz Festival]] even featured extra lines given to the backup singers.


"Who by Fire" explicitly relates to Cohen's [[Jew]]ish roots, echoing the words of the [[Unetanneh Tokef]] prayer and sung as a duet with [[Janis Ian]] (also Jewish; her birth name is Janis Eddy Fink).<ref>{{cite web |last1=Koral |first1=David |title=Leonard Cohen’s Lyricism |url=https://jewishweek.timesofisrael.com/leonard-cohens-lyricism/ |website=The New York Jewish Week |access-date=3 January 2022}}</ref> <ref>{{cite web |last1=Zelermyer |first1=Cantor Gideon |title=Leonard Cohen's Temple of Song |url=https://www.theglobeandmail.com/arts/music/leonard-cohen-remembered-his-roots-and-remained-proud-of-his-jewishheritage/article32930044/ |website=The Globe and Mail |access-date=3 January 2022}}</ref>
"[[Who by Fire (song)|Who by Fire]]" explicitly relates to Cohen's [[Jew]]ish roots, echoing the words of the [[Unetanneh Tokef]] prayer and sung as a duet with [[Janis Ian]] (also Jewish; her birth name is Janis Eddy Fink).<ref>{{cite web |last1=Koral |first1=David |title=Leonard Cohen's Lyricism |url=https://jewishweek.timesofisrael.com/leonard-cohens-lyricism/ |website=The New York Jewish Week |access-date=3 January 2022}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |last1=Zelermyer |first1=Cantor Gideon |title=Leonard Cohen's Temple of Song |url=https://www.theglobeandmail.com/arts/music/leonard-cohen-remembered-his-roots-and-remained-proud-of-his-jewishheritage/article32930044/ |website=The Globe and Mail |access-date=3 January 2022}}</ref> The song was written after Cohen's improvised concerts for Israeli soldiers in Sinai during the [[Yom Kippur War]].<ref>{{cite web |last1=Friedman |first1=Matti |title=Leonard Cohen’s Songs of the Yom Kippur War |url=https://www.tabletmag.com/sections/arts-letters/articles/leonard-cohen-songs-yom-kippur-war |website=Tabletmag.com |access-date=2 September 2023}}</ref>


"Leaving Green Sleeves" is a reworking of the 15th-century folk song "[[Greensleeves]]". Cohen retains the chord progression and the words of the first two verses, but changes the melody and takes the latter verses in a different direction than the original. The song, and in turn the album, ends with Cohen violently screaming the chorus as the track fades out.
"Leaving Green Sleeves" is a reworking of the 16th-century folk song "[[Greensleeves]]". Cohen retains the chord progression and the words of the first two verses, but changes the melody and takes the latter verses in a different direction than the original. The song, and in turn the album, ends with Cohen violently screaming the chorus as the track fades out.


On December 16, 2010, the Hammer Museum in Los Angeles showcased a series of eleven commissioned art videos inspired by songs from ''New Skin for the Old Ceremony.'' The project was curated by Lorca Cohen and Darin Klein.<ref>{{cite news | url= http://articles.latimes.com/2010/dec/16/entertainment/la-et-pickskin16-20101216 | title= Filmmakers inspired by Leonard Cohen at the Hammer Museum | work= LA Times | date=16 December 2010}}</ref> The artists participating in the project were Brent Green, Alex da Corte, Wenston Currie, Theo Angell, [[Christian Holstad]], Sylvan and Lily Lanken, "[[Lucky Dragons]]," Kelly Sears, Brett Milspaw, [[Peter Coffin (artist)|Peter Coffin]], and Tina Tyrell.<ref>{{cite web | url= http://hammer.ucla.edu/programs/detail/program_id/680 | title= Hammer Presents: NEW SKIN FOR THE OLD CEREMONY | publisher= Hammer Museum Website}}</ref> On April 14, 2011, the program screened at the Museum of Modern Art in New York.
On December 16, 2010, the Hammer Museum in Los Angeles showcased a series of eleven commissioned art videos inspired by songs from ''New Skin for the Old Ceremony.'' The project was curated by Lorca Cohen and Darin Klein.<ref>{{cite news | url= https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2010-dec-16-la-et-pickskin16-20101216-story.html | title= Filmmakers inspired by Leonard Cohen at the Hammer Museum | newspaper= LA Times | date=16 December 2010}}</ref> The artists participating in the project were Brent Green, Alex da Corte, Wenston Currie, Theo Angell, [[Christian Holstad]], Sylvan and Lily Lanken, "[[Lucky Dragons]]," Kelly Sears, Brett Milspaw, [[Peter Coffin (artist)|Peter Coffin]], and Tina Tyrell.<ref>{{cite web | url= http://hammer.ucla.edu/programs/detail/program_id/680 | title= Hammer Presents: NEW SKIN FOR THE OLD CEREMONY | website=Hammer.ucla.edu}}</ref> On April 14, 2011, the program screened at the Museum of Modern Art in New York.


