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78 reviews for:
The Holy or the Broken: Leonard Cohen, Jeff Buckley, and the Unlikely Ascent of Hallelujah
Alan Light
3.55 AVERAGE
78 reviews for:
The Holy or the Broken: Leonard Cohen, Jeff Buckley, and the Unlikely Ascent of Hallelujah
Alan Light
3.55 AVERAGE
Hallelujah is one of my favourite songs. The history of how this book went from a little song on an unreleased album to one of the great hymns of the 21st century is amazing. I have to admit that I had to listen to the Buckley version on YouTube because I couldn't remember hearing it. It's okay but for me no version will ever be better than k.d. lang's at the Vancouver Olympics.
I would recommend this book to any fans of the song.
I would recommend this book to any fans of the song.
This was great -- if you like music or think about the meaning behind words or lyrics or why the song Hallelujah took on the life it has, this is a must-read. Prepare to spend hours on YouTube watching different renditions and dissecting the performances.
There's a particularly great one of Cohen performing his original and the expressions when he sings make it clear he's written some FUNNY STUFF into the song (though I love how Buckley bleeds his heart out into his version of it). And I'm firmly now in the camp that Wainwright's version isn't that great, that it's too fast, and that the piano versions, in general, take something away from the song.
I guess this made me have some opinions I never otherwise would have thought to have. That's what a good piece of long-form journalism (which is really what this is) does.
There's a particularly great one of Cohen performing his original and the expressions when he sings make it clear he's written some FUNNY STUFF into the song (though I love how Buckley bleeds his heart out into his version of it). And I'm firmly now in the camp that Wainwright's version isn't that great, that it's too fast, and that the piano versions, in general, take something away from the song.
I guess this made me have some opinions I never otherwise would have thought to have. That's what a good piece of long-form journalism (which is really what this is) does.
Really interesting look at this song and at the two men who " created" it.
In The Holy or the Broken: Leonard Cohen, Jeff Buckley, & the Unlikely Ascent of Hallelujah, Alan Light traces the history of the song’s creation, its reinventions, and its turn as a pop standard of the American Songbook. Since its debut on Cohen’s Various Positions album in 1984 “Hallelujah” has never held still. Light chronicles Cohen’s career leading up to and moving to what amounts to the present day as this book was published in 2012, as well as highlighting the other major recordings of the song. He unpacks the differences in each version, and how the song sustains such a diversity of interpretation. This book looks at the personalities, and the situations that led to different renditions while engaging in a discussion of how the listening public has seemingly moved beyond listening to the meaning of the lyrics and how “Hallelujah” has become an emotional touchstone which cues us to emote, or allows us the space to do so.
I can only suggest this book to people who have a sincere fondness for the song, or one of its nearly two dozen covers. I enjoyed my reading during the recent nor’easter, but I cannot say that the experience would necessarily be shared by many others.
full review: https://faintingviolet.wordpress.com/2018/03/03/the-holy-or-the-broken-cbr10-11/
I can only suggest this book to people who have a sincere fondness for the song, or one of its nearly two dozen covers. I enjoyed my reading during the recent nor’easter, but I cannot say that the experience would necessarily be shared by many others.
full review: https://faintingviolet.wordpress.com/2018/03/03/the-holy-or-the-broken-cbr10-11/
hopeful
informative
reflective
sad
medium-paced
Interesting topic, but should've been a long magazine feature on Cohen, Cale, Buckley and maybe Wainwright - did not need to be a book dragging over various X Factor contestants' versions. Also Light is kind of a shallow and mediocre art journalist when it comes to textual reading - Cohen lyrics deserve someone with a better appreciation. The book only really came alive talking about Buckley.
medium-paced
informative
reflective
fast-paced
Interesting topic, but difficult to get through as it is incredibly repetitive. Most likely this would have been better as an article in a magazine,online or a college paper, an entire book is too much.