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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
informative
reflective
fast-paced
"There's a blaze of light in every word; it doesn't matter which you heard; the holy or the broken Hallelujah." Cohen's own words seem to pre-ordain the course of his now ubiquitous song, "Hallelujah."
I take issue with other reviewer's complaints that this book should have been a magazine article(a complaint I make a lot!). Light covers a lot of ground glancing off changes in the music industry, the joys and agony of musicianship, an extensive and multi-faceted interpretation of the lyrics of the song at the focus of the book, and also creates a kind of sociological study of the archetype the song has become.
That said, it is rather large print - once I really sat down with it, I blew through it's "231" pages in about four hours. Nonetheless, it is a well-written book and it is fascinating to find one interpretation so close to how I, as a lover of the song, interpret it only to find the next interpretation so far out of my realm and yet find ALL of the interpretations (mostly) acceptable.
The "Selected Hallelujah Discography" with a list of versions discussed in the book is hugely helpful and I give Light credit for calling Bono's version "just awful." Even Bono knows it is, but it still takes some balls to call it out, particularly when Light is quite kind to everyone else - even other not-so-worthy versions.
There are also QR codes (Does anyone really use those things? Are they even still a thing?) linking to live videos of versions discussed and the book is fully indexed.
I take issue with other reviewer's complaints that this book should have been a magazine article(a complaint I make a lot!). Light covers a lot of ground glancing off changes in the music industry, the joys and agony of musicianship, an extensive and multi-faceted interpretation of the lyrics of the song at the focus of the book, and also creates a kind of sociological study of the archetype the song has become.
That said, it is rather large print - once I really sat down with it, I blew through it's "231" pages in about four hours. Nonetheless, it is a well-written book and it is fascinating to find one interpretation so close to how I, as a lover of the song, interpret it only to find the next interpretation so far out of my realm and yet find ALL of the interpretations (mostly) acceptable.
The "Selected Hallelujah Discography" with a list of versions discussed in the book is hugely helpful and I give Light credit for calling Bono's version "just awful." Even Bono knows it is, but it still takes some balls to call it out, particularly when Light is quite kind to everyone else - even other not-so-worthy versions.
There are also QR codes (Does anyone really use those things? Are they even still a thing?) linking to live videos of versions discussed and the book is fully indexed.
We had a community sing-along of "Hallelujah" a few weeks ago, and I eagerly participated because it is one of my favorite songs, after all. But when I arrived and saw a verse with which I wasn't familiar on our handout, and it was so clearly about sex and orgasm, I was a little uncomfortable singing with my neighbors, especially children. I mentioned this to my husband and my friend, and both looked at the verse and they weren't sure they agreed with me. How could they not? It was blatant. Then I started to think...wait a minute, isn't this song is about the changing meaning of "hallelujah" throughout many experiences, both holy, sacred, and non-religous human suffering? A song about loving and losing, finding sacred in the every day? It's a bit of a sad, sacrilegious song, and I love to study the lyrics and experience my change in interpretation over the years, but it's musical beauty is universally loved. I assume it's the only reason groups like my community come together to sing it and listen to it. But if we have children singing, "remember when I moved in you/and the holy dove was moving too,/ and every breath we drew was Hallelujah!" there is clearly a universal lack of attention to the lyrics (besides the one-word chorus).
Well this book satisfies lit majors and music aficionados. The first few chapters provide everything you wanted to know about the history of the song; how it was a failure at worst, mostly ignored at best when it was recorded in 1984 by Cohen, to a reference to what we all know it has become today. Within the first 60 pages, the reader gets this history plus delicious literary interpretation of the lyrics, the musical components, and the variations. However, by page 70, I realized that the whole rest of the book will just be a history and interpretation of each and every recorded version of the song, and I don't really need 160 more pages of this. So I quit on page 78 and feel content and properly educated.
I was right about that verse, by the way, and I was also right that the majority of fans of the song pay no attention at all to the lyrics. In fact, some people even mistake it for a religious hymn simply because of the title and chorus. ! All I can say to that is....wow. I won't be attending any more sing-alongs... It's a song best enjoyed alone (rather than singing alongside children).
Well this book satisfies lit majors and music aficionados. The first few chapters provide everything you wanted to know about the history of the song; how it was a failure at worst, mostly ignored at best when it was recorded in 1984 by Cohen, to a reference to what we all know it has become today. Within the first 60 pages, the reader gets this history plus delicious literary interpretation of the lyrics, the musical components, and the variations. However, by page 70, I realized that the whole rest of the book will just be a history and interpretation of each and every recorded version of the song, and I don't really need 160 more pages of this. So I quit on page 78 and feel content and properly educated.
I was right about that verse, by the way, and I was also right that the majority of fans of the song pay no attention at all to the lyrics. In fact, some people even mistake it for a religious hymn simply because of the title and chorus. ! All I can say to that is....wow. I won't be attending any more sing-alongs... It's a song best enjoyed alone (rather than singing alongside children).
I think lovers of songwriting/pop music are the target audience. The book attempts light biography on Cohen and Buckley, but the writing is most satisfying when discussing the nuts and bolts of the song. I would definitely say that Light's analysis will make an impact next time I hear the song. I think the book makes a strong argument (perhaps accidentally) that the song is due for a long break from popular culture.
Spectacular, fascinating book! Loved every minute of it!!
If you're familiar with any of the myriad versions of the song Halleluja, [and if you aren't, really, what rock have you been living under?!] then you will be fascinated with the extensive research and interviews with absolutely everyone ever connected to it that the author does for this exhaustive, thoughtful and insightful examination of the highly unlikely but meteoric rise of the song to iconic status.
