By the second verse, he is already painting vividly with his trademark poetic quirk, mentioning “a mist of summer kisses / Where I tried to double-park.”Ĭohen continues, “And the women were in charge… But it left an ugly mark,” which rings true to his life as a “boudoir poet,” as famously described by Joni Mitchell. He recounts trudging along, searching with little avail for meaning in ideology and spirituality, subject to the fate of a fragile romantic.

He begins with much reflective reminiscence, but scarcely a trace of the usual sappy regression that typifies such twilight efforts. Since then, his voice lowered steadily, and now presents itself in a hushed baritone rasp that gives the sound a haunting, theatrical bent. When Cohen released 1984’s “Various Positions” after a five year hiatus, his voice had strikingly dropped a minor third, which he attributed to copious whiskey and innumerable cigarettes. Cohen was always a poet first and foremost, with the tunes and arrangements taking form naturally around his words, and his narrative here, in his distinctive voice, amplifies this quality.

Moments into the opener “Happens to the Heart,” Cohen’s intimate, front-and-center delivery commands attention, and continues to grasp it for the album’s running time. They are thoroughly realized works, lovingly fitted to music mainly by Adam himself, along with contributions from an illustrious cast of musicians including Damien Rice, Beck, Feist, Bryce Dessner of the National, and Richard Reed Parry of Arcade Fire as well as some of Cohen’s favorite songwriting collaborators. Recorded immobilized, often in an orthopedic medical chair, yet having worked up the energy to don a suit and fedora for good measure, the tracks that form Cohen’s posthumous album “ Thanks for the Dance ” should not be mistaken for a mere collection of B sides and outtakes. In foresight, Cohen requested that his son Adam assemble his remaining poetic works from the final sessions. The album was a measured, comprehensive reflection, but while a satisfying swan song in itself, left the ever fruitful mind behind it with more to say. Leonard Cohen essentially managed just this, declaring, “I’m leaving the table, I’m out of the game” on “You Want It Darker,” released short of three weeks prior to his death. It’s extremely rare for an artist to sense the end coming with adequate time to fully formulate final thoughts and sign off gracefully. Leonard Cohen Shows Grace in His Final Hour on ‘Thanks for the Dance’

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