Best Cover Version Of Cohen's "Hallelujah"

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'Cohen is'

I just did.

:)

''Cohen has fucked his way around enough to know what exactly it was like when he 'moved in' his woman''

Told ya this, did he?
 
My favourite would have to be Raymond, he's a Japanese kid who plays at a local open mic night.

He dresses like he just walked off the 18th green, sings out of tune in a very strong Japanese accent and his guitar playing isn't up to much either. He also does a wonderful rendition of Radiohead's high and dry.

Beautiful. :D

Second to Raymond I like the Jef Buckley version the best (aside from the original of course but that's not a "cover version" now is it? ;) ).

I'm not a big Jeff Buckley fan at all but I think he did a good job on that song.
 
'Grace' and 'Astral Weeks' are the most important albums ever IMHO.
 
I definitely think Buckley is one of the most overrated of all time, but I will admit that his version of "Hallelujah" is absolutely beautiful and amazing.

Regardless of whether he captured the spirit of Cohen's version, or the song for that matter, I don't care. I really really like what he did with it, and his version stands alone on its own merit in my opinion.

If someone's covering a song, I don't think they owe the original songwriter (or the song) any allegiance whatsoever. They're paying for the rights to use the song (via the publishing), so they can do whatever the hell they want with it.
 
famous beagle said:
I definitely think Buckley is one of the most overrated of all time
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Yep. Him and Van Morrisson, apart from Astral weeks.
 
Most people will say Buckley's overrated having heard too many teenage girls swoon when they hear hallelujah. Hes one of the best guitarists ever for a start, and you can't deny his vocal ability...why do people say he's overrated?
 
TelePaul said:
Most people will say Buckley's overrated having heard too many teenage girls swoon when they hear hallelujah. Hes one of the best guitarists ever for a start, and you can't deny his vocal ability...why do people say he's overrated?
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I don't think he was that great of a songwriter. I mean ... that's a totally subjective thing, of course, but his songs don't do much for me at all.

I've never heard any teen girls swooning over his version of "Hallelujah," but I'll take your word for it I guess. But then again, I never heard it on the radio.

And "One of the best guitarists ever" is also completely subjective. Why in the world would you say that? Because he knows some inversions? He's certainly a competent player, sure. But his playing doesn't strike me as anything special.

I don't know ... he just doesn't do anything for me, except for his version of "Hallelujah." I think that's perfect. The rest of the Grace album is pretty forgettable to me. I certainly believe his premature death did much for his popularity and accolades.
 
famous beagle said:
I don't think he was that great of a songwriter. I mean ... that's a totally subjective thing, of course, but his songs don't do much for me at all.

I've never heard any teen girls swooning over his version of "Hallelujah," but I'll take your word for it I guess. But then again, I never heard it on the radio.

And "One of the best guitarists ever" is also completely subjective. Why in the world would you say that? Because he knows some inversions? He's certainly a competent player, sure. But his playing doesn't strike me as anything special.

I don't know ... he just doesn't do anything for me, except for his version of "Hallelujah." I think that's perfect. The rest of the Grace album is pretty forgettable to me. I certainly believe his premature death did much for his popularity and accolades.
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What exactly have you heard by him? Grace? Do you not find something brilliantly bleak about the guitar playing in Mojo Pin? Or his solo guitar arrangement of Hallelujah, A Carvin-modified Tele and a Fender tube amp, simple, but so effective. I'd seriously try branch out though, his repertoire is far greater than what was showcased on Grace (though ''Corpus Christi Carol'' is hs own arrangement, and perfectly complements the 18th century poem).

Live at Sin é, for example. Listen to ''Je ne connais pas le fin''. An Edith Piaf carnival masterpiece set to one guitar. Or Nusraat Fahteh Alleh Khan's ''Ha jo halka halka saroor hai'', again, one guitar. His sheer ability when it comes to tackling a piece that is the antithesis of western convention has to be heard to be believed.

''Why in the world would you say that?'' Because I've listened to his works and they are prolific in terms of guitar playing.
 
TelePaul said:
What exactly have you heard by him? Grace? Do you not find something brilliantly bleak about the guitar playing in Mojo Pin? Or his solo guitar arrangement of Hallelujah, A Carvin-modified Tele and a Fender tube amp, simple, but so effective. I'd seriously try branch out though, his repertoire is far greater than what was showcased on Grace (though ''Corpus Christi Carol'' is hs own arrangement, and perfectly complements the 18th century poem).

