Songs from the Road
Live album by
Leonard Cohen
ReleasedSeptember 14, 2010
RecordedOctober 10, 2008 (2008-10-10)–September 24, 2009 (2009-09-24)
GenreFolk
Length66:54
Label
Leonard Cohen chronology
Live at the Isle of Wight 1970
(2009)		 Songs from the Road
(2010)		 Old Ideas
(2012)
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[1]
American Songwriter[2]
BBC(favorable)[3]
Mojo[4]
PopMatters[5]
Uncut[6]

Songs from the Road is a live album by Canadian singer-songwriter Leonard Cohen. Released on September 14, 2010, it is his twentieth album.

Overview

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.

Reception

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 …"[1]

Robert Christgau, who considered Live in London "pretty close" to a career testament,[7] called Songs from the Road "prunelike"[8] 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".[9]

Track listing

All tracks are written by Leonard Cohen, except where noted

No.TitleWriter(s)RecordedLength
1."Lover, Lover, Lover" (from New Skin for the Old Ceremony) Sept 24, 2009; Ramat Gan Stadium, Tel Aviv, Israel7:42
2."Bird on the Wire" (from Songs From a Room) Nov 6, 2008; Clyde Auditorium, Glasgow, Scotland6:07
3."Chelsea Hotel" (from New Skin for the Old Ceremony) Nov 17, 2008; Royal Albert Hall, London, England3:30
4."Heart with No Companion" (from Various Positions) Nov 2, 2008; König Pilsener Arena, Oberhausen, Germany5:05
5."That Don't Make It Junk" (from Ten New Songs)Cohen, Sharon RobinsonNov 13, 2008; O2 Arena, London, England4:21
6."Waiting for the Miracle" (from The Future)Cohen, Sharon RobinsonNov 13, 2009; HP Pavilion, San Jose, California7:59
7."Avalanche" (from Songs of Love and Hate) Oct 12, 2008; Scandinavium, Gothenburg, Sweden4:16
8."Suzanne" (from Songs of Leonard Cohen) Nov 30, 2008; MEN Arena, Manchester, England3:40
9."The Partisan" (from Songs From a Room)Hy Zaret, Anna MarlyOct 10, 2008; Hartwall Areena, Helsinki, Finland5:17
10."Famous Blue Raincoat" (from Songs of Love and Hate) Nov 13, 2008; O2 Arena, London, England5:22
11."Hallelujah" (from Various Positions) April 17, 2009; Coachella Music Festival, Indio, California7:30
12."Closing Time" (from The Future) May 24, 2009; John Labatt Centre, London, Ontario, Canada6:05

Musicians

  • 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

Charts

Album

Chart (2010) Peak
position
Austrian Albums (Ö3 Austria)[10] 7
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Flanders)[11] 5
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Wallonia)[12] 19
Canadian Albums (Billboard)[13] 10
Croatian International Albums (HDU)[14] 3
Czech Albums (ČNS IFPI)[15] 8
Danish Albums (Hitlisten)[16] 23
Dutch Albums (Album Top 100)[17] 26
European Albums (Billboard)[18] 18
French Albums (SNEP)[19] 35
German Albums (Offizielle Top 100)[20] 36
Greek Albums (IFPI)[21] 24
Hungarian Albums (MAHASZ)[22] 8
New Zealand Albums (RMNZ)[23] 11
Norwegian Albums (VG-lista)[24] 7
Polish Albums (ZPAV)[25] 1
Portuguese Albums (AFP)[26] 4
Spanish Albums (PROMUSICAE)[27] 15
Swedish Albums (Sverigetopplistan)[28] 39
Swiss Albums (Schweizer Hitparade)[29] 29
UK Albums (OCC)[30] 68
US Billboard 200[31] 112
Chart (2011) Peak
position
Finnish Albums (Suomen virallinen lista)[32] 37

