SO Long, Marianne

So Long, Marianne is a compilation album by Leonard Cohen, issued in 1989 and in 1995. It features songs from his first four albums, already covered by his 1975 best of album. Although not authorized by the artist, the album is nevertheless an official release, as Cohen's label issued it. This compilation CD has been released in several countries. All versions are composed of the same tracks but the cover art is different.

SUPERB 1976 PERFORMANCE FROM COHEN WHILE ON HIS NEW SKINS TOUR This magisterial concert by the inimitable Canadian singer-songwriter and poet, Leonard Cohen, was broadcast live from Montreux, Switzerland, towards the end of his 55-date European tour of 1976. By this stage in his career, the 41-year old Cohen had released four studio albums, debuting with the outstanding Songs Of Leonard Cohen for CBS Records in 1967. Six of that superb record s best songs are presented this evening: Hey, That s No Way to Say Goodbye, One Of Us Cannot Be Wrong, Sisters Of Mercy, The Stranger Song and So Long, Marianne. The latter, in particular, is a spell-binding performance, a gorgeous homage to Cohen s lover and muse Marianne Ihlen (1935-2016), and a song which many fans consider was given its most entrancing performance at this very show. Cohen s 1969 sophomore album, the stark Songs From A Room , supplies seven songs to the set, including the classic and probably best known cut from the entire Cohen canon, Bird On The Wire, which is also given the singular honour of being performed twice, and is accompanied by You Know Who I Am, The Partisan (Cohen s moving adaptation of the wartime French resistance anthem Le Chant Des Partisans), the bleak Story Of Isaac, The Butcher, Lady Midnight and Tonight Will Be Fine.

Leonard Cohen (1934 - 2016) was een Canadese singer-songwriter en dichter. Tot zijn bekendste nummers horen "Hallelujah", "Suzanne" en "So Long, Marianne". Hij breekt door in de jaren zestig en hij blijft met zijn muziek steeds weer nieuwe generaties fans aanspreken en jonge muzikanten beïnvloeden. In 2016 brengt hij zijn veertiende en laatste studioalbum You Want It Darker uit. Negentien dagen na de release overlijdt Cohen op 82-jarige leeftijd in zijn woonplaats Los Angeles.