== Personnel ==
== Personnel ==
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* [[Ralph Gibson]] – guitar
* [[Ralph Gibson]] – guitar
* Jeff Layton – banjo, mandolin, guitar, trumpet
* Jeff Layton – banjo, mandolin, guitar, trumpet
* John Miller – bass
* [[John Miller (musician)|John Miller]] – bass
* Don Payne – bass
* [[Don Payne (musician)|Don Payne]] – bass
* [[Lewis Furey]] – viola
* [[Lewis Furey]] – viola
* [[John Lissauer]] – woodwinds, keyboards, backing vocals, producer, arranger
* [[John Lissauer]] – woodwinds, keyboards, backing vocals, producer, arranger
Line 92: Line 97:
For more on Wikipedia's notability standards for music groups, see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/WP:MUSIC ------->
For more on Wikipedia's notability standards for music groups, see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/WP:MUSIC ------->


⚫
[[PJ Harvey]] covered "Who by Fire" in the opening credits of the 2022 [[Apple TV+]] series [[Bad Sisters (TV series)|''Bad Sisters'']].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://americansongwriter.com/pj-harvey-covers-leonard-cohens-who-by-fire-for-apple-tv-series-bad-sisters/|title=PJ Harvey Covers Leonard Cohen's "Who By Fire" for Apple TV Series 'Bad Sisters'|newspaper=American Songwriter|first=Tina|last=Benitez-Eves|date= August 20, 2022|access-date=October 15, 2022}}</ref>
"Chelsea Hotel #2" has been performed many times by other musicians. [[Lloyd Cole]] covered it on the Cohen [[tribute album]] ''[[I'm Your Fan]]'', and [[Rufus Wainwright]] performed the song at the 2006 live tribute, ''[[Leonard Cohen: I'm Your Man]]''. [[Regina Spektor]] has also covered the song in live performances, as has [[Lambchop (band)|Lambchop]] and the song features on their tour only album ''[[Lambchop (band)#Tour only albums|Rainer on my Parade]]''. [[Marissa Nadler]] covered "Chelsea Hotel #2" on her [[#Tour only albums|Australian Tour CD]] and has been known to cover this song in her live performances. It was covered by [[Brand New (band)|Brand New]], sung by band leader [[Jesse Lacey]]. [[Kevin Devine]] has also covered it on his ''[[She Stayed as Steam]]'' EP. Meshell Ndegeocello covered it during a concert in Paris, France on 30 January 2011. A cover version by American singer [[Lana Del Rey]] was posted to her own [[YouTube]] page in 2013. It is also referenced in both the title and lyrics of [[Jeffrey Lewis]]'s song "The Chelsea Hotel Oral Sex Song."

"A Singer Must Die" was covered by the [[Republic of Ireland|Irish]] [[art rock]] group [[The Fatima Mansions]] on ''I'm Your Fan'', by [[Jennifer Warnes]] on her 1986 album ''[[Famous Blue Raincoat (album)|Famous Blue Raincoat]]'', and by the [[Art of Time Ensemble]] featuring (former [[Barenaked Ladies]] singer) [[Steven Page]] (a [[Gavin Bryars]] arrangement) on their 2010 album ''[[A Singer Must Die]]''.