Live at Sin é, for example. Listen to ''Je ne connais pas le fin''. An Edith Piaf carnival masterpiece set to one guitar. Or Nusraat Fahteh Alleh Khan's ''Ha jo halka halka saroor hai'', again, one guitar. His sheer ability when it comes to tackling a piece that is the antithesis of western convention has to be heard to be believed.

''Why in the world would you say that?'' Because I've listened to his works and they are prolific in terms of guitar playing.
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Yes I've basically heard Grace and a live DVD that I'm not sure the name of.

And I said that his version of "Hallelujah" was brilliant.

I don't feel the need to seek out the other titles you listed because I feel as though if I didn't enjoy Grace (which has been praised enough by diehard fans like yourself), then he's just not really my cup of tea. I feel as though after listening to what's agreed upon as his best album (though it was the only major label one he released really) and seeing a live DVD, I can say that I'm not a big Buckley fan. He didn't breach that "I want to hear more" threshold.

I usually don't enjoy his voice much (though I like it on "Hallelujah"), I don't like his songs (especially the lyrics), and I don't enjoy the production on Grace at all.

Can't you say the same about, say, New Kids on the Block? If I told you (which of course I'm not), "yeah they're old stuff sucked, but you gotta hear them on this live album -- it's a lot better," would you check it out? Of course I'm not placing Buckley in the league of NKOTB, but I'm just illustrating the point that you usually know when something is "your kind of thing" or not. Though bands do change sometimes, they USUALLY maintain a basic core of their sound. I'd be willing to bet that you feel perfectly fine about not giving NKOTB any more chances to impress you.
 
famous beagle said:
Yes I've basically heard Grace and a live DVD that I'm not sure the name of.

And I said that his version of "Hallelujah" was brilliant.

I don't feel the need to seek out the other titles you listed because I feel as though if I didn't enjoy Grace (which has been praised enough by diehard fans like yourself), then he's just not really my cup of tea. I feel as though after listening to what's agreed upon as his best album (though it was the only major label one he released really) and seeing a live DVD, I can say that I'm not a big Buckley fan. He didn't breach that "I want to hear more" threshold.

I usually don't enjoy his voice much (though I like it on "Hallelujah"), I don't like his songs (especially the lyrics), and I don't enjoy the production on Grace at all.

Can't you say the same about, say, New Kids on the Block? If I told you (which of course I'm not), "yeah they're old stuff sucked, but you gotta hear them on this live album -- it's a lot better," would you check it out? Of course I'm not placing Buckley in the league of NKOTB, but I'm just illustrating the point that you usually know when something is "your kind of thing" or not. Though bands do change sometimes, they USUALLY maintain a basic core of their sound. I'd be willing to bet that you feel perfectly fine about not giving NKOTB any more chances to impress you.
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I'd be more inclined to take your point if Grace wasn't so highly regarded by the music community as a whole. And as it happens, Live at Sin é was recorded prior to Grace...it was pretty much the reason he was signed. As for NKOTB, well they lost all my respect when they got their own cartoon series.

But really, your point can be taken the other way; if you didn't like The White Album, would you shun The Beatles? And what didn't you like about how Grace was produced?

I really wanna stress im not trying to annoy you, I'm just curious (especially as i love the production of Grace)
 
TelePaul said:
I'd be more inclined to take your point if Grace wasn't so highly regarded by the music community as a whole. And as it happens, Live at Sin é was recorded prior to Grace...it was pretty much the reason he was signed. As for NKOTB, well they lost all my respect when they got their own cartoon series.

But really, your point can be taken the other way; if you didn't like The White Album, would you shun The Beatles? And what didn't you like about how Grace was produced?

I really wanna stress im not trying to annoy you, I'm just curious (especially as i love the production of Grace)
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No you're not annoying me at all -- don't sweat it.

And I know the Beatles are exceptions. That's why I qualified my comment by saying "USUALLY" and things like that. There are those bands like the Beatles that cover tons of ground within a short period of time. It's perfectly understandable to me when I hear people say "I love the Beatle's later stuff, but I hate their early stuff." (I love it all, but I can see why people could say that ... they really do sound like two different bands almost when you compare something like "She Loves You" to ... oh I don't know .... "I Am the Walrus" or "I'm So Tired" or "Day in the Life."

But, I feel like bands like the Beatles are generally the exception. Wouldn't you?

By the way, your point can be taken the other way as well. The Beatles also had their own cartoon series! :)


Seriously though, the thing I didn't like about Grace the most was the songs ... and his voice. The production just kind of went along with that. It sounds a little cold to me -- a little too pretty and lush for my taste.
 
famous beagle said:
No you're not annoying me at all -- don't sweat it.