Video

Chart (2010) Peak
position
Australian Music DVDs (ARIA)[33] 1
Austrian Music DVDs (Ö3 Austria)[34] 3
Belgian Music DVDs (Ultratop Flanders)[35] 5
Belgian Music DVDs (Ultratop Wallonia)[36] 3
Danish Music DVDs (Hitlisten)[37] 3
Finnish Music DVDs (Musiikkituottajat)[38] 10
Irish Music DVDs (IRMA)[39] 1
New Zealand Music DVDs (RIANZ)[40] 3
Swedish Music DVDs (Sverigetopplistan)[41] 2
UK Music Videos (Official Charts Company)[42] 7

Certifications

CD
Region CertificationCertified units/sales
Germany (BVMI)[43] Gold 100,000‡
Hungary (MAHASZ)[44] Gold 3,000^
Ireland (IRMA)[45] Platinum 4,000^
Poland (ZPAV)[46] Gold 10,000*
Portugal (AFP)[47] Platinum 20,000^

* Sales figures based on certification alone.
^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.
‡ Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone.

DVD
Region CertificationCertified units/sales
Australia (ARIA)[48] Platinum 15,000^

^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.

References

  1. 1 2 Deming, Mark. "Leonard Cohen Songs from the Road". AllMusic. Retrieved October 27, 2015.
  2. ↑ Gold, Adam (November 5, 2010). "Leonard Cohen: Bird On A Wire and Songs From The Road". American Songwriter. Retrieved October 27, 2015.
  3. ↑ Mueller, Andrew (2010). "Leonard Cohen Songs From the Road Review". BBC. Retrieved October 27, 2015.
  4. ↑ Bennett, Ross (November 2010). "Leonard Cohen Songs From The Road". Mojo. p. 96.
  5. ↑ Gilstrap, Andrew (September 23, 2010). "Leonard Cohen: Songs from the Road". PopMatters. Retrieved October 27, 2010.
  6. ↑ "Leonard Cohen Songs from the Road". Uncut. November 2010. p. 87.
  7. ↑ "Robert Christgau: Unbeautiful Winner: Leonard Cohen".
  8. ↑ "Robert Christgau: CG: Leonard Cohen".
  9. ↑ "Our Man, the Sophisticate: Robert Christgau Remembers Leonard Cohen". 14 November 2016.
  10. ↑ "Austriancharts.at – Leonard Cohen – Songs from the Road" (in German). Hung Medien. Retrieved March 6, 2013.
  11. ↑ "Ultratop.be – Leonard Cohen – Songs from the Road" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved March 6, 2013.
  12. ↑ "Ultratop.be – Leonard Cohen – Songs from the Road" (in French). Hung Medien. Retrieved March 6, 2013.
  13. ↑ "Leonard Cohen – Chart History: Canadian Albums". Billboard. Retrieved March 6, 2013.
  14. ↑ "Top Stranih [Top Foreign]" (in Croatian). Top Foreign Albums. Hrvatska diskografska udruga. Retrieved March 6, 2013.
  15. ↑ "Czech Albums – Top 100". ČNS IFPI. Note: On the chart page, select 38.Týden 2010 on the field besides the words "CZ – ALBUMS – TOP 100" to retrieve the correct chart. Retrieved March 6, 2013.
  16. ↑ "Danishcharts.dk – Leonard Cohen – Songs from the Road". Hung Medien. Retrieved March 6, 2013.
  17. ↑ "Dutchcharts.nl – Leonard Cohen – Songs from the Road" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved March 6, 2013.
  18. ↑ "Leonard Cohen – Chart History: European Albums". Billboard. Retrieved March 6, 2013.
  19. ↑ "Lescharts.com – Leonard Cohen – Songs from the Road". Hung Medien. Retrieved March 6, 2013.
  20. ↑ "Longplay-Chartverfolgung at Musicline" (in German). Musicline.de. Phononet GmbH. Retrieved March 6, 2013.
  21. ↑ "Greekcharts.com – Leonard Cohen – Songs from the Road". Hung Medien. Retrieved March 6, 2013.