The main anchors of the book are the songwriter - Canadian legend Leonard Cohen - and the obscure singer - Jeff Buckley - who's version is largely considered to be the definitive, and most celebrated one. I'd never heard of Buckley before this, and that is just one of many aspects about this song's long and storied history that I had never heard, but all of it was so engrossing.
The path the song took from Cohen, through Buckley, and then into a frenzied over-the-top number of covers by everyone from John Bon Jovi to soprano Renee Fleming, and from appearances in the Movie Shrek, to usage at weddings, funerals and September 11th ceremonies and Haiti relief telethons is nothing short of bizarre for an oddity of a song. A song that's lyrics make either no sense or are revelatory in their power to touch the listener.
And yet, as the author demonstrates, there is just something magical about the song, that somehow manages to captivate, touch and seep into the consciousness of every new generation of song-lovers who hear it, and embrace it in one or more of its seemingly endless incarnations.
I have loved this song forever, but I had very little conception of the twisty-turney route the song took on it's path to fame [or infamy, depending on whom you ask, and which versions you listen to!].
As I was reading the book, I went to YouTube and listened to almost every version the author examines and it was very interesting and educational. Typically, I am a purist with songs, and usually prefer the versions closest to originals, and more pure and simple versions to vocal theatrics.
However, after reading more about the song, as conceived by Cohen, as well as the ways the song has touched other performers and how and why they presented it as they did really gave me a new appreciation for how a song can be morphed and changed by different performers, but still hang onto a foundation and an appeal throughout different performances.
I found this book un-put-down-able, and would highly recommend it either to fans of this song who may not know what a storied history it has, or to fans of music history in general, who may enjoy learning what a tortuous and circuitous path a famous song may take on its way to becoming iconic.
If you're familiar with any of the myriad versions of the song Halleluja, [and if you aren't, really, what rock have you been living under?!] then you will be fascinated with the extensive research and interviews with absolutely everyone ever connected to it that the author does for this exhaustive, thoughtful and insightful examination of the highly unlikely but meteoric rise of the song to iconic status.
The main anchors of the book are the songwriter - Canadian legend Leonard Cohen - and the obscure singer - Jeff Buckley - who's version is largely considered to be the definitive, and most celebrated one. I'd never heard of Buckley before this, and that is just one of many aspects about this song's long and storied history that I had never heard, but all of it was so engrossing.
The path the song took from Cohen, through Buckley, and then into a frenzied over-the-top number of covers by everyone from John Bon Jovi to soprano Renee Fleming, and from appearances in the Movie Shrek, to usage at weddings, funerals and September 11th ceremonies and Haiti relief telethons is nothing short of bizarre for an oddity of a song. A song that's lyrics make either no sense or are revelatory in their power to touch the listener.
And yet, as the author demonstrates, there is just something magical about the song, that somehow manages to captivate, touch and seep into the consciousness of every new generation of song-lovers who hear it, and embrace it in one or more of its seemingly endless incarnations.
I have loved this song forever, but I had very little conception of the twisty-turney route the song took on it's path to fame [or infamy, depending on whom you ask, and which versions you listen to!].
As I was reading the book, I went to YouTube and listened to almost every version the author examines and it was very interesting and educational. Typically, I am a purist with songs, and usually prefer the versions closest to originals, and more pure and simple versions to vocal theatrics.
However, after reading more about the song, as conceived by Cohen, as well as the ways the song has touched other performers and how and why they presented it as they did really gave me a new appreciation for how a song can be morphed and changed by different performers, but still hang onto a foundation and an appeal throughout different performances.
I found this book un-put-down-able, and would highly recommend it either to fans of this song who may not know what a storied history it has, or to fans of music history in general, who may enjoy learning what a tortuous and circuitous path a famous song may take on its way to becoming iconic.
I love this song, which is the main thing that attracted me to the book. This book had a fantastic start, and really held my interest for the first half. Then it just turned into an endless listing of which singers did which versions and what verses they included and cut and why, and it got to be quite a drag. Even the bit towards the end about Cohen having to hit the tour circuit to make money in his 70s wasn't enough to save the second half of the book, in my opinion. I would give the first part 4 stars, and the second part close to 2 stars.
This is an interesting, if somewhat obsessive and occasionally repetitive, story of the song 'Hallelujah,' its history, and critiques of a multitude of permutations. It's really such a beautiful song, but it seems remarkable that a song could have a history long enough to write a book about, and honestly, I feel this book could have been shorter. The actual bits about Cohen, Buckley, and the rise of the song are great. However, the author seems to feel that just isn't enough and either has to talk to practically every artist who has ever recorded the song, or quote some interview where they talked about their choices in recording the song. For a song that has so many different variations, the artists tend to say pretty much the same thing. Over and over again. Where Light really shines is when he analyzes the poetry of the lyrics and critiques the individual performances. I do encourage anyone who reads the book to search out some of the performances he writes about, but be warned. A little goes a long way. One of the unfortunate side effects is that you will not want to hear this song again any time in the near future. Light talks about the song's overkill in pop culture. Ironically he adds to it.
While I tired of the endless iteration of maudlin uses of this song that I love and the excessive number of recent covers, this was a really clever approach to a cultural marker. The book was most successful when profiling the seminal performers, in addition to detailing the multiple symbolical and cultural meanings of the lyrics and the song itself.
informative
reflective
relaxing
medium-paced
A fitting tribute to Cohen, Buckley, and Hallelujah. "It's for people who are lovers. It's for people who have been lovers. You are at last somewhere. Until then it's hallelujah." - Jeff Buckley