Leonard Cohen's "Death of a Ladies' Man", from late 1977, is clearly the most controversial album among his fans out of all his '60s & '70s albums, and it's obvious as to why. This isn't just because it's a heck of a lot different from all of his other albums, it's the WAY in which it's so different that makes it hard to swallow for many fans. I'm suspecting that there aren't a whole lot of people who are big fans of both Cohen AND Phil Spector's legendary Wall Of Sound productions, and indeed, this album sure is a long way from the starkness of albums such as "Songs From A Room" and "Songs of Love and Hate". However, it's not just the presence of Phil Spector as producer & co-writer, not to mention wailing sax solos from Steve Douglas, that results in this album being such a change of pace. It's also in Cohen's lyrics--track after track gives you the impression that Cohen was feeling REALLY sex-crazed and lustful around this time, & the lyrics on songs such as "Paper Thin Hotel" & "Memories" are atypically straightforward for him. All that said, the combination of music & lyrics on this album is, for the most part, uncanny--even though Cohen himself has continually dismissed this album over the years, it really feels as though Cohen & Spector, who co-wrote every track here themselves, had a genuine writing collaboration going on. It's not as though Spector merely took songs like "Seems So Long Ago, Nancy" or "Famous Blue Raincoat" and inappropriately plastered them with Wall Of Sound productions. For example, the cathartic ballad "Paper Thin Hotel" has a lush, soaring musical backing that meshes marvelously with Cohen's confessional lyrics. Likewise, the boisterous, doo-wop style "Memories" is an ideal match for the teenage lust lyrics--it's a fun track, and it features Cohen going into one of his screaming fits on the fade (imagine him trying to sing/ scream like that nowadays). There's also the swinging, toe-tappingly catchy "Iodine"; the nicely dreamy "I Left A Woman Waiting"; & the rousing, uptempo "Don't Go Home With Your Hard-On". The album closer, the musically hazy title track, is an effective, moody piece, although it is excessively, annoyingly dragged out with not one, but TWO false endings--musically speaking, this track very strongly recalls George Harrison's "Isn't It A Pity (Version 1)" which, not so coincidentally, was co-produced by Spector. There are some unfortunate problems here--the thin, sloppily performed female background vocals annoyingly drown out Cohen on "Iodine" and also get in the way on "True Love Leaves No Traces", the latter of which is a decent, breezy track, though it's a bit dull; and the countrified "Fingerprints" is also a little annoying. Overall though, "Death of a Ladies' Man" is a pretty damn good album. It's become increasingly clear over the years that Spector has long been a dangerous lunatic, but the incredible musical talents he possessed are undeniable. Whether you're a serious Cohen fan, or a big fan of Spector's productions, "Death of a Ladies' Man" is a must-have; if by some chance you're a fan of both, then you REALLY can't go wrong.

Brand	N/A
Rating	4.3 (115 ratings)
Price	$8.98
Category	North America

Death Of A Ladies' Man

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