Published on May 24, 2015
Leonard Cohen
BBC Broadcasts 1968
Live on BBC TV, excellent mono recording.

00:00 You Know Who I Am
03:48 Bird On The Wire
08:11 The Stranger Song
14:30 So Long Marianne
22:26 Master Song
30:29 There’s No Reason Why You Should Remember Me [improv]
32:11 Sisters Of Mercy
36:07 Teachers
40:05 Dress Rehearsal Rag
45:59 Suzanne
50:23 Hey, That’s No Way To Say Goodbye
54:11 Story Of Isaac
58:23 One Of Us Cannot Be Wrong
1:02:16 Bird On The Wire
1:05:50 So Long Marianne
1:11:42 You Know Who I Am
1:14:48 Hey, That’s No Way To Say Goodbye (Duet with Julie Felix)

Lineup:
Leonard Cohen - vocals
Dave Cousins and The Strawbs have been mentioned as the backing band at this BBC session.

Tracks 1-13 Recorded Spring 1968 at Paris Theatre, London
Tracks 1-5 Broadcast August 31, 1968 on BBC2 TV (”Leonard Cohen Sings Leonard Cohen”)
Tracks 6-13 Broadcast September 7, 1968 on BBC2 TV (”Leonard Cohen Sings Leonard Cohen”)
Tracks 14-16 Recorded August 11, 1968 & Broadcast on BBC Radio 1 (”Top Gear with John Peel”)
Track 17 Recorded January 27, 1968 & Broadcast on BBC2 TV (”Once More With Felix”)

While Dylan was the transition point for protest music to move towards singer-songwriter, there were others too championing to focus on songs not politics. Canadian Leonard Cohen, with his brooding monotonous voice, was a talented poet who would never have won American Idol. But where he lacked a sweet voice, he made up for it with the intensity of his songs.

Together with younger artists Joni Mitchell, Laura Nyro and Paul Simon, singer-songwriters moved to make songwriting an art form. Their efforts were recognised when mainstream acts covered their songs. All this happened in the whirlpool that rock music was creating.

These well-preserved sessions at the BBC in 1968 offer a fly-on-the-wall experience to witness a young Cohen singing practically the entire first album. The voice is fresh and deep, pushing the songs outside the Tin Pan Alley perimeter, and delving into poetry with a richness of words and subject. Today, they still have that raw appeal of a young artist at the peak of his powers.

Suzanne, So Long Marianne and Hey, That’s No Way To Say Goodbye are beautiful love songs without catchy hooks. They got your attention with words and the emotions in the song.

Tagged to this 1968 session are three songs from a Top Gear show hosted by John Peel. The final track is a duet with British folk singer Julie Felix on Hey, That’s No Way To Say Goodbye. The
quality on these four tracks are still very good.

Published on Jul 17, 2014
This informal black-and-white portrait of Leonard Cohen shows him at age 30 on a visit to his hometown of Montreal, where the poet, novelist and songwriter comes "to renew his neurotic affiliations." He reads his poetry to an enthusiastic crowd, strolls the streets of the city, relaxes in this three-dollar-a-night hotel room and even takes a bath.

Directed by Donald Brittain & Don Owen - 1965