Leonard Cohen passed away from leukemia in November, 2016, at the age of 82. Just a month earlier he had released You Want It Darker, an album that met with tremendous acclaim for its courageous and sensitive considerations of beauty and mortality, Leonard’s chosen oeuvre. He left a series of sketches that have now become a subsequent album, thanks to the production efforts of his son, Adam, a talented musician in his own right. The result is Thanks for the Dance, released in November of 2019; it is a stunning work of grace and musicality.
Supporting musicians include Javier Mas, the Spanish laúd player who formed part of Cohen’s band for his last eight years of touring. Noted indie music stars making an appearance include Beck, Bryce Dessner of the National, Richard Reed Parry of Arcade Fire, Damien Rice and Leslie Feist.
The album also features further contributions from composer Dustin O’Halloran, Daniel Lanois and Patrick Watson, the Stargaze orchestra, Berlin-based choir Cantus Domus and the Shaar Hashomayim choir who sang on You Want It Darker. Former Cohen collaborators Jennifer Warnes and Michael Chaves also appear. Warnes, of course, worked with Leonard on many occasions, and so admired his work that she recorded Famous Blue Raincoat, a haunting and brilliant interpretation of some of Cohen’s best songs. On this album she is in fine, if restrained form.
The record opens with “Happens to the Heart” and closes a short, unforgettable, 29 minutes later with “Listen to the Hummingbird”. The voice is surprisingly strong, the accompaniment superb, and the lyrics as piercing as ever. Cohen was perhaps the best rhymester in popular song, and the characteristic deadpan delivery never misses a beat. In hindsight, the imminence of his death makes the material especially poignant. Every word and every line (and Leonard was famous for laboring over countless versions) have an impact that won’t soon leave the listener.
“I was always working steady, I never called it art. I got my shit together, meeting Christ and reading Marx.” ~ from “Happens to the Heart”
“The Goal” finds Leonard “settling accounts with the soul.”
“A Night in Santiago” recalls a romantic , and adulterous, encounter decades ago. “I’ve forgotten half my life,” he sings, “but I remember this.”
The album is a sublime work and as a final testament of his craft Thanks for the Dance ranks near the top among his many great recordings. Perhaps Leonard never called it art, but we the audience know better. This final burst of song will stand the test of time for decades to come.