And I know the Beatles are exceptions. That's why I qualified my comment by saying "USUALLY" and things like that. There are those bands like the Beatles that cover tons of ground within a short period of time. It's perfectly understandable to me when I hear people say "I love the Beatle's later stuff, but I hate their early stuff." (I love it all, but I can see why people could say that ... they really do sound like two different bands almost when you compare something like "She Loves You" to ... oh I don't know .... "I Am the Walrus" or "I'm So Tired" or "Day in the Life."

But, I feel like bands like the Beatles are generally the exception. Wouldn't you?
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I can think of many bands 'like' the beatles....Early Stones (the chuck berry/John Lee Hooker) versus latter Stones (where Keef comes into his own), Neil Young (Harvest to Broken Arrow to Greendale and back), Dylan going electric, U2 from the Joshua Tree to POP, shit, even Madonna has re-invented herself. I dont think its a coincidence that these acts are the biggest in the world. So you might say that 'good' bands are the ones that are dynamic and rone to re-invention. I just wish we could have heard 'My Sweetheart The Drunk'. i really do believe that someone with Jeffs talent would have been remembered for more than Grace had he lived.
 
TelePaul said:
I can think of many bands 'like' the beatles....Early Stones (the chuck berry/John Lee Hooker) versus latter Stones (where Keef comes into his own), Neil Young (Harvest to Broken Arrow to Greendale and back), Dylan going electric, U2 from the Joshua Tree to POP, shit, even Madonna has re-invented herself. I dont think its a coincidence that these acts are the biggest in the world. So you might say that 'good' bands are the ones that are dynamic and rone to re-invention. I just wish we could have heard 'My Sweetheart The Drunk'. i really do believe that someone with Jeffs talent would have been remembered for more than Grace had he lived.
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Yeah I was gonna mention U2 especially (but I was going to mention from Joshua Tree to Acthung Baby ... that was the most drastic change in my opinion) because I just wrote an article on the Edge in the new issue of Guitar Edge magazine (not the one that's out now, but the Jan/Feb issue). And I mentioned that about them.

I agree there's plenty of bands that do change quite a bit, and I usually always at least respect artists that do that, if not often like them as well. Paul Simon's another example.

And I'm sure you're right about him being remembered for more than Grace. And I'm not denying he was talented. It just didn't really do it for me.

So I guess I should recant regarding my earlier statement about him being one of the most "overrated" of all time. I suppose it would have been more true to say that he's one of the most "I don't get its" (for me) of all time. (Though I do still think he's a little overrated.)
 
I guess my problem is the accolades people give him after one studio album - one of the best guitarists ever? Not really on the basis of Grace or Live at Sin e (how come I can't do a fada on that 'e'?).
He just died young.
And I've seen thousands of girls -- not just teenage ones, but some hardcore lesbian feminists too -- swoon at that song.
 
TelePaul said:
But really, your point can be taken the other way; if you didn't like The White Album, would you shun The Beatles? And what didn't you like about how Grace was produced?
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I think it's important to realise that if you don't like "The White Album" there are other aspects of The Beatles' work that may hold a different appeal for you. With Buckley it's not like that. If you don't like Grace, then there's nothing else for you. Consistently, having listened to Sin e, Buckley's best things are the covers he does, although even some of those are touch and go. Christ, with 'If You See Her Say Hello', you'd think he'd at least learn the chords. There's only five of them.
 
32-20-Blues said:
I think it's important to realise that if you don't like "The White Album" there are other aspects of The Beatles' work that may hold a different appeal for you. With Buckley it's not like that. If you don't like Grace, then there's nothing else for you. Consistently, having listened to Sin e, Buckley's best things are the covers he does, although even some of those are touch and go. Christ, with 'If You See Her Say Hello', you'd think he'd at least learn the chords. There's only five of them.
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You really poght to listen to the song again! And yeah, Live At Sin é, one guy, one guitar, Grace hes got a full band. 'Dinks Song' versus 'Eternal Life'. So ''If you don't like Grace, then there's nothing else for you'' is completely unfounded.
 
TelePaul said:
You really poght to listen to the song again! And yeah, Live At Sin é, one guy, one guitar, Grace hes got a full band. 'Dinks Song' versus 'Eternal Life'. So ''If you don't like Grace, then there's nothing else for you'' is completely unfounded.
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Same stuff, except for the covers.
 
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