Is such a poignant, seemingly simple, sad but not soppy, melodic masterpiece of a song about heartbreak. Devastating in its honesty ... What a special song.We decided to go with a ‘one guitar, one bass’ arrangement here and let our vocal cords cover the horn section. What do you think?It’s available on our “The Duo Sessions III” album here: www.monalisa-twins.comFor No One - The Beatles Cover
Leonard Cohen - Kungliga Tennishall, Stockholm, Sweden, 4-3-1972
I have to repeat the gist of some things I wrote about the Tel Aviv concert, because there are a lot of similarities here. In 2022, over a dozen Cohen concerts from a 1972 European tour were made available, ever so briefly, because there's a law in the European Union that a record company loses a copyright over a recording if it isn't offered for sale within 50 years of the year of creation. So they were offered for sale then, but so briefly and so obscurely that almost everyone missed it. Until today, as far as I can tell, these recordings aren't available on any music sharing websites. I luckily found them via a personal trade. So I want to share them with the wider world.
Unfortunately, like I said about the Tel Aviv concert, while the sound quality of these recordings is fantastic, they're missing all banter between songs, as well as most of the applause at the ends of songs. So I looked for audience bootlegs of these same concerts to find out if there was some banter I could find there and add in to the soundboard quality versions for the copyright extension versions. Unfortunately, most of the bootlegs of those concerts were missing the banter, because people often turned their recording devices off between songs to save tape. And the few that had them had such truly awful sound quality that one could barely hear anything.
But, other than the Tel Aviv concert, there was one that stood out as different: this Stockholm one. That's because about 40 minutes of it was broadcast on Swedish TV back in that era. It turns out there wasn't much banter in that broadcast either. Listening for banter to the badly recorded audience bootlegs, I came to the conclusion that Cohen rarely spoke between songs on this tour. Instead, he often talked after the song started, while playing his guitar. So I was able to restore those bits, because it turns out those were cut from the copyright extension versions as well. Those strictly stuck to just the singing parts of songs, because that's all they decided they needed to save for copyright purposes. As an example, there's about an extra minute of audience interaction at the start of "You Know Who I Am" that comes from the Swedish broadcast version that can't be found in the copyright extension version.
Furthermore, the copyright extension version was clearly incomplete, with the number of songs less than those of other concerts on the tour. By luck, some of these missing songs were shown on the Swedish broadcast version: "The Partisan," "Seems So Long Ago, Nancy," and "Hey, That's No Way to Say Goodbye." I have no idea of the order of the songs. While the copyright extension versions put the songs in chronological order, the missing songs could have come at the beginning, or the end, or maybe even somewhere in the middle, if the recording equipment failed temporarily or something like that. I couldn't find a complete, accurate set list. (If anyone knows, please let me know!) So I just added the extra songs at the end.
Also, instead of the usual banter, during this tour, Cohen often expressed his feelings by creating songs on the spot. He did this a few times in this concert. I've marked those with "[Improvised Song]" in the titles. In some cases, I guessed the titles, and in other cases they were the titles given for the copyright extension release.
However, note that "Broken Down Nightingale" (one of those improvised songs) and the banter before "Suzanne" (meaning track 22) are probably not from this exact concert. Recently, I rewatched the documentary movie about this tour, "Bird on a Wire," and those were little bits from the film taken from concerts on the tour. I don't know if they were from this concert or some other concert. But I thought they were interesting, and I didn't have a better place for them, so I added them in. (It's possible there were more missing songs that didn't make it into either source, but I guess there's no way of knowing for sure.)
The set lists from this concert tour are pretty similar to each other, because Cohen didn't have that many songs he'd written to this point in his career. (He'd released three albums.) But while the Tel Aviv concert was unusual due to conflicts with security forces and the fact that he was making a rare appearance in Israel, this was a more typical concert from the tour. So I figured it was worth posting both.
LEONARD COHEN on SoulseekQT*
For those die-hard fans who want all the other concerts from the tour, I don't plan to post any more of them at this blog, since they're largely very similar to each other. However, I am posting all of those at SoulseekQT at the same time I'm posting this here. They're in my "Leonard Cohen" folder, under the name "1972 Copyright Extension Collection atse." They consist of the following concerts:
01 National Stadium, Dublin, Ireland, 3-18-1972
02 Royal Albert Hall, London, Britain, 3-23-1972
03 Kungliga Tennishall, Stockholm, Sweden, 4-3-1972
04 Sportpalast, Berlin, Germany, 4-8-1972
05 Konzerthaus, Vienna, Austria, 4-10-1972
06 Victoria Hall, Geneva, Switzerland, 4-14-1972
07 Concertgebouw, Amsterdam, Netherlands, 4-15-1972
08 Ancienne Belgique, Brussels, Belgium, 4-16-1972
09 Salle Pleyel, Paris, France, 4-18-72
10 Sports Hall, Tel Aviv, Israel, 4-19-1972
11 Binyanei Ha'uma, Jerusalem, Israel, 4-20-1972
Those are not all the concerts from the tour, just the ones that happened to be professionally recorded for the intention of making an official live album (which came out in 1973 under the name "Live Songs"). All of these are "unadulterated." That means the Stockholm and Tel Aviv ones are unchanged from the copyright extension versions, without the applause and extra banter and songs I found and added in. (And note that I added extra applause at the ends of all the songs that were not part of the Swedish broadcast, since they otherwise abruptly end after just a second or two.) Like I said above, the set lists are very similar, though the order is often changed. However, there are occasional improvised songs, or rarely performed songs. Some of them are missing songs, or have only parts of songs, so watch out for that.
