Leonard Cohen—Various Positions

Leonard Cohen—Various Positions

Various Positions—Leonard Cohen's albums all exist at roughly the same level of literacy, which is unsurprising given that he was already an established writer and poet by the time of his debut, Songs of Leonard Cohen (1967). There's not much to differentiate them on paper but for that the titles sometimes give away the overarching themes or morals (e.g. Songs of Love and Hate [1971]). They are more commonly defined by their production values. Cohen has gone on record saying he feels his debut was overproduced, and there are detractors when it comes to New Skin for the Old Ceremony (1974) and Death of a Ladies Man (1977). The latter was augmented by Phil Spector and is probably Cohen's most controversial record, the claims there being legitimate. New Skin, on the other hand, was produced by John Lissauer, and is only so involved in comparison to Cohen's other albums.

Recent Songs (1979) was something of a return to the drawing board, sounding almost like a matured Songs from a Room (1969) with more tasteful arrangements. Cohen did very little professionally in the ensuing five years, but slowly compiled the writing that would turn into Various Positions. He reunited with Lissauer when it was time to record, who had gone on to other ventures after being Cohen's bandleader for a number of years in the '70s. By 1983, times had changed, and Cohen had turned to composing on a Casio keyboard, which formed the basis for the striking opener, "Dance Me to the End of Love." Its lyrics were inspired by the true tale that in concentration camps, captives "would be playing classical music while their fellow prisoners were being killed and burnt." (Dave Thompson, 1000 Songs That Rock Your World). The sunset serenade "Coming Back to You" details the realization that a lost lover trumped the experiments that followed, while the funereal "The Law" is like a gangster's apology. "Night Comes On" offers a look into Cohen's vivid, archetypal dreams in triple meter.

The celebrated "Hallelujah" appears here in its original incarnation, which is sometimes said to be not even close to the best version. While it's true that subsequent performers brought out other strengths in the song, Cohen's original is unique for his charismatic baritone and the character of its chorus. However, the album's real gem is the forgotten "The Captain," which is smartly musical, funny, and literate all at once, owing as much to Lissauer's arrangement as it does to the poem, which Cohen had been performing live as a spoken-word piece. "Hunter's Lullaby" evokes the sentiment of a man searching for his destiny, told from a detached point of view. "Heart with No Companion" is a charming ode to restless souls. "If It Be Your Will" offers a glimpse into Cohen's torturous spirituality ("Let your mercy spill/On all these burning hearts in Hell") in the guise of a gentle paean.

It's easy to dismiss Various Positions as just another veteran artist's experiment with special effects. But it's possible that it was his strongest collection of songs ever, at least on some level—although the production sometimes sounds dated, there's not a bad piece of writing in the whole set, and it's more concise than many of Cohen's earlier efforts. For this reason, Various Positions should come to be considered a misjudged classic.