Leonard Cohen and U2 — "Tower Of Song"

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How awesome would that be?

On a scale of one to a thousand?

― mark grout (mark grout), Tuesday, 20 June 2006 13:20 (twenty years ago)

one.

Take out U2, and you multiply it by a thousand.

― hobart paving (hobart paving), Tuesday, 20 June 2006 13:24 (twenty years ago)

Believe me, I am..

Rolling on the floor, helpless, laughing.

Typing that out longstyle is appropriate.

― mark grout (mark grout), Tuesday, 20 June 2006 13:26 (twenty years ago)

zero, replace U2 with Nick Cave and then your on to something.

― Rufus 3000 (Mr Noodles), Tuesday, 20 June 2006 13:26 (twenty years ago)

Apparently Nick Cave is doing "Suzanne"

Oh, Beth Orton is doing "Sisters of Mercy" which should be interesting, hmmm....

Do you want the whole list?

― mark grout (mark grout), Tuesday, 20 June 2006 13:31 (twenty years ago)

They're not doing their songs with U2 though! Hmmf.

― mark grout (mark grout), Tuesday, 20 June 2006 13:31 (twenty years ago)

Leonard Cohen
A star-studded soundtrack is set to accompany the Leonard Cohen big screen documentary, I'm Your Man.
The Mel Gibson-produced film is set to open in select theatres on June 21, while the soundtrack will be released by Verve Forecast on July 25.
U2, Rufus Wainwright, Nick Cave, Beth Orton, Pulp's Jarvis Cocker and Antony of Antony And The Johnsons all pay their respects to the Canadian Songwriters Hall Of Fame inductee. A majority of the performances were culled from a January 2005 tribute concert for Cohen produced by Hal Willner (Lost In The Stars, Stay Awake) in Sydney, Australia.
The collaboration between Cohen and U2 on "Tower Of Song" was recorded following the Sydney tribute at the Slipper Room, a tiny supper club on New York City's lower east side.

Here are the artists and songs on I'm Your Man:
* Nick Cave — "I'm Your Man"
* Rufus Wainwright — "Chelsea Hotel No. 2"
* Rufus Wainwright — "Everybody Knows"
* Laurie Anderson — "The Guests"
* Antony — "If It Be Your Will"
* Beth Orton — "Sisters Of Mercy"
* Teddy Thompson — "The Future"
* Kate and Anna McGarrigle — "Winter Lady"
* Martha Wainwright — "The Traitor'
* The Handsome Family — "Famous Blue Raincoat"
* Nick Cave - —"Suzanne"
* Perla Batalla — "Bird On A Wire"
* Jarvis Cocker — "I Can't Forget"
* Linda Thompson — "Alexandra Leaving"
* Teddy Thompson — "Tonight Will Be Fine"
* Leonard Cohen and U2 — "Tower Of Song"

― mark grout (mark grout), Tuesday, 20 June 2006 13:32 (twenty years ago)

Oh boy, tower of wrong.

― NickB (NickB), Tuesday, 20 June 2006 13:41 (twenty years ago)

It can fight this one for king of the crap tributes:
http://image.allmusic.com/00/amg/cov200/drh200/h255/h25583fsif2.jpg

So much potential, so little end results.

And yet Jennifer Warnes still has them beat with:
http://image.allmusic.com/00/amg/cov200/dre300/e357/e35759gjmb9.jpg

― Rufus 3000 (Mr Noodles), Tuesday, 20 June 2006 13:48 (twenty years ago)

No Arcade Fire? Shame on you Lenny!

― Marcello Carlin (nostudium), Tuesday, 20 June 2006 13:56 (twenty years ago)

Actually, some of those could be okay. Martha should knock out something decent, and Jarvis doing I Can't Forget should be worth hearing. I only hope he does it with swooshy keyboards and swiped laura brannigan riffs.

― hobart paving (hobart paving), Tuesday, 20 June 2006 14:12 (twenty years ago)

Antony — "If It Be Your Will"

All too easy...

― Alfred, Lord Sotosyn (Alfred Soto), Tuesday, 20 June 2006 14:15 (twenty years ago)

Oh the Jarvis will be interesting. Everything else will make me sleeeepy.

We could all talk about the production style on 80s Cohen instead. I have started to be totally in love with it.

