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'{{Unreferenced|date=December 2007}} {{Infobox Album | <!-- See Wikipedia:WikiProject_Albums --> | Name = Songs from a Room | Type = [[Album]] | Artist = [[Leonard Cohen]] | Cover = Songs from a room.jpg | Released = April 1969 | Recorded = October 1968<br /><small>Columbia Studio A, Nashville</small> | Genre = [[Folk music|Folk]] | Length = 35:38 | Label = [[Columbia Records|Columbia]] | Producer = [[Bob Johnston]] | Reviews = *[[Allmusic]] {{Rating|4|5}} [{{Allmusic|class=album|id=r96060|pure_url=yes}} link] *Dogmatika Review [http://dogmatika.com/dm/stuff_more.php?id=2345_0_2_0_C link] *Music Box {{Rating|4|5}} [http://www.musicbox-online.com/reviews-2007/leonardcohen-songsfromaroom-05302007.html link] *[[Pitchfork Media]] (8.8/10) [http://www.pitchforkmedia.com/article/record_review/42630-songs-of-leonard-cohen-songs-from-a-room-songs-of-love-and-hate link] *''[[Rolling Stone]]'' {{Rating|3|5}} [http://www.robertchristgau.com/xg/rs/cohen-07.php April 2007] * ''[[Q (magazine)|''Q'']]'' {{Rating|3|5}}<ref>Dave Everley ''Q'', May 2007, Issue 250.</ref> *''[[Uncut (magazine)|Uncut]]'' {{Rating|3|5}}<ref>David Cavanagh ''Uncut'', May 2007, Issue 120</ref> | Last album = ''[[Songs of Leonard Cohen]]''<br />(1968) | This album = '''''Songs from a Room'''''<br />(1969) | Next album = ''[[Songs of Love and Hate]]''<br />(1971) }} '''''Songs from a Room''''' is the second album of [[Canada|Canadian]] musician [[Leonard Cohen]], released in 1969. It reached #63 on the [[Billboard 200|Billboard]] list and #2 at UK charts. Cohen reportedly said he chose [[Record producer|producer]] [[Bob Johnston]] to achieve the spartan sound he considered appropriate for his songs, after the disputes he had with [[John Simon (record producer)|John Simon]] during the mixing sessions of ''[[Songs of Leonard Cohen]]''. The album also features some prominent (if strictly ornamental) [[Jew's harp]]. The album's sound is thus closer to the archetype (or [[stereotype]]) of an "early" Leonard Cohen record. Among uncredited sessions musicians it is known that Ron Cornelius played acoustic and electric guitar, [[Charlie Daniels]] played bass, fiddle and acoustic guitar, Elkin «Bubba» Fowler participated on banjo, bass and acoustic guitar, while producer [[Bob Johnston]] played keyboards. Interestingly, Johnston toured with Cohen in 1970 and 1972 (playing keyboards, harmonica and guitar), leading to termination of his collaboration with [[Bob Dylan]]. In sheet music for the album, a song titled "Priests" was included, and although reportedly recorded, it didn't appear on the actual LP or any other Cohen record. The song was recorded by [[Judy Collins]] on her 1967 album ''Wildflowers'', and by [[Richie Havens]] on his 1969 album ''[[Richard P. Havens, 1983]]''. ''Songs from a Room'' was released on [[Compact disc|CD]] in 1990. In 2001, [[France|French]] musician Red released a re-recording of the entire album. In 2009, the album (including the bonus tracks listed below) was included in ''Hallelujah - The Essential Leonard Cohen Album Collection'', an eight-CD box set issued by [[Sony Music]] in the [[Netherlands]]. ==Track listing== All songs written by Leonard Cohen except "The Partisan" by [[Hy Zaret]] and [[Anna Marly]].<ref>According to the album liner notes</ref> ===Side one=== # "[[Bird on the Wire]]" – 3:28 # "Story of Isaac" – 3:38 # "A Bunch of Lonesome Heroes" – 3:18 # "[[The Partisan]]" – 3:29 # "Seems So Long Ago, Nancy" – 3:41 ===Side two=== # "The Old Revolution" – 4:50 # "The Butcher" – 3:22 # "You Know Who I Am" – 3:32 # "Lady Midnight" – 3:01 # "Tonight Will Be Fine" – 3:53 ===Bonus tracks=== # "Like a Bird (Bird on the Wire)" – 3:21 # "Nothing to One (You Know Who I Am)" – 2:17 ==Personnel== *Ron Cornelius - acoustic & electric guitar *Bubba Fowler - banjo, bass, violin, acoustic guitar *[[Charlie Daniels]] - bass, violin, acoustic guitar *Bob Johnston - production, keyboards *Neil Wilburn - engineer And Dylan Poop ==Songs== "[[Bird on the Wire]]", described by Cohen as a simple [[Country music|country]] song, has been covered by many people including his one-time backup singer [[Jennifer Warnes]], by [[The Neville Brothers]] on the soundtrack for the 1990 [[film]] ''[[Bird on a Wire (film)|Bird on a Wire]]'', by [[Willie Nelson]] on the Cohen [[tribute album]] ''[[Tower of Song]]'' and by [[Johnny Cash]] for his 1994 album [[American Recordings (album)|American I: American Recordings]]. It also appeared on the earlier tribute ''[[I'm Your Fan]]'', covered by [[The Lilac Time]]. "Story of Isaac" is based on the [[Old Testament]] story of [[God]]'s demand that [[Isaac]] be [[Binding of Isaac|sacrificed]] by his father [[Abraham]]. It ends with an admonishment to fathers to no longer sacrifice their sons, which was commonly interpreted as criticism of the then-current [[Vietnam War]]. [[Judy Collins]]' 1968 recording, which predated Cohen's, features slightly different lyrics. [[Suzanne Vega]] performed the song on the ''Tower of Song'' album. The song was also covered by [[Pain Teens]] on their 1993 album ''[[Destroy Me, Lover]]''. "The Partisan" is based on the poem "La complainte du partisan" by "Bernard" ([[Emmanuel D'Astier]]), a prominent figure in the French resistance during [[World War II]]. "Seems So Long Ago, Nancy" tells the story of Nancy Challies, a depressed young woman from [[Montreal]], who committed suicide after having been forced by her family to put her son up for adoption. [http://challies.com/archives/000918.php] However, in 1979 Cohen (perhaps disingenuously) told the filmmaker [[Harry Rasky]] that "Nancy" was only a waitress in an American [[juke joint]] with whom he had been slightly acquainted. (The interview is recounted in Rasky's book, ''The Song of Leonard Cohen''.) ==Notes== {{reflist}} {{Leonard Cohen}} [[Category:1969 albums]] [[Category:Leonard Cohen albums]] [[Category:Albums produced by Bob Johnston]] [[Category:Columbia Records albums]] [[ca:Songs from a Room]] [[de:Songs from a Room]] [[es:Songs from a room]] [[fr:Songs from a Room]] [[fy:Songs from a Room]] [[it:Songs from a Room]] [[he:Songs from a Room]] [[no:Songs from a Room]] [[pl:Songs from a Room]] [[pt:Songs from a Room]] [[ru:Songs from a Room]] [[sv:Songs from a Room]]'