Ain't No Cure for Love

Last updated

"Ain't No Cure for Love"
Song by Leonard Cohen
from the album I'm Your Man
Released2 February 1988
Genre
Length4:50
Label Columbia
Songwriter(s) Leonard Cohen
Producer(s) Leonard Cohen

"Ain't No Cure for Love" is a song written by the Canadian singer-songwriter Leonard Cohen.

It was first released by the American singer Jennifer Warnes on her 1987 Leonard Cohen tribute album Famous Blue Raincoat and subsequently appeared as the second track on Cohen's 1988 studio album I'm Your Man.

Theme and lyrics

As its title suggests, the theme of the song is a common and traditional one for a love song. However, the lyrics of Warnes' and Cohen's recorded versions of the song are significantly different from one another. At the length of 3:22, compared to Cohen's 4:50, Warnes' 1987 recording contains five verses, compared to Cohen's six, only the first two of which it shares with Cohen's recording of 1988.

Related Research Articles

Jennifer Jean Warnes is an American singer and songwriter who has performed as a vocalist on a number of film soundtracks. She has won two Grammy Awards, in 1983 for the Joe Cocker duet "Up Where We Belong", and in 1987 for the Bill Medley duet "(I've Had) The Time of My Life". Warnes also collaborated closely with Leonard Cohen.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Patrick Leonard</span> American musician, producer (born 1956)

Patrick Ray Leonard is an American songwriter, keyboardist, film composer, and music producer, best known for his longtime collaboration with Madonna. His work with Madonna includes her albums True Blue (1986), Who's That Girl (1987), Like a Prayer (1989), I'm Breathless (1990) and Ray of Light (1998). He scored Madonna's 2008 documentary I Am Because We Are, played keyboards with her at Live Aid (1985), and was musical director and keyboardist on The Virgin Tour (1985) and the Who's That Girl World Tour (1987).

<i>Songs of Love and Hate</i> 1971 studio album by Leonard Cohen

Songs of Love and Hate is the third studio album by Canadian singer-songwriter Leonard Cohen. Produced by Bob Johnston, the album was released on March 19, 1971, through Columbia Records.

<i>The Future</i> (Leonard Cohen album) 1992 studio album by Leonard Cohen

The Future is the ninth studio album by the Canadian singer-songwriter Leonard Cohen, released in 1992. Almost an hour in length, it was Cohen's longest album up to that date. Both the fall of the Berlin Wall and the 1992 Los Angeles riots took place while Cohen was writing and recording the album, which expressed his sense of the world's turbulence. The album was recorded with a large cast of musicians and engineers in several different studios; the credits list almost 30 female singers. The album built on the success of Cohen's previous album, I'm Your Man, and garnered overwhelmingly positive reviews. The Future made the Top 40 in the UK album charts, went double platinum in Canada, and sold a quarter of a million copies in the U.S., which had previously been unenthusiastic about Cohen's albums.

<i>Recent Songs</i> 1979 studio album by Leonard Cohen

Recent Songs is the sixth studio album by Leonard Cohen, released in 1979. Produced by Cohen alongside Henry Lewy, it was a return to his normal acoustic folk music sound after the Phil Spector-driven experimentation of Death of a Ladies' Man, but now with many jazz and Oriental influences.

<i>Im Your Man</i> (Leonard Cohen album) 1988 studio album by Leonard Cohen

I'm Your Man is the eighth studio album by Canadian singer-songwriter Leonard Cohen, released on February 2, 1988, by Columbia Records. The album marked Cohen's further move to a more modern sound, with many songs having a synthesizer-oriented production. It soon became the most successful studio album which Cohen had released in the US, and it reached number one in several European countries, transforming Cohen into a best-selling artist.

<i>Various Positions</i> 1984 studio album by Leonard Cohen

Various Positions is the seventh studio album by Leonard Cohen, released in December 1984. It marked not only his turn to a modern sound and use of synthesizers, but also, after the harmonies and backing vocals from Jennifer Warnes on the previous Recent Songs (1979), an even greater contribution from Warnes, who is credited with Cohen as vocalist on all of the tracks.

<i>Im Your Fan</i> 1991 compilation album by Various artists

I'm Your Fan: The Songs of Leonard Cohen is a tribute album to Leonard Cohen, released in 1991, produced by the French music magazine Les Inrockuptibles. The album features Cohen's songs interpreted by some of the most respected rock acts of the time. Its name is a play on the title of Cohen's album I'm Your Man.

