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List Price: $9.98 | | Label: Sony
Salesrank: 55192
Released: February 7, 1995 |
| Our Price: $12.39 |
| Used Price: $2.96 |
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| Media: Audio CD |
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Songs of Love and Hate Track Listing:
1. Avalanche
2. Last Year's Man
3. Dress Rehearsal Rag
4. Diamonds in the Mine
5. Love Calls You by Your Name
6. Famous Blue Raincoat
7. Sing Another Song, Boys
8. Joan of Arc
Editorial Review:
By the time Leonard Cohen began his recording career in 1967, the iconoclastic Canadian troubadour was already well established as a poet and author. He quickly emerged as one of the era's most original and influential singer-songwriters, building a large and legendary body of work that continues to inspire artists and listeners alike.
Much of Cohen's reputation and mystique was established by his early work for Columbia Records, particularly the five albums he recorded between 1967 and 1974. Now, these five classic albums, unavailable on vinyl for two decades, have been lovingly restored to their original LP format.
For their new Sundazed editions, all five albums have been meticulously remastered and have been sourced from the original Columbia Records stereo masters in order to preserve the sound of the original albums. In keeping with the exacting standards for which Sundazed has become known, each album will be pressed on high-definition vinyl, with complete original cover art.
With 1971's Songs of Love and Hate, Cohen delivered one of his most emotionally intense sets, with such memorable numbers as "Avalanche," "Famous Blue Raincoat" and "Joan of Arc" ranking with his greatest compositions.
Songs of Love and Hate Reviews:
from this broken hill... 
2009-10-28 -
I think that music has contributed greatly to the development of a person I am today. Words of Leonard Cohen seem to have stayed with me deeper then most others. I remember listening to the music of Leonard Cohen exclusively for weeks in various decades of my life. Songs Of Love And Hate is my most favorite album of his. Decades ago I had that tape with Songs Of Love And Hate on one side and New Skin For Old Ceremony on the other, and I know for a fact that tape was moved around from side a to side b by me more than any other tape ever. All of his early albums all the way to and including Various Positions are very dear to me. Back in 1996 I have compiled my favorite songs of Leonard Cohen and called it (using his words) From This Broken Hill:
1. Love Calls You By Your Name
2. The Law
3. Take This Longing
4. ...Avalanche IV (awesome cover by Jean-Louis Murat)
5. Avalanche
6. The Guests
7. Who By Fire
8. Joan Of Arc
9. ...Suzanne (by Peter Gabriel)
10. Hallelujah
11. So Long, Marianne
12. Dance Me To The End Of Love
13. edit
14. A Singer Must Die
15. Suzanne
16. If It Be Your Will
Classic Cohen 
2008-06-18 - This is a definitive collection of Leonard Cohens early songs. Remastered in 1995, a few of the songs are recorded live, but most are studio recordings. The CD contains the beautiful & classic FAMOUS BLUE RAINCOAT and JOAN OF ARK. There is DRESS REHEARSAL RAG, a brutally frank portrait of a junkie at the end of the line. AVALANCHE and LAST YEAR'S are fantastic samples of the poet's unique style contrasting the spiritual and the physical, the daemonic & the divine. DIAMONDS IN THE MINE is a live song and it's a pity that the women's vocals aren't emphasized more because they sound very, very good. Sometimes on this particular song Cohen's singing becomes almost self-parody. It's the only song I didn't care much for--but 1 out of 8 isn't bad at all, particularly considering the value of the CD as a whole.
FYI: Since first writing this review I see that the CD is no longer available directly from Amazon. However, other sources are listed & you can usually trust this option, particularly from sellers with a 100% customer approval rating. While using this option does not qualify for an Amazon shipping discount, Amazon still guarantees that you will receive what you ordered--providing you order from this website. I have taken advantage of this option for 4 or 5 CDs & have been totally satisfied with the product, and actually received my order sooner than expected.
Songs of Leonard Cohen
More Best of Leonard Cohen
The Best of Leonard Cohen
Leonard Cohen - Greatest Hits
The Rain Falls Down on Last Year's Man
2007-02-20 - The first song sets the tone for the album. Avalanche is just what it sounds like... a man's life caving in on top of him sung with bitterness, bile and sarcasm, his trademark guitar propelling the ballad forward, stark and primal. And it only gets better from there. Cohen's voice is raw and powerful on every track, often framed by the celestial chorus of women's voices that offer a sharp contract to his. Well know songs on the CD include Famous Blue Raincoat and Joan of Arc. But the lesser known songs are gems in their own right. Especially gloomy are the self-mocking Last Year's Man and suicidal fantasy Dress Rehearsal Rag, both with brilliant lyrics.
Deservedly the CD continues to grow in stature over the years. This music is sure to be a party killer, but perfect to listen to when you're alone, depressed, angry, smoldering with love and hate.... an anthem to the dark genius of Cohen.
One of Cohen's best, IMHO
2007-02-07 - Can't get this on iTunes since it is an import. This is Cohen at his peak. If you have no Leonard Cohen - give this one a try!
Dark and Brilliant
2007-01-28 - This is not the kind of album you want to put on when having a cocktail party. It's alone music. But it is a harrowing, brilliant album. Songs of Love and Hate begins with Cohen's trademark flamenco guitar and winds it's way through stark children's choruses and spine-tingling string accompaniments. But Cohen's startling lyrics take center stage. He is a poet on caliber with Bob Dylan. This album is so uncommercial, however, that it is out of print. I got my copy on eBay. The album hits a peak with track 4, "Diamonds In the Mine" a raucous, fun number where Cohen sounds dangerously unhinged. Just as it sounds like he's lost control, we return to his solo acoustic guitar on track 5, "Love Calls You By Your Name." The towering, depressing "Famous Blue Raincoat" is featured on every Cohen retrospective and tribute album (of which there are several). It starts out with the poet intoning, "It's four in the morning, the end of September, I'm writing you now, just to see if you're better..." There's something about being awake at four in the morning. It's not the night, and it's not really the morning either. Most people are not awake at this hour. Only tortured loners like Leonard Cohen. SOLAH concludes with the elegiac "Joan of Arc" which, if you haven't slit your wrists by then, will send you off with the feeling that you have just heard something raw and painfully honest from a great songwriter. The album has a very cohesive quality, as if it could have been recorded all in one night. The mood captured is consistently somber but it has the feeling of a stark, emotional moment in time that was as rare as it was brief.