⚫
"Who by Fire" was covered by [[The House of Love]] on ''I'm Your Fan'', by industrial band [[Coil (band)|Coil]] on their 1986 album ''[[Horse Rotorvator]]'', and by [[Buck 65]] and [[Jenn Grant]] on Buck 65's 2011 album ''[[20 Odd Years]]''. It also appears on the fifth solo album released by the Canadian singer [[Patricia O'Callaghan]] in 2011, ''Matador: The Songs of Leonard Cohen''. [[PJ Harvey]] covered this song in the opening credits of the [[Apple TV+]] series [[Bad Sisters (TV series)|''Bad Sisters'']].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://americansongwriter.com/pj-harvey-covers-leonard-cohens-who-by-fire-for-apple-tv-series-bad-sisters/|title=PJ Harvey Covers Leonard Cohen’s “Who By Fire” for Apple TV Series ‘Bad Sisters’|newspaper=American Songwriter|first=Tina|last=Benitez-Eves|date= August 20, 2022|access-date=October 15, 2022}}</ref>


"Lover Lover Lover" was covered by [[Ian McCulloch (singer)|Ian McCulloch]] of [[Echo and the Bunnymen]], scoring him a minor hit in the [[British charts]] in 1992.
"Lover Lover Lover" was covered by [[Ian McCulloch (singer)|Ian McCulloch]] of [[Echo and the Bunnymen]], scoring him a minor hit in the [[British charts]] in 1992.


"I Tried to Leave You" was covered by [[Lera Lynn]] on ''Have You Met Lera Lynn?'' in 2014.
"Is This What You Wanted" was covered by [[The Last Shadow Puppets]] for their 2016 EP ''[[The Dream Synopsis]]''.

[[The Menzingers]] released "Sun Hotel #2" which is based heavily on the original track on ''On The Possible Past'', a collection of demos recorded for their 2012 album ''[[On The Impossible Past]]'' which in turn featured a reworking called "Sun Hotel".

The band Phish covered "Is This What You Wanted" at their concert on October 31, 2014 as an encore.


[[Buck 65]] recorded "Who by Fire" as a duet with [[Jenn Grant]] as part of his ''[[20 Odd Years]]'' project in 2010.
⚫
Spanish folk singer [[Joaquín Sabina]] covered "There is a War" (Spanish title: "Pie de Guerra") in his 2005 album [http://www.jsabina.com/album/alivio-de-luto/ Alivio de Luto], with translated lyrics.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.leonardcohen.es/j-sabina-y-su-there-is-a-war/ |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150518084510/http://www.leonardcohen.es/j-sabina-y-su-there-is-a-war/ |archive-date=2015-05-18 |title=www.leonardcohen.es - J. Sabina y su "There is a War"}}</ref>


⚫
Spanish folk singer [[Joaquín Sabina]] covered "There is a War" (Spanish title: "Pie de Guerra") in his 2005 album [https://www.jsabina.com/album/15-alivio-de-luto/ Alivio de Luto], with translated lyrics.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.revistafactum.com/los-cinco-mejores-covers-canciones-leonard-cohen-espanol/|title=Los cinco mejores covers a canciones de Leonard Cohen (en español)|first=Gerson|last=Vichez|date=November 11, 2016|website=Revistafactum.com|access-date=August 11, 2024}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.leonardcohen.es/j-sabina-y-su-there-is-a-war/ |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150518084510/http://www.leonardcohen.es/j-sabina-y-su-there-is-a-war/ |archive-date=2015-05-18 |title=www.leonardcohen.es - J. Sabina y su "There is a War"}}</ref>
The English supergroup [[The Last Shadow Puppets]] covered "Is This What You Wanted" on their 2016 sophomore album [[Everything You've Come to Expect]].