― Eppy (Eppy), Tuesday, 20 June 2006 14:18 (twenty years ago)

I'm Your Fan:
1. First We Take Manhattan – R.E.M.
2. Hey, That's No Way to Say Goodbye – Ian McCulloch
3. I Can't Forget – Pixies
4. Stories of the Street – That Petrol Emotion
5. Bird on a Wire – The Lilac Time
6. Suzanne – Geoffrey Oryema
7. So Long, Marianne – James
8. Avalanche IV – Jean-Louis Murat
9. Don't Go Home With Your Hard-On – David McComb & Adam Peters
10. Who By Fire – The House of Love
11. Chelsea Hotel – Lloyd Cole
12. Tower of Song – Robert Forster
13. Take This Longing – Peter Astor
14. True Love Leaves No Traces – Dead Famous People
15. I'm Your Man – Bill Pritchard
16. A Singer Must Die – Fatima Mansions
17. Tower of Song – Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds
18. Hallelujah – John Cale

And the equally crappy
Tower of Song
1. Everybody Knows – Don Henley
2. Coming Back to You – Trisha Yearwood
3. Sisters of Mercy – Sting with The Chieftains
4. Hallelujah – Bono
5. Famous Blue Raincoat – Tori Amos
6. Ain't No Cure For Love – Aaron Neville
7. I'm Your Man – Elton John
8. Bird on a Wire – Willie Nelson
9. Suzanne – Peter Gabriel
10. Light as the Breeze – Billy Joel
11. If It Be Your Will – Jann Arden
12. Story of Isaac – Suzanne Vega
13. Coming Back to You – Martin Gore

― Rufus 3000 (Mr Noodles), Tuesday, 20 June 2006 14:56 (twenty years ago)

Some mistake surely: There's no Nick Cave on that last one.

― mark grout (mark grout), Tuesday, 20 June 2006 14:57 (twenty years ago)

Aw...cmon, that second one is MUCH worse. Although I'd like to hear Tori Amos and Willie Nelson's attempts (which I'm sure isn't a sentiment that will be widely shared here).

― hobart paving (hobart paving), Tuesday, 20 June 2006 15:00 (twenty years ago)

Peter Glaze's on Crackerjack, back in the day?
"You were in love but you needed proof
You climbed up a ladder to the roof
You fell off and a full bucket landed onto yer..."

-- mark grout (mark.grou...) (webmail), September 2nd, 2005 11:50 AM. (link)

― mark grout (mark grout), Tuesday, 20 June 2006 15:00 (twenty years ago)

'Bird on a Wire' covered by Stina Nordenstam is good, 'So Long Marianne' covered by Straightjacket Fits is grate.

― NickB (NickB), Tuesday, 20 June 2006 15:10 (twenty years ago)

John Cale's cover is definitive.

― Alfred, Lord Sotosyn (Alfred Soto), Tuesday, 20 June 2006 15:13 (twenty years ago)

You'd think that, but I'm Your Fan is really quite crap. Even the Pixies sound tired and bored.

― Rufus 3000 (Mr Noodles), Tuesday, 20 June 2006 15:13 (twenty years ago)

3x-post

― Rufus 3000 (Mr Noodles), Tuesday, 20 June 2006 15:14 (twenty years ago)

the nick cave tower of song from i'm your fan is good for a laugh if you listen to it about once a decade.

― Fritz Wollner (Fritz), Tuesday, 20 June 2006 17:15 (twenty years ago)

Robert Forster singing "Tower of Song" should have the ideal meeting of subject and artist, but, alas, it doesn't come off.

― Alfred, Lord Sotosyn (Alfred Soto), Tuesday, 20 June 2006 17:18 (twenty years ago)

Never heard the Martin Gore cover, actually. I'd be willing to bet it works.

― Ned Raggett (Ned), Tuesday, 20 June 2006 17:20 (twenty years ago)

can we compile a list of tv shows that have used hallelujah to score a sad moment

― s1ocki (slutsky), Tuesday, 20 June 2006 17:26 (twenty years ago)

the nick cave tower of song from i'm your fan is good for a laugh if you listen to it about once a decade.

I'd have to dig it out again but if I remember correctly he breaks up laughing for a brief moment.

― Rufus 3000 (Mr Noodles), Tuesday, 20 June 2006 17:35 (twenty years ago)

s1ocki - do any of them actually use the Cohen version though?

What exactly is the film? Is it Cohen performing? Interviews about him? Or other artists performing his songs? I love the Field Commander and everything but who the hell wants to see a film of other artists performing cover versions? Why does Rufus get two songs? Cause he's from Montreal too?