Speaking of rarities, note that this concert has "Chelsea Hotel No. 1," which is similar to, but different from, the much more famous "Chelsea Hotel No. 2." One was basically an early version of the other one, but Cohen decided to give them slightly different names, and only officially released "No. 2."
Also, I don't know why there is an incomplete version of "So Long, Marianne" in this concert, with a complete version shortly thereafter. I would guess Cohen got interrupted or distracted by something to do with the police, because there's an improvised song between them called "Police." But since we don't have the banter or applause (other than applause that I've added in), it's impossible to say what happened there.
Finally, in case you're curious, these are the songs from the Swedish broadcast bootleg:
So Long, Marianne
You Know Who I Am
The Butcher
Famous Blue Raincoat
Story of Isaac
Joan of Arc
Hey, That's No Way to Say Goodbye
The Partisan
Suzanne
Seems So Long Ago, Nancy
For all of those, I used the copyright extension versions for the music, since those had slightly better sound quality, but added in the applause from the Swedish broadcast, plus whatever banter and extra bits that had as well. It seems the order of those were mixed up by whoever made the broadcast, so I stuck to the copyright extension order as much as possible.
This album is an hour and 34 minutes long.
01 Broken Down Nightingale [Improvised Song]
02 So Long, Marianne [Incomplete]
03 Police [Improvised Song]
04 So Long, Marianne
05 Crazy Horse Saloon [Improvised Song]
06 Bird on the Wire
07 Lady Midnight
08 Avalanche
09 One of Us Cannot Be Wrong
10 Passing Through
11 The Stranger Song
12 You Know Who I Am
13 Sing Another Song, Boys
14 Come Up on Stage [Improvised Song]
15 The Butcher
16 Famous Blue Raincoat
17 Story of Isaac
18 Joan of Arc
19 Chelsea Hotel No. 1
20 talk
21 The Partisan
22 talk
23 Suzanne
24 Seems So Long Ago, Nancy
25 Hey, That's No Way to Say Goodbye
* Paul explains SoulseekQT here . . . .
in case you missed the previous one from ’72 it's here Leonard in Tel Aviv
You Asking?
I’m Asking!
I’m Dancing!
but here Fred and G . . . . . .. nope
Fred Astaire, but it’s not Ginger Rogers…it’s Eleanor Powell.
Fred Astaire and Eleanor Powell. 'Begin the Beguine' Tap dance duet
Do you want to watch two of the best tap dancers? It’s Fred Astaire, but it’s not Ginger Rogers…it’s Eleanor Powell.Eleanor Powell, born this day, November 21, 1912 – February 11, 1982.Eleanor is remembered for her tap dance numbers in musical films in the 1930s and 1940s, she was one of Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer’s top dancing stars during the Golden Age of Hollywood.She was one of the only leading ladies in the Golden Age of Hollywood who, even when partnered with a man, was not secondary to him – she held her own.This “Begin the Beguine” number in Broadway Melody of 1940 is considered a highlight of film history.Fred Astaire praised her talent, stating she “really knocked out a tap dance in a class by herself.” Fred was somewhat intimidated by Eleanor, who was the only female dancer ever capable of out-dancing Astaire. He stated, “Eleanor Powell, one of our greatest talents, is a bit too powerful for me. I love Eleanor Powell, but she dances like a man.” She was such a great dancer, Fred never worked alongside her again.Eleanor retired from film in the mid-1940s after marrying actor Glenn Ford to focus on raising their son. Following their 1959 divorce, she had a successful comeback headlining nightclub acts and appearing on television.