==Charts==
==Charts==
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{{Certification Table Entry|type=album|region=United Kingdom|artist=Leonard Cohen|title=New Skin for the Old Ceremony|award=Silver|certyear=1975|relyear=1974|id=4542-3338-2|access-date=28 January 2022}}
{{Certification Table Entry|type=album|region=United Kingdom|artist=Leonard Cohen|title=New Skin for the Old Ceremony|award=Silver|certyear=1975|relyear=1974|id=4542-3338-2|access-date=28 January 2022}}
{{Certification Table Summary}}
{{Certification Table Summary}}
{{Certification Table Entry|region=Europe|artist=Leonard Cohen|title=New Skin for the Old Ceremony|type=album|nocert=true|salesamount=250,000|salesref=<ref>{{cite web|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ewkEAAAAMBAJ&q=leonard+cohen+billboard&pg=PA5|title=Billboard|first=Nielsen Business Media|last=Inc|date=30 November 1974|publisher=Nielsen Business Media, Inc.|access-date=28 January 2022|via=Google Books}}</ref>}}
{{Certification Table Entry|region=Europe|artist=Leonard Cohen|title=New Skin for the Old Ceremony|type=album|nocert=true|salesamount=250,000|salesref=<ref>{{cite web|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ewkEAAAAMBAJ&q=leonard+cohen+billboard&pg=PA5|title=Billboard|date=30 November 1974|publisher=Nielsen Business Media, Inc.|access-date=28 January 2022|via=Google Books}}</ref>}}
{{Certification Table Bottom | nosales=true}}
{{Certification Table Bottom | nosales=true}}


== Notes ==
==References==
{{reflist}}
{{Reflist}}


== External links ==
==External links==
* [http://leonardcohenfiles.com/album5.html Album lyrics], from The Leonard Cohen Files
* [http://leonardcohenfiles.com/album5.html Album lyrics], from The Leonard Cohen Files


Latest revision as of 13:49, 14 December 2024

New Skin for the Old Ceremony
Studio album by
Leonard Cohen
ReleasedAugust 30, 1974 (1974-08-30)[1]
RecordedFebruary 1974
StudioSound Ideas Studio, New York
GenreFolk rock
Length37:11
LabelColumbia
Producer
Leonard Cohen chronology
Live Songs
(1973) 		New Skin for the Old Ceremony
(1974) 		Death of a Ladies' Man
(1977)
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[2]
Robert ChristgauA−[3]
Rolling Stone(mixed)[4]
Uncut[5]

New Skin for the Old Ceremony, released in 1974, is the fourth studio album by Leonard Cohen. On this album, he begins to evolve away from the rawer sound of his earlier albums, with violas, mandolins, banjos, guitars, percussion and other instruments giving the album a more orchestrated (but nevertheless spare) sound. The album is silver in the UK, but never entered the Billboard Top 200 in the US.

A remastered CD was released in 1995, and in 2009 it was included in Hallelujah – The Essential Leonard Cohen Album Collection, an 8-CD box set issued by Sony Music in the Netherlands.

Cover

[edit]

The original cover art for New Skin for the Old Ceremony was an image from the alchemical text Rosarium philosophorum. The two winged and crowned beings in sexual embrace caused his U.S. record label, Columbia Records, to print one early edition of the album minus the image substituting instead a photo of Cohen.[citation needed] Another early manifestation of the cover art saw an additional angel wing collage added to cover the depicted figures, presumably to render the image more "decent".

The image originally came to public attention in C. G. Jung's essay The Psychology of the Transference,[6] where it is held by Jung to depict the union of psychic opposites in the consciousness of the enlightened saint. The sexual embrace as a symbol for this condition of psychic unity is also found frequently in Tibetan thangkas (sacred paintings).[7][8]

Track listing

[edit]

All songs written by Leonard Cohen.

