History Music / NewSkinForTheOldCeremony

''New Skin for the Old Ceremony'', Music/LeonardCohen's fourth album released in 1974. marks a new stage in Cohen's career. On this album, with a new producer in John Lissauer, he breaks away from the spare, guitar-driven folk-poetry of his first four albums and begins to experiment with a more orchestrated, more upbeat sound. This was a shock for many of his followers; following a characteristic pattern for Cohen's work, it failed to trouble the album charts either in the US or his native Canada, but also it was only a modest success in Britain. Unlike any of its predecessors, it failed to make the top 20 albums. Few would count it as one of his greatest works, and it marks the beginning of a lean period for him, but it contains seeds which will be cultivated more fruitfully in later years, and time has been kind to it.

* AsTheGoodBookSays

''New Skin for the Old Ceremony'', Music/LeonardCohen's fourth album released in 1974. marks a new stage in Cohen's career. On this album, with a new producer in John Lissauer, he breaks away from the spare, guitar-driven folk-poetry of his first four albums and begins to experiment with a more orchestrated, more upbeat sound. This was a shock for many of his followers; following a characteristic pattern for Cohen's work it failed to trouble the album charts either in the US or his native Canada but also it was only a modest success in Britain. Unlike any of its predecessors it failed to make the top 20 albums. Few would count it as one of his greatest works and it marks the beginning of a lean period for him but it contains seeds which will be cultivated more fruitfully in later years and time has been kind to it.

# "There Is A War" - 2:59

# "I Tried To Leave You" - 2:40
# "Who By Fire" - 2:33

** "Who By Fire" is based on a Jewish prayer, Unetanneh Tokef.

** "There Is A War"

* IntercourseWithYou: A lot of Cohen songs are concerned with sex but are wrapped in symbolism. "Chelsea Hotel #2" goes straight to the point, describing an encounter with Music/JanisJoplin in New York's best-known bohemian hotel.

* SpecialGuest: Music/JanisIan shares the vocals on "Who By Fire"

->''"Like Creator/GrahamGreene and Creator/IngmarBergman, Cohen is concerned with the inevitability of tragedy. He is awesomely open to mythic heroism, to the mystique of love, but in the end he believes, as did Creator/ErnestHemingway, that there are no happy endings between men and women, that the only glory is in the attempt. "Their vows are difficult/They're for each other," says the artist in "Why Don't You Try". The listener may be advised to do the same."''

'''New Skin for the Old Ceremony''', Music/LeonardCohen's fourth album released in 1974. marks a new stage in Cohen's career. On this album, with a new producer in John Lissauer, he breaks away from the spare, guitar-driven folk-poetry of his first four albums and begins to experiment with a more orchestrated, more upbeat sound. This was a shock for many of his followers; following a characteristic pattern for Cohen's work it failed to trouble the album charts either in the US or his native Canada but also it was only a modest success in Britain. Unlike any of its predecessors it failed to make the top 20 albums. Few would count it as one of his greatest works and it marks the beginning of a lean period for him but it contains seeds which will be cultivated more fruitfully in later years and time has been kind to it.

-->--'''[[http://www.rollingstone.com/music/albumreviews/new-skin-for-the-old-ceremony-19750226 Paul Nelson - Magazine/RollingStone]]'''

-->--'''[[http://www.rollingstone.com/music/albumreviews/new-skin-for-the-old-ceremony-19750226 Paul Nelson]]]'''

->''"Like Graham Greene and Ingmar Bergman, Cohen is concerned with the inevitability of tragedy. He is awesomely open to mythic heroism, to the mystique of love, but in the end he believes, as did Ernest Hemingway, that there are no happy endings between men and women, that the only glory is in the attempt. "Their vows are difficult/They're for each other," says the artist in "Why Don't You Try. The listener may be advised to do the same."''

--> ''you keepers of truth, you guardians of beauty''

* IntercourseWithYou: A lot of Cohen songs are concerned with sex but are wrapped in symbolism. "Chelsea Hotel #2" goes straight to the point, describing an encounter with Janis Joplin in New York's best-known bohemian hotel.

** "Who By Fire"

--> ''Yes and lover, lover, lover, lover, lover, lover, lover come back to me''

** To Music/TheAndrewsSisters in "Field Commander Cohen"

--> ''Working for the Yankee Dollar''

* Main/UnInstallment: "Chelsea Hotel #2". There ''was'' a "Chelsea Hotel", co-written by Cohen and Ron Cornelius but only ever performed in concert and never committed to disc.

'''New Skin for the Old Ceremony''', Music/LeonardCohen's fourth album released in 1974. marks a new stage in Cohen's career. On this album, with a new producer in John Lissauer, he breaks away from the spare, guitar-driven folk-poetry of his first four albums and begins to experiment with a more orchestrated sound. This was a shock for many of his followers. Following a characteristic pattern for Cohen's work it failed to trouble the album charts either in the US or his native Canada. It was a modest success in Britain but unlike any of its predecessors it failed to make the top 20 albums. Few would count it as one of his greatest works and it marks the beginning of a lean period for him but it contains seeds which will be cultivated more fruitfully in later years and time has been kind to it.

# "Chelsea Hotel #2" - 6:02
# "Lover Lover Lover" - 6:12
# "Field Commander Cohen" - 3:52
# "Why Don't You Try" - 3:52

# "There Is A War" - 5:44
# "A Singer Must Die" - 5:15
# "I Tried To Leave You" - 6:17
# "Who By Fire" - 6:29
# "Leaving Green Sleeves" - 3:52

!!Tropes associated with this album:

->''"Like Graham Greene and Ingmar Bergman, Cohen is concerned with the inevitability of tragedy. He is awesomely open to mythic heroism, to the mystique of love, but in the end he believes, as did Ernest Hemingway, that there are no happy endings between men and women, that the only glory is in the attempt. "Their vows are difficult/They're for each other," says the artist in "Why Don't You Try. The listener may be advised to do the same."''

'''New Skin for the Old Ceremony''', Music/LeonardCohen's fourth album released in 1974. marks a new stage in Cohen's career. On this album, with a new producer in John Lissauer, he breaks away from the spare, guitar-driven folk-poetry of his first four albums and begins to experiment with a more orchestrated sound. This was a shock for many of his followers. Following a characteristic pattern for Cohen's work it failed to trouble the album charts either in the US or his native Canada. It was a modest success in Britain but unlike any of its predecessors it failed to make the top 20 albums. Few would count it as one of his greatest works and it marks the beginning of a lean period for him but it contains seeds which will be cultivated more fruitfully in later years and time has been kind to it.