Sunday, January 23, 2005

Leonard Cohen Anthology

The 43 songs in this book cover Leonard Cohen's work up through 1988, with his I'm Your Man album being the last one represented. While the 1969 book Songs of Leonard Cohen contained an essay and many photographs with vocal lines and guitar tablature from his first two albums, there are no photographs or extras in this collection.

This book presents vocal lines, guitar chords, and a grand staff for piano arrangements. The typography and layout are excellent, though the piano arrangements cause a number of songs to be run out for six, eight or ten pages. The 43 songs included represent a good cross-section of Cohen's most prolific period of songwriting.