Side one

  1. "Is This What You Wanted" – 4:13
  2. "Chelsea Hotel #2" – 3:06
  3. "Lover Lover Lover" – 3:19
  4. "Field Commander Cohen" – 3:59
  5. "Why Don't You Try" – 3:50

Side two

  1. "There Is a War" – 2:59
  2. "A Singer Must Die" – 3:17
  3. "I Tried to Leave You" – 2:40
  4. "Who by Fire" – 2:33
  5. "Take This Longing" – 4:06
  6. "Leaving Green Sleeves" – 2:38

Songs

[edit]

"Chelsea Hotel #2" refers to a sexual encounter in the Chelsea Hotel. For some years, when performing this song live, Cohen would tell a story that made it clear that the person about whom he was singing was Janis Joplin. Cohen would eventually come to regret his choice to make people aware that the song was about Joplin, and the graphic detail in which the song describes their brief relationship. In a 1994 broadcast on the BBC, Cohen said it was "an indiscretion for which I'm very sorry, and if there is some way of apologising to the ghost, I want to apologise now, for having committed that indiscretion."[9]

In concert, a prolonged "I Tried to Leave You" was sometimes used to introduce the band. The 14-minute rendition from the 1985 Montreux Jazz Festival even featured extra lines given to the backup singers.

"Who by Fire" explicitly relates to Cohen's Jewish roots, echoing the words of the Unetanneh Tokef prayer and sung as a duet with Janis Ian (also Jewish; her birth name is Janis Eddy Fink).[10][11] The song was written after Cohen's improvised concerts for Israeli soldiers in Sinai during the Yom Kippur War.[12]

"Leaving Green Sleeves" is a reworking of the 16th-century folk song "Greensleeves". Cohen retains the chord progression and the words of the first two verses, but changes the melody and takes the latter verses in a different direction than the original. The song, and in turn the album, ends with Cohen violently screaming the chorus as the track fades out.

On December 16, 2010, the Hammer Museum in Los Angeles showcased a series of eleven commissioned art videos inspired by songs from New Skin for the Old Ceremony. The project was curated by Lorca Cohen and Darin Klein.[13] The artists participating in the project were Brent Green, Alex da Corte, Wenston Currie, Theo Angell, Christian Holstad, Sylvan and Lily Lanken, "Lucky Dragons," Kelly Sears, Brett Milspaw, Peter Coffin, and Tina Tyrell.[14] On April 14, 2011, the program screened at the Museum of Modern Art in New York.

Personnel

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  • Leonard Cohen – guitar, vocals, producer
  • Ralph Gibson – guitar
  • Jeff Layton – banjo, mandolin, guitar, trumpet
  • John Miller – bass
  • Don Payne – bass
  • Lewis Furey – viola
  • John Lissauer – woodwinds, keyboards, backing vocals, producer, arranger
  • Gerald Chamberlain – trombones
  • Janis Ian – vocals
  • Emily Bindiger – backing vocals
  • Erin Dickins – backing vocals
  • Gail Kantor – backing vocals
  • Roy Markowitz – drums
  • Armen Halburian – percussion

Songs for Rebecca

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Shortly after this album, co-producers Lissauer and Cohen proceeded to work on its follow-up, Songs For Rebecca, which was abandoned after one side was completed.[citation needed] Five songs are known from their live performances during the North American tour of November 1975; they were reworked and recorded few years later – two of them with Phil Spector for Death of a Ladies' Man in 1977, and the other three on Recent Songs in 1979.

Cover versions

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PJ Harvey covered "Who by Fire" in the opening credits of the 2022 Apple TV+ series Bad Sisters.[15]

"Lover Lover Lover" was covered by Ian McCulloch of Echo and the Bunnymen, scoring him a minor hit in the British charts in 1992.

"Is This What You Wanted" was covered by The Last Shadow Puppets for their 2016 EP The Dream Synopsis.

Buck 65 recorded "Who by Fire" as a duet with Jenn Grant as part of his 20 Odd Years project in 2010.