― Jacobo Rock (jacobo rock), Tuesday, 20 June 2006 17:35 (twenty years ago)

they mostly use the buckley version

― s1ocki (slutsky), Tuesday, 20 June 2006 17:36 (twenty years ago)

the movie is a mix of interviews and cover versions

― s1ocki (slutsky), Tuesday, 20 June 2006 17:37 (twenty years ago)

i think i remember the willie nelson being pretty good and Lloyd Cole being okay on the other.

― Huk-L (Huk-L), Tuesday, 20 June 2006 17:44 (twenty years ago)

Scrubs uses the Cale version, right? (not that I've ever watched it... I swear)

― Jacobo Rock (jacobo rock), Tuesday, 20 June 2006 17:47 (twenty years ago)

I actually like about half of Tower of Song, you corny indie fuxx0rz.

Bono > Jeff Buckley

Jennifer Warnes owns though.

― rogermexico (rogermexico), Tuesday, 20 June 2006 18:48 (twenty years ago)

Buckley's = "epochal misreading"

― Rickey Wright (Rrrickey), Tuesday, 20 June 2006 18:52 (twenty years ago)

And come to think, "Light As The Breeze" is the best thing Billy Joel's done since the 70s.

― rogermexico (rogermexico), Tuesday, 20 June 2006 19:46 (twenty years ago)

Apparently, the film has a duet w/ Jarvis and Beth doing "Death of a Ladies Man"

― mark grout (mark grout), Wednesday, 21 June 2006 07:46 (twenty years ago)

I'd love to hear most of those acts singing "The Future," though I'm curious to see if T. Thompson can give it the necessary snarl.

― Josh in Chicago (Josh in Chicago), Wednesday, 21 June 2006 12:31 (twenty years ago)

Chris Rea would do it better.

― Marcello Carlin (nostudium), Wednesday, 21 June 2006 12:35 (twenty years ago)

Mel Gibson-produced film
http://thecia.com.au/reviews/p/images/passion-of-the-christ-1.jpg

― trees (treesessplode), Wednesday, 21 June 2006 12:38 (twenty years ago)

We could all talk about the production style on 80s Cohen instead. I have started to be totally in love with it.

Yes! I used to hate on his eighties output so much, but in the past year I've started listening to only the eighties albums... fuck, I wish I weren't at work and could listen to my I'm Your Man record right now...

― trees (treesessplode), Wednesday, 21 June 2006 12:42 (twenty years ago)

Also, I need to start praying that I never ever ever hear REM's version of "First We Take Manhattan." I can only imagine the pain that shit would cause to my ears.

― trees (treesessplode), Wednesday, 21 June 2006 12:46 (twenty years ago)

I used to like the JAMC's versh of Tower of Song, but I haven't heard it in a while.
Is the greatest Leonard Cohen cover Nina Simone's 'Suzanne'? It could be.

I'd like to hear Len covering Jarvis. I can hear him now intoning Common People to a pluked bazouki.

― bham (bham), Wednesday, 21 June 2006 12:48 (twenty years ago)

The greatest LC cover is Nick Cave's "Avalanche," which also doubles as one of the greatest opening album tracks (From Her To Eternity).

― Marcello Carlin (nostudium), Wednesday, 21 June 2006 12:51 (twenty years ago)

xpost have you heard Nick Cave covering Jarvis? Intoning "Disco 2000" etc..

― mark grout (mark grout), Wednesday, 21 June 2006 12:53 (twenty years ago)

Is the greatest Leonard Cohen cover Nina Simone's 'Suzanne'? It could be.

If it wasn't for Jennifer Warnes and Stevie Ray Vaughan's "First We Take Manhattan" and several others.

― Rufus 3000 (Mr Noodles), Wednesday, 21 June 2006 13:14 (twenty years ago)

Needs more country artists. Willie should do a good job, but why not more like that?

― 100% CHAMPS with a Yes! Attitude. (Austin, Still), Wednesday, 21 June 2006 13:23 (twenty years ago)

one month passes...

Has anyone actually seen this / heard the soundtrack?

If so, how terrible is it?

Terrible enough to play in the record store on a Sunday?

― Mallory L . O'Donnell (That Bitch Camille), Sunday, 30 July 2006 16:08 (nineteen years ago)

two years pass...

really like martha doing the traitor.

― Freedom, Thursday, 6 November 2008 23:02 (seventeen years ago)

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