by Will Howard
For many couples, the key issue is how to celebrate such an event. What should you actually do to mark the most romantic day of the year in a way that still feels genuinely romantic and not like you’re stiffly acting out the whims of an advertising company like you’re under a possession?Honestly? If you’re stuck for choice and neither of you is particularly enthused by the prospect of another jaunt through When Harry Met Sally or But I’m a Cheerleader, perhaps the best option is to go for the complete opposite option.An intense horror film can have more or less the same effect as any romantic flick you can think of. Heightened pulse, bursting adrenaline, heavy breathing, and if you happen to jump into each other’s arms, well, then it’s bringing you closer together. What more can you want from Valentine’s Day?Now, there are many films to choose from here. Josh Ruben’s knockabout slasher rom-com Heart Eyes is a good shout for something light-hearted. Shaun of the Dead is a classic if you’re looking for something a little harder. However, let’s be real here, Valentine’s Day can be a traumatic experience at the best of times and if you’re looking for something to truly reflect what a torturous psychodrama it can be, how about you give the ultimate torturous psychodrama a try?Released in 1981 and directed by Andrzej Żuławski, Possession is no ordinary horror flick. There are no jump scares, ghosts or men with masks carrying blood-covered axes. There is only a couple on the brink of a divorce, two people who look disturbingly like that couple and their young son, caught in the middle of this disturbing, erotic power play. Sam Neill is sensational as Mark, the husband who suspects his wife is having an affair, yet this film belongs to his co-star.Isabelle Adjani walks away with the entire picture, delivering arguably the most committed and disturbing performance in the history of horror cinema.
So, at the risk of spoiling anything, Neill and Adjani are both multi-roling as the main characters and their doppelgängers. The horror of the picture comes from, essentially, which one did the other fall in love with? As these identities begin to crash into each other, both their lives begin to fall apart. With one scene in particular illustrating a descent into madness more harrowingly and viscerally than just about any other put to screen.Even if you haven’t seen the movie, you know exactly the scene I’m talking about. To the point that if you merely say the words “the subway scene” to most cinephiles, they’ll know exactly what you’re talking about. I suppose maybe some of the more action oriented people will think of that bit in John Wick: Chapter 2 where Keanu Reeves and Common stroll down a New York city subway casually shooting pistols at each other with no-one else batting an eyelid, but that’d a close second.No, I’m talking about Adjani’s Anna losing what’s left of her sanity in an extended freakout set in a Berlin subway station. One so hard to watch that you can’t turn away from it, and it provided a blueprint for the kind of intense horror performance turned out by generations of actresses in horror movies for decades since. From Heather Donahue’s tearful goodbyes in The Blair Witch Project and Toni Collette hollering “I AM YOUR MOTHER!” In Hereditary, to Lily-Rose Depp’s own descent into madness in Nosferatu, an open tribute to Adjani’s performance in Possession.So, this Valentine’s Day, give your relationship the mother of all tests by sticking to Possession and cuddling up close to the one you love.
To celebrate Valentine's Day along with Black History Month: Sunday, February 1st, 2026 - Sunday, March 1st, 2026, here is my personal compilation of 214 (2/14 February 14th) classic Lovers Rock reggae songs.
Lovers Rock is a style of reggae music noted for its romantic sound and content. While love songs had been an important part of reggae since the late 1960s, the style was given a greater focus and a name in London in the mid-1970s.
From Butterboy a K Special
Tim Buckley was born in Washington D.C. on Valentine's Day in 1947.
Thanks to Route for the reminder
Here promoting Sefronia in the UK with the Old Grey Whistle Test’s Bob ‘Bomber’ Harris 1974
Charlie Whitney - Guitar
Ian Wallace on drums
Tim Hinckley- bass
Check out Tim’s 12 string electric (A Fender methinks)
“I only know that peace will comewhen all our hate is goneI been a searching for the dolphinsIn the seaAh but sometimes I wonderdo you ever think of me”
Samuel Gene Maghett was born on February 14th, 1937 in Grenada County, Mississippi. He learned to play the blues by listening to records by Chess label mates Muddy Waters and Little Walter. When he moved to Chicago at the age of 19, he was already playing well enough to get gigs in local clubs. Although his first few singles on the Cobra label didn’t chart, the influence of his music as well as that of Buddy Guy and Otis Rush, was being felt all through the blues world. The three musicians had created a new electric blues sound, that of Chicago’s West Side."Most of the guys were playing the straight 12-bar blues thing, but the harmonies that he carried with the chords was a different thing altogether. This tune “All Your Love”, he expressed with such an inspirational feeling with his high voice. You could always tell him, even from his introduction to the music."Willie DixonStill riding high from the success of West Side Soul, Magic Sam kept the same soulful recipe of primarily cover songs when he recorded Black Magic. Mighty Joe Young appeared on both records as did drummer Odie Payne. Mac Thompson played bass on the all the Black Magic tracks where he had only played on three West Side Soul songs. Lafayette Leake played piano on Black Magic, but the main difference between the two albums was the addition of Eddie Shaw on tenor sax.Magic Sam was posthumously inducted into the Blues Hall of Fame in 1982, and Black Magic in 1990 in the category Classics of Blues Recordings – Albums.
