Leonard Cohen tribute album with James Taylor, Peter Gabriel out Oct. 14

Leonard Cohen tribute album with James Taylor, Peter Gabriel out Oct. 14
UPI

July 28 (UPI) — James Taylor, Peter Gabriel and Norah Jones are among the artists helming an upcoming tribute album to late singer Leonard Cohen.

Record label Blue Note announced Thursday that the album, Here It Is: A Tribute to Leonard Cohen, will be released on Oct. 14. Pre-orders of the album are also available.

The album will feature 12 of Cohen’s tracks covered by a slate of well-known artists, Blue Note said, releasing a short trailer to go along with the announcement.

The tracks will range from Cohen’s 1967 debut album, Songs of Leonard Cohen, up to his final work, You Want It Darker — released three weeks before his death in November 2016.

Produced by Larry Klein, a jazz artist known for collaborations with musicians such as Herbie Hancock and Bob Dylan.

“[Leonard Cohen] was possibly the wisest and funniest friend that I had, and someone that I enjoyed, immensely, in every way,” Klein said in a statement. “After he passed away, I found myself frequently covering his songs with other artists that I was working with.”

“It was an immensely gratifying experience to recontextualize these poems, and shine a different light on them,” Klein added.

James Taylor, who covered Cohen’s song “Coming Back to You,” said that he “accepted immediately” when Klein asked him to be part of the album.

“As soon as I began seeking out my own musical preferences, Cohen’s songs were among my few favorites and had a major influence on my own progression as a songwriter,” Taylor said. “Like so much of Leonard Cohen’s writing, this lyric resonates deeply with his forlorn and hopeless take on the bleak landscape of love and attachment. So, breathe a deep sigh and, drink up.”

Beyond Peter Gabriel and Norah Jones, additional artists on the track listing include Gregory Potter, Sarah McLachlan and Mavis Staples.

McLachlan will provide the cover for perhaps Cohen’s most well-known song, “Hallelujah.”

First released in 1984, the song has since been covered hundreds of times and has been used in numerous film and TV soundtracks, becoming the song that Cohen is most associated with.

Born in Westmount, Quebec in 1934, Cohen began a recording career in the 1960s, moving to the United States to focus on becoming a working musician.

The singer would go on to release 14 albums during his lifetime, with another, Thanks for the Dance, being published posthumously in 2019.

One of the most famous Canadian artists of all time, he was inducted into the Canadian Music Hall of Fame, as well as the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.

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