  22. ↑ "Album Top 40 slágerlista – 2010. 44. hét" (in Hungarian). MAHASZ. Retrieved March 6, 2013.
  23. ↑ "Charts.nz – Leonard Cohen – Songs from the Road". Hung Medien. Retrieved March 6, 2013.
  24. ↑ "Norwegiancharts.com – Leonard Cohen – Songs from the Road". Hung Medien. Retrieved March 6, 2013.
  25. ↑ "Oficjalna lista sprzedaży :: OLiS - Official Retail Sales Chart". OLiS. Polish Society of the Phonographic Industry. Retrieved March 6, 2013.
  26. ↑ "Portuguesecharts.com – Leonard Cohen – Songs from the Road". Hung Medien. Retrieved March 6, 2013.
  27. ↑ "Spanishcharts.com – Leonard Cohen – Songs from the Road". Hung Medien. Retrieved March 6, 2013.
  28. ↑ "Swedishcharts.com – Leonard Cohen – Songs from the Road". Hung Medien. Retrieved March 6, 2013.
  29. ↑ "Swisscharts.com – Leonard Cohen – Songs from the Road". Hung Medien. Retrieved March 6, 2013.
  30. ↑ "Leonard Cohen | Artist | Official Charts". Official Charts Company. Retrieved March 6, 2013.
  31. ↑ "Leonard Cohen Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved March 6, 2013.
  32. ↑ "Leonard Cohen: Songs from the Road" (in Finnish). Musiikkituottajat – IFPI Finland. Retrieved March 6, 2013.
  33. ↑ "ARIA Top 40 Music DVD" (PDF). The ARIA Report (1074): 23. September 27, 2010. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2010-10-10. Retrieved March 6, 2013.
  34. ↑ "Austria Top 40 – Musik-DVDs Top 10 24.09.2010". Austriancharts.at (in German). Hung Medien. Retrieved March 6, 2013.
  35. ↑ "Ultratop 10 Muziek-DVD". Ultratop (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved March 6, 2013.
  36. ↑ "Ultratop 10 DVD Musicaux". Ultratop (in French). Media Control. Retrieved March 6, 2013.
  37. ↑ "Musik DVD Top-10". Hitlisten.nu (in Danish). IFPI Denmark. Retrieved March 6, 2013.
  38. ↑ "Suomen Virallinen Lista – Musiikki DVD:t 38/2010". Musiikkituottajat – IFPI Finland (in Finnish). Retrieved March 6, 2013.
  39. ↑ "Irish Charts – Singles, Albums & Compilations". IRMA. Fireball Media. Archived from the original on September 26, 2010. Retrieved March 6, 2013.
  40. ↑ "Top 10 Music DVDs". RIANZ. Retrieved March 6, 2013.
  41. ↑ "Sveriges Officiella Topplista". Sverigetopplistan (in Swedish). Retrieved March 6, 2013. Search for Leonard Cohen Songs from the Road and click Sök.
  42. ↑ "2010-09-25 Top 40 Music Video Archive | Official Charts". Official Charts Company. Retrieved March 6, 2013.
  43. ↑ "Gold-/Platin-Datenbank (Leonard Cohen; 'Songs from the Road')" (in German). Bundesverband Musikindustrie. Retrieved January 31, 2023.
  44. ↑ "Adatbázis – Arany- és platinalemezek – 2010" (in Hungarian). MAHASZ. Retrieved March 6, 2013.
  45. ↑ "The Irish Charts - 2010 Certification Awards - Platinum". Irish Recorded Music Association. Retrieved March 6, 2013.
  46. ↑ "Wyróżnienia – Złote płyty CD - Archiwum - Przyznane w 2010 roku" (in Polish). Polish Society of the Phonographic Industry. Retrieved 20 April 2021.
  47. ↑ "Portuguese album certifications" (in Portuguese). Associação Fonográfica Portuguesa. Archived from the original on 2010-11-19. Retrieved 27 April 2022.
  48. ↑ "ARIA Charts – Accreditations – 2010 DVDs" (PDF). Australian Recording Industry Association. Retrieved March 6, 2013.
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