<i>Famous Blue Raincoat</i> (album) 1986 studio album by Jennifer Warnes

Famous Blue Raincoat: The Songs of Leonard Cohen is the sixth studio album recorded by the American singer Jennifer Warnes. It debuted on the Billboard 200 on February 14, 1987, and peaked at No. 72 in the US Billboard chart, No.33 in the UK albums chart, and No.8 in Canada. Originally released by Cypress Records, it was reissued by Private Music after Cypress went out of business. It is the only Jennifer Warnes album to make the UK albums chart.

"Everybody Knows" is a song written by Canadian singer-songwriter Leonard Cohen and collaborator Sharon Robinson. It has often been covered and used in soundtracks.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">First We Take Manhattan</span> Song by Leonard Cohen

"First We Take Manhattan" is a song written by Canadian singer-songwriter Leonard Cohen. It was originally recorded by American singer Jennifer Warnes on her 1986 Cohen tribute album Famous Blue Raincoat, which consisted entirely of songs written or co-written by Cohen.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Perla Batalla</span> American singer-songwriter

Perla Batalla is an American vocalist, composer and arranger who first gained international attention as a backup singer for Leonard Cohen before embarking on a solo career at his encouragement. Her debut album, Perla Batalla, was released on Discovery Records in 1994. She formed her own record label, Mechuda Music, and released the album Mestiza in 1998, making sales through her website. Discoteca Batalla (2002) was recorded as an homage to her parents' record shop of the same name. In 2005, Batalla recorded a tribute album to Cohen, titled Bird on the Wire, and featured in Hal Willner's Cohen tribute concert film, Leonard Cohen: I'm Your Man.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Julie Christensen</span> American singer-songwriter (born 1956)

Julie Christensen is an American singer and songwriter. Noted for its versatility, Christensen's music has been praised by critics. As a solo artist, Christensen has released nine albums as of 2023.

<i>The Essential Leonard Cohen</i> 2002 greatest hits album by Leonard Cohen

The Essential Leonard Cohen is a career-spanning collection of Leonard Cohen songs released in 2002. It is part of Sony's The Essential series.

<i>More Best of Leonard Cohen</i> 1997 greatest hits album by Leonard Cohen

More Best of Leonard Cohen is a collection of Leonard Cohen songs released in 1997.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Leonard Cohen discography</span>

Leonard Cohen was a Canadian singer-songwriter and poet who was active in music from 1967 until his death in 2016. Cohen released 14 studio albums and eight live albums during the course of a recording career lasting almost 50 years, throughout which he remained an active poet. His entire catalogue is available on Columbia Records. His 1967 debut Songs of Leonard Cohen earned an RIAA gold record; he followed up with three more highly acclaimed albums: Songs from a Room (1969), Songs of Love and Hate (1971) and New Skin for the Old Ceremony (1974), before allowing Phil Spector to produce Death of a Ladies' Man for Warner Bros. Records in 1977. Cohen returned to Columbia in 1979 for Recent Songs, but the label declined to release his next album, Various Positions (1984) in the US, leaving it to American shops to import it from CBS Canada. In 1988, Columbia got behind Cohen again and gave full support to I'm Your Man, which brought his career to new heights, and Cohen followed it with 1992's The Future.

"Take This Waltz" is a song by Canadian singer-songwriter Leonard Cohen, originally released as part of the 1986 Federico García Lorca tribute album Poets in New York and as a single.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Leonard Cohen</span> Canadian singer-songwriter and poet (1934–2016)

Leonard Norman Cohen was a Canadian songwriter, singer, poet, and novelist. Themes commonly explored throughout his work include faith and mortality, isolation and depression, betrayal and redemption, social and political conflict, and sexual and romantic love, desire, regret, and loss. He was inducted into the Canadian Music Hall of Fame, the Canadian Songwriters Hall of Fame, and the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. He was invested as a Companion of the Order of Canada, the nation's highest civilian honour. In 2011, he received one of the Prince of Asturias Awards for literature and the ninth Glenn Gould Prize.

"The Gypsy's Wife" is a song written by the Canadian singer-songwriter Leonard Cohen that was first released on his sixth studio album Recent Songs (1979). Live recordings of it appear as the fourth track on Field Commander Cohen: Tour of 1979 (2001) and as the thirteenth track on Cohen's Live in London (2009), and the sixth track on ‘Live in Dublin (2013). It continued to feature regularly in his stage performances until his death.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">I'm Your Man (Leonard Cohen song)</span> 1988 single by Leonard Cohen

"I'm Your Man" is a song written by Canadian singer-songwriter Leonard Cohen, which appeared on Cohen's 1988 album, I'm Your Man. Released as a single in 1988, it reached number 57 in the French charts after Cohen's death in 2016.

References

  1. Itkowksy, Liz (1 February 2023). "Leonard Cohen's 'I'm Your Man' Turns 35". Albumism. Retrieved 29 September 2024.