Songs of Love and Hate by Leonard Cohen

Songs of Love and Hate, Leonard Cohen's third album, came out on Columbia on March 19, 1971, and the title is a plain statement of what's inside. Bob Johnston, who'd produced Songs from a Room, was back behind the desk, and guitarist Ron Cornelius returned to lead Cohen's new backing crew, dubbed the Army. Most of it was cut at Columbia Studio A in Nashville from September 22 to 26, 1970, with more work at Trident Studios in London, and "Sing Another Song, Boys" was caught live at the Isle of Wight Festival that August.

Plenty of the material was older: "Joan of Arc" dated back to his time at the Chelsea Hotel in New York, and "Avalanche" and "Dress Rehearsal Rag" came from earlier still. The mood is hushed, close and a little unnerving, Cohen's low voice laid over spare, unadorned arrangements, and "Famous Blue Raincoat" remains one of the most haunting things he ever put on tape.

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