Thanks for requesting me, granny!
Let's try this again...
I looked HARD for negative reviews of this album or of Sharon
Robinson's performance. While several sources indicated that they
found Robinson's work of itself on this album rather bland and
unremarkable, the almost universal consensus seems to be that the
synthesis of her and Cohen's work created a lovely, remarkable album.
From a New York Times review of this CD by Ann Powers (October 28,
2001):
"`I wanted the song to begin like a classic rock 'n roll song, a
rhythm-and-blues song,' Mr. Cohen said. `And then it becomes more
honest as it moves along.' The transition comes when Ms. Robinson, who
provided all the women's voices, emerges as a soloist. The brandy
snifter's lament becomes a murmur of the universal spirit.
"It's appropriate that a woman's voice should emerge as the herald of
the divine, since Mr. Cohen's main haunt has always been the
intersection of sex and the psyche."
http://www.rockzilla.net/bonnyh11.html
From a review by Chris Jones of the BBC:
"Oh, lothario Lenny, the loquacious ladies man, how the girls love
that smoky voice. At 67 the tones remain world-worn. Indeed, Cohen is
the finest example of a man who has grown into his public persona as
time has passed, but the accompanying sound seems startlingly
contemporary. The elements remain the same as his previous few albums
- the soft nylon strings of a lone guitar replaced by digital
keyboards and perfectly poised female backing vocals (provided by
writing and performing partner Sharon Robinson)."
http://www.bbc.co.uk/music/classicpop/reviews/cohen_ten.shtml
From reviewer David Womack of A San Francisco Music Chronicle:
"In Cohen’s case he’s found a one-woman automaton, and it’s a Faustian
match. Sharon Robinson shares the songwriting credits on all the songs
(imagine Dylan being so gracious). She sings, and does the
drum/key/etc. programming. The result is the same as with Dylan’s
musicians – the music never outshines the melodies and lyrics. But
Robinson’s arrangements are oddly moving. Cohen and Dylan are both
hookless writers, in the traditional pop sense, but Cohen’s melodies
are so heartfelt they tend to work as hooks themselves; each
escalation or moderation in melody comes as a surprise and a delight.
Robinson’s vocal harmonies heighten the content impersonally – they
are automatonish themselves, but dimension is added, Cohen’s
bass-toned stuffiness is disarmed."
http://www.crecon.com/davidwomack/leonardcohentennewsongs.htm
A review by Dominique Leone on PitchforkMedia.com (November 5th,
2001):
"He often finds a partner to share the weight (usually on the musical
end), and this time he's found Sharon Robinson. Robinson (best known
as a session vocalist, and pop songwriter), while certainly leaving
her stamp on the proceedings as producer, arranger, performer, and
co-writer on every tune, hasn't muffled Cohen's artistic voice any
more than his previous collaborators. Of course, her kind of soft
rock-- closer to "I Want to Know What Love Is" by Foreigner than I'm
comfortable with-- probably isn't going to score many points with the
indie crowd, but it's not going to throw off your concentration for
very long.
Tunes like "In My Secret Life" and "Alexandra Leaving" actually end up
in a far more soulful world because of Robinson than if they had been
purely Cohen efforts."
http://www.pitchforkmedia.com/record-reviews/c/cohen_leonard/ten-new-songs.shtml
From a review on BlueDark.com by Austen Zuege:
"Sharon Robinson, who first worked with Cohen on his 1979 tour,
performs the accompaniments almost entirely herself and co-wrote all
the songs. She makes an opportune ally in these battles with pain and
longing by tempering the fine line between Cohen’s soul and his
gravelly monotone. The album cover illustrates, with both heads cocked
to their right, the alignment of their thinking. "Alexandra Leaving"
find the two in their finest form, singing a classic Cohen tale of
fleeting love. Cohen could get by without a collaborator, which only
shows his continuing desire to utilize Robinson’s many contributions.
Perhaps an older—and even wiser—Cohen seeks a compromise."
http://www.bluedark.com/reviews/Leonard_Cohen--Ten.htm
The Rolling Stone review by Steven Chean (October 9, 2001) says:
"With dim-light instrumentation and the shadowing vocals of longtime
collaborator Sharon Robinson, Cohen returns, the undisputed landlord
of those dark, damaged places. From the impossible longing of "In My
Secret Life" to the sad-bastard boozings of "That Don't Make It Junk,"
Ten New Songs manages to sustain loss's fragile beauty like never
before and might just be the Cohen's most exquisite ode yet to the
midnight hour."
http://www.rollingstone.com/reviews/cd/review.asp?aid=2043216
From a review by Aquarius Records:
"This is Leonard Cohen's first release in 9 years. Rumour is, he spent
a good amount of that time in a Zen monastery. His voice still has
that same soul shattering, breathy deep quality that it always had.
The years have treated him well it seems. This record is more smoothly
produced than previous releases and absent are the crazy child
background vocals. 'Ten New Songs' seems as much collaborator Sharon
Robinson's record as Cohen's--she cowrote all the songs, plays most of
the instruments (primarily a synth that seems to have plucked from a
cheezy 1984 power ballad), and accompanies Cohen's gloomy croak with
her own sweet crooning. Sadly this record is missing the harder edge
and jaded air that I liked about his earlier stuff. The slick
production sort of bugs me, but I still love -that- voice and his
crazy ****** up mind."
http://www.aquariusrecords.org/cat/c10.html
An excellent article by Eric Rudolph of Mix Online (February 1, 2002)
provides a detailed description of how this album was produced:
http://mixonline.com/ar/audio_leonard_cohen
You can listen to samples of the Tracks and read the Customer Reviews
on Barnes and Noble:
http://music.barnesandnoble.com/search/product.asp?ean=696998595323
And on Amazon.com
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/B00005Q45W/?v=glance&s=music&n=507846&vi=customer-reviews
Search Strategy
Leonard Cohen Sharon Robinson
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Leonard Cohen Sharon Robinson disappointed
://www.google.com/search?num=100&hl=en&lr=lang_en&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8&as_qdr=all&q=Leonard+Cohen+Sharon+Robinson+disappointed&btnG=Google+Search&lr=lang_en
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