Dear Heather

Last updated
Dear Heather
LeonardCohenDearHeather.jpg
Studio album by
Leonard Cohen
ReleasedOctober 26, 2004
Recorded1979, July 9, 1985, 2002–04
Genre Soft rock, contemporary folk
Length49:27
Label Columbia
Producer Leanne Ungar, Sharon Robinson, Anjani Thomas, Henry Lewy
Leonard Cohen chronology
The Essential Leonard Cohen
(2002)		Dear Heather
(2004)		 Live in London
(2009)

Dear Heather is the 11th studio album by Canadian singer-songwriter Leonard Cohen, released by Columbia Records in 2004. It was dedicated "in memory of Jack McClelland 1922-2004."

Contents

Background

The album features Cohen experimenting with different musical approaches. On "To a Teacher", Cohen quotes himself from The Spice-Box of Earth , his second collection of poetry from 1961. The basic tracks of "The Faith" dated back to the Recent Songs sessions from 1979. [1] The album includes a live version of the country standard "Tennessee Waltz", which was taken from a performance during his tour in support of the LP Various Positions . Considering the plethora of sources from which the material sprang, Cohen had originally wanted to call the album Old Ideas, but eventually changed it to Dear Heather for fear that fans might assume it was merely a compilation or "best of" package ( Old Ideas would be the title of Cohen's next studio album). There is increase in spoken poetry over singing, with two songs featuring words by other writers: Lord Byron ("No More a-Roving") and F. R. Scott ("Villanelle for our Time"). [2] The gospel-tinged "On That Day" addresses the still-raw tragedy and horror of the 9/11 terrorist attacks.

Reception

Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
SourceRating
Metacritic 74/100 [3]
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar half.svgStar empty.svg [4]
Blender Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svg [5]
Entertainment Weekly B− [6]
The Guardian Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svgStar empty.svg [7]
Mojo Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svg [8]
NME 7/10 [9]
Pitchfork 8.0/10 [10]
Rolling Stone Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar half.svgStar empty.svg [11]
Uncut Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svg [12]
The Village Voice B [13]

The album reached No. 131 on the Billboard 200 and Internet Album charts and #5 on the Canadian Album charts. It was Cohen's highest charting album in America since 1969's Songs from a Room . The album's highest chart position came in Poland where it reached #1 on the Polish Albums Chart. [14] Dear Heather was not received as well by critics as Ten New Songs and Cohen's 2001 live album Field Commander Cohen: Tour of 1979 had been. Some critics found it dour - although such notices had been commonplace throughout various stages of Cohen's career - and noted a tone of finality in the offering. The New York Times reported, "Some of the songs are virtually unadorned with poetic imagery and fall flat; in others, Mr. Cohen uses his calmly sepulchral voice for speech rather than melody. The production is homemade." Stylus Magazine deemed it an "unsatisfying way to end such an intriguing career." In the November 2004 Rolling Stone review of the LP, Michaelangelo Matos praised the album, calling Cohen "Canada's hippest 70 year old" and insisting that "given how monochromatic Cohen tends to be, the jumbled feel works in Dear Heather's favor." Thom Jurek of AllMusic argues that Dear Heather is Cohen's "most upbeat" album: "Rather than focus on loss as an end, it looks upon experience as something to be accepted as a portal to wisdom and gratitude...If this is indeed his final offering as a songwriter, it is a fine, decent, and moving way to close this chapter of the book of his life."

Track listing

All tracks are written by Leonard Cohen, except where noted

No.TitleLyricsMusicProducer(s)Length
1."Go No More a-Roving" Lord Byron   Sharon Robinson 3:40
2."Because Of"  Leanne Ungar3:00
3."The Letters" Cohen, RobinsonRobinson4:44
4."Undertow"  Ungar4:20
5."Morning Glory"  Ungar4:20
6."On That Day" Cohen, Anjani Thomas Thomas2:04
7."Villanelle for Our Time" F. R. Scott  Ungar5:55
8."There for You" Cohen, RobinsonRobinson4:36
9."Dear Heather"  Ungar3:41
10."Nightingale" Cohen, ThomasThomas, Ed Sanders2:27
11."To a Teacher"  Ungar2:32
12."The Faith" based on "Un Canadien errant"Ungar, Henry Lewy4:17
13."Tennessee Waltz" (Live at Montreux Jazz Festival) Redd Stewart; additional verse: Cohen Pee Wee King Cohen4:05
Total length:49:27

Personnel

Track notes

Charts

Certifications

RegionCertification Certified units/sales
Denmark (IFPI Danmark) [34] Gold20,000^
Norway (IFPI Norway) [35] Gold20,000*
Poland (ZPAV) [36] Gold20,000*
United Kingdom (BPI) [37] Silver60,000^

* Sales figures based on certification alone.
^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.

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References

  1. ↑ Reynolds, Anthony (2012-06-26). Leonard Cohen: A Remarkable Life. Omnibus Press. ISBN   978-0-85712-784-6.
  2. ↑ Mus, Francis (2020-08-25). The Demons of Leonard Cohen. University of