Spanish folk singer Joaquín Sabina covered "There is a War" (Spanish title: "Pie de Guerra") in his 2005 album Alivio de Luto, with translated lyrics.[16][17]

Charts

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Certifications and sales

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Region Certification Certified units/sales
United Kingdom (BPI)[24] Silver 60,000^
Summaries
Europe — 250,000[25]

^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.

References

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  1. ^ "Belinda Carlisle, Heaven Is A Place On Earth, Single". Bpi.co.uk. Retrieved August 11, 2024.
  2. ^ "Leonard Cohen - New Skin for the Old Ceremony". AllMusic. Retrieved 2023-03-02.
  3. ^ "Robert Christgau review". Robertchristgau.com. Retrieved 2013-03-14.
  4. ^ "Leonard Cohen: New Skin For The Old Ceremony : Music Reviews". Rollingstone.com. February 22, 2008. Archived from the original on 2008-02-22. Retrieved August 11, 2024.
  5. ^ Williamson, Nigel (December 1997). "Cohen on CD: more songs about sex, death and raincoats...". Uncut. No. 7. p. 26-27.
  6. ^ Jung, Carl G. (1966). The Psychology of the Transference. Princeton University Press. ISBN 0-691-01752-2. (Part 2, "The conjunction".)
  7. ^ Moacanin, Radmila (1986). Jung's Psychology and Tibetan Buddhism. Boston U.S.A.: Wisdom Publication. (Chapter 5, "The Union of the Opposites".)
  8. ^ Rawson, Philip (1978). The Art of Tantra. New York and Toronto: Oxford University Press. p. 83.
  9. ^ "Leonard Cohen on BBC Radio". Webheights.net.
  10. ^ Koral, David. "Leonard Cohen's Lyricism". The New York Jewish Week. Retrieved 3 January 2022.
  11. ^ Zelermyer, Cantor Gideon. "Leonard Cohen's Temple of Song". The Globe and Mail. Retrieved 3 January 2022.
  12. ^ Friedman, Matti. "Leonard Cohen's Songs of the Yom Kippur War". Tabletmag.com. Retrieved 2 September 2023.
  13. ^ "Filmmakers inspired by Leonard Cohen at the Hammer Museum". LA Times. 16 December 2010.
  14. ^ "Hammer Presents: NEW SKIN FOR THE OLD CEREMONY". Hammer.ucla.edu.
  15. ^ Benitez-Eves, Tina (August 20, 2022). "PJ Harvey Covers Leonard Cohen's "Who By Fire" for Apple TV Series 'Bad Sisters'". American Songwriter. Retrieved October 15, 2022.
  16. ^ Vichez, Gerson (November 11, 2016). "Los cinco mejores covers a canciones de Leonard Cohen (en español)". Revistafactum.com. Retrieved August 11, 2024.
  17. ^ "www.leonardcohen.es - J. Sabina y su "There is a War"". Archived from the original on 2015-05-18.
  18. ^ Kent, David (1993). Australian Chart Book 1970–1992 (illustrated ed.). St Ives, N.S.W.: Australian Chart Book. p. 68. ISBN 0-646-11917-6.
  19. ^ "Austriancharts.at – Leonard Cohen – New Skin for the Old Ceremony" (in German). Hung Medien. Retrieved 2 April 2022.
  20. ^ "Dutchcharts.nl – Leonard Cohen – New Skin for the Old Ceremony" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved 2 April 2022.
  21. ^ "Offiziellecharts.de – Leonard Cohen – New Skin for the Old Ceremony" (in German). GfK Entertainment Charts. Retrieved 2 April 2022.
  22. ^ "Official Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 2 April 2022.
  23. ^ "Top 100 Album-Jahrescharts" (in German). GfK Entertainment Charts. 1975. Archived from the original on 29 November 2021. Retrieved 2 April 2022.
  24. ^ "British album certifications – Leonard Cohen – New Skin for the Old Ceremony". British Phonographic Industry. Retrieved 28 January 2022.
  25. ^ "Billboard". Nielsen Business Media, Inc. 30 November 1974. Retrieved 28 January 2022 – via Google Books.
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