****** - Verified Buyer
4.5
It was in the winter of 1969, June to be precise, and it was refreshingly cool for a change. An interlude. Seven days away from the war, and I am not speaking of the one between the sexes. As would happen so often in subsequent years, the lyrics rolled around in my brain, as I stood on the shore of Sydney harbor: "...and the sun poured down like honey, on our lady of the harbor." The sun indeed felt like honey in the coolness... and there was so much more, just in that one song: that eternal aspiration for someone who liked his physics: "...and she gets you on her wavelength, and makes the river answer, that you have always been her lover..." `Lo these many years later, and thanks to the truly excellent biography by Sylvie Simmons that I finally learned that the harbor was Montreal, and the China that had been (relatively) so near to me, for the past ten months, the origin of those famous teas and oranges that Suzanne so graciously provided, had a local market run by some folks equally far from home, in that most beautiful of Canadian cities. Sure, the version that I loved was sung by Judy Collins, but I had tucked away in one of those cranial recesses, that the man who had provided a bit of peace, tranquility, inspiration, and even a bit of hope was Leonard Cohen.Cohen actively collaborated with Simmons in this impressive work. Typical of the ever so self-deprecating Cohen, he just wanted to make sure it was not a "hagiography," and it is not, and is all the stronger for it. It is a fitting tribute to him, and proved to be an essential read. There were so many missing pieces between the lyrics, and so much background for them, and Simmons provides much, but is content to leave some ambiguity on the table, just as Leonard would have.Leonard Cohen's ancestors, Lithuanian-Russian Jews arrived in Canada in 1860. When Leonard came around, in 1934, the family was prosperous upper middle class clothiers, and hence his tastes for suits, which is referenced in the title to the first chapter. He explored the docks and bars of Montreal in his youth, attended McGill University, wrote some good poetry, but as most folks know, you can't make a living that way, which forced him into music. Off to NYC, a couple of the right intros, and he was off to continued obscurity in the United States, but developed a strong following in Europe. He lived on the Greek Island of Hydra, where he met the Norwegian model, Marianne. He is a "Lady's Man," but not the type that would "notch a bedpost"... with the right chemistry, things just seem to happen. He lived with fellow Canadian Joni Mitchell for a year, and told the world once about a tribute from Janis Joplin in the Chelsea Hotel. "You can't tell the players without a scorecard," as they once upon a time cried at the stadium entrance. But Leonard seemed to be scorecard-less, summed up with his classic line: "I can't keep track of each fallen robin."Like Sir Richard Francis Burton before him, he tried on a few religions, reflecting the spirituality of his lyrics. He found a guru, of sorts, but mainly a friend, in Roshi, Joshu Sasaki, who is still alive at 107, and is famous for saying "Excuse me for not dying." (The most recent controversies concerning Roshi, surfacing in 2013, did not make this bio, published in '12). Cohen became an "ordained" Buddhist monk under Roshi's guidance... but then went off to India, in search of a Hindu guru. While being a monk, he was betrayed by his long-time financial manager, Kelley Lynch, and lost all his retirement money. The world, and perhaps Leonard, is better off for it. He "dusted himself off" and at the age of 73, skipped back out on the world stage, performing concert after concert to sell-out crowds, recouping his losses and more. And it was no "farewell tour," some of his best work may have been produced in conjunction with it, complementing the subject "Hallelujah". On tour, his wit was always with him, and he'd tell the audiences that the last time he was on tour he was "sixty years old, just a kid with a crazy dream."His most fervent fan-base will appreciate his comments on aging:"Everything changes as you get older; I never met a woman until I was sixty-five. Instead, I saw all kinds of miracles in front of me."And there is so much else in this very excellent biography, in which Simmons weaves his lyrics, for the "au courant," and presents balanced assessments, just as you might imagine Leonard doing. Europe and the United States. I thought Simmons nailed the qualities of Cohen's music perfectly: "dark humor, old-world romance, existential gloom and poetry." Why is this so much more popular in Europe than in the United States? A question to discuss, but never to answer, so cherie, just "Dance Me to the End of Love." 6-stars.
