Songs from the Road (Leonard Cohen album)

Songs From the Road appeared roughly 18 months after releasing Live in London, which preserved Cohen's July 2008 performance at London's O2 Arena. This album features 12 performances from his 2008 and 2009 concert dates, and while this album isn't a collection of rarities, it does feature a number of lesser-known songs (such as "Heart with No Companion" and "That Don't Make It Junk") and variant versions of some of his more famous (Cohen juggles the order of the verses on "Suzanne" and adds a new verse to "Bird on a Wire"). The selections were culled from a wide variety of locations, including Tel Aviv, Scotland, Finland, and Cohen's native Canada.

{{Music ratings

|rev1 = AllMusic

|rev1score = {{Rating|3.5|5}}{{cite web|url=http://www.allmusic.com/album/songs-from-the-road-mw0002024262 |title=Leonard Cohen Songs from the Road |first=Mark|last=Deming|website=AllMusic |accessdate=October 27, 2015}}

|rev2 = American Songwriter

|rev2score = {{Rating|3.5|5}}{{cite news |first=Adam|last=Gold|title=Leonard Cohen: Bird On A Wire and Songs From The Road |work=American Songwriter |url=http://www.americansongwriter.com/2010/11/leonard-cohen-bird-on-a-wire-and-songs-from-the-road/ |date=November 5, 2010 |accessdate=October 27, 2015}}

|rev3 = BBC

|rev3score = (favorable){{cite web|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/music/reviews/qdq4 |title=Leonard Cohen Songs From the Road Review |first=Andrew|last=Mueller|year=2010 |website=BBC |accessdate=October 27, 2015}}

|rev4 = Mojo

|rev4score = {{Rating|4|5}}{{cite magazine |first=Ross|last=Bennett|title=Leonard Cohen Songs From The Road |magazine=Mojo |date=November 2010 |page=96}}

|rev6 = PopMatters

|rev6score = {{Rating|8|10}}{{cite web|url=http://www.popmatters.com/review/130635-leonard-cohensongs-from-the-road/ |first=Andrew |last=Gilstrap|title=Leonard Cohen: Songs from the Road |website=PopMatters |date=September 23, 2010 |accessdate=October 27, 2010}}

|rev8 = Uncut

|rev8score = {{Rating|3|5}}{{cite magazine |title=Leonard Cohen Songs from the Road |magazine=Uncut |date=November 2010 |page=87}}

}}

Songs from the Road elicited mixed reactions from critics. In his review for AllMusic, Mark Deming writes: "While Live in London was a richly satisfying souvenir of Cohen's inspired comeback shows, Songs from the Road is less impressive in its more modest scale and less cohesive atmosphere. But the album still demonstrates that Cohen is a compelling and absorbing performer who brings his soul into every verse he sings, and his band is nothing less that [sic] superb …"

Robert Christgau, who considered Live in London "pretty close" to a career testament,{{Cite web|url=http://robertchristgau.com/xg/bn/2009-08.php|title = Robert Christgau: Unbeautiful Winner: Leonard Cohen}} called Songs from the Road "prunelike"{{Cite web|url=http://robertchristgau.com/get_artist.php?name=Leonard+Cohen|title=Robert Christgau: CG: Leonard Cohen}} and wrote that on the release "many titles are a touch less than prime", but he later noted that, like the other releases from the last stretch of Cohen's career, it was produced "without slackening his lifelong perfectionism".{{Cite web|url=https://noisey.vice.com/en_uk/article/our-man-the-sophisticate-robert-christgau-remembers-leonard-cohen|title = Our Man, the Sophisticate: Robert Christgau Remembers Leonard Cohen| date=14 November 2016 }}

{{track listing

| extra_column = Recorded

| all_writing = Leonard Cohen, except where noted

| title1 = Lover, Lover, Lover

| note1 = from New Skin for the Old Ceremony

| extra1 = Sept 24, 2009; Ramat Gan Stadium, Tel Aviv, Israel

| length1 = 7:42

| title2 = Bird on the Wire

| note2 = from Songs From a Room

| extra2 = Nov 6, 2008; Clyde Auditorium, Glasgow, Scotland

| length2 = 6:07

| title3 = Chelsea Hotel

| note3 = from New Skin for the Old Ceremony

| extra3 = Nov 17, 2008; Royal Albert Hall, London, England

| length3 = 3:30

| title4 = Heart with No Companion

| note4 = from Various Positions

| extra4 = Nov 2, 2008; König Pilsener Arena, Oberhausen, Germany

| length4 = 5:05

| title5 = That Don't Make It Junk

| note5 = from Ten New Songs

| writer5 = Cohen, Sharon Robinson

| extra5 = Nov 13, 2008; O2 Arena, London, England

| length5 = 4:21

| title6 = Waiting for the Miracle

| note6 = from The Future

| writer6 = Cohen, Sharon Robinson

| extra6 = Nov 13, 2009; HP Pavilion, San Jose, California

| length6 = 7:59

| title7 = Avalanche

| note7 = from Songs of Love and Hate

| extra7 = Oct 12, 2008; Scandinavium, Gothenburg, Sweden

| length7 = 4:16

| title8 = Suzanne

| note8 = from Songs of Leonard Cohen

| extra8 = Nov 30, 2008; MEN Arena, Manchester, England

| length8 = 3:40

| title9 = The Partisan

| note9 = from Songs From a Room

| writer9 = Hy Zaret, Anna Marly

| extra9 = Oct 10, 2008; Hartwall Areena, Helsinki, Finland

| length9 = 5:17

| title10 = Famous Blue Raincoat

| note10 = from Songs of Love and Hate

| extra10 = Nov 13, 2008; O2 Arena, London, England

| length10 = 5:22

| title11 = Hallelujah

| note11 = from Various Positions

| extra11 = April 17, 2009; Coachella Music Festival, Indio, California

| length11 = 7:30

| title12 = Closing Time

| note12 = from The Future

| extra12 = May 24, 2009; John Labatt Centre, London, Ontario, Canada

| length12 = 6:05

}}

• Leonard Cohen – lead vocal, guitar and keyboard
• Bob Metzger – lead guitar, pedal steel guitar and background vocal
• Javier Mas – 12-string guitar, bandurria, laud, archilaud
• Roscoe Beck – musical director, electric bass guitar, stand-up bass and background vocal
• Dino Soldo – keyboard, wind instruments, harmonica and background vocal
• Neil Larsen – keyboards
• Rafael Bernardo Gayol – drums and percussion
• Sharon Robinson – background vocal
• The Webb Sisters:
• Charley Webb – background vocal and guitar
• Hattie Webb – background vocal and harp

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Category:Leonard Cohen live albums

Category:2010 live albums

Category:Columbia Records live albums