Sony
2009
Live In London
About This Album
As more than one writer has pointed out, in 2008 and 2009 Leonard Cohen's loss became his audience's gain. After spending five years living as a monk in a Buddhist monastery during a sabbatical from music, Cohen discovered in 2005 that his former business manager had embezzled nearly all his savings, and two years later, in order to put his finances back in order, he warily agreed to an international concert tour, his first in nearly a decade and a half. Given the circumstances that prompted Cohen's return to the stage as well as his age -- 73 when the tour began -- one would have the right to wonder just how enthusiastic the great songwriter would be about meeting his audience again. But judging from Live in London -- a two-disc set recorded during a rapturously received appearance at London's O2 Arena on July 17, 2008 -- these concerts have unexpectedly given Cohen a chance to remind the world of his strengths as a musician and a performer, and he's embraced the opportunity with joy. The notion of Leonard Cohen playing a 20,000-seat arena may seem a bit surprising (at least in America), but Cohen and his nine-member supporting ensemble give 25 songs from his catalog a treatment that fills them out enough to work in a massive room (at least compared to the intimate arrangements of his early work) without crushing the nuances of gentler numbers like "Who by Fire" and "Suzanne," while "The Future" and "Democracy" sound just as big as they need to be.
Track List

Disc 1 (try tracks 1,2,5,7,8,11 and 12)

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Disc 2 (try tracks 2,3 and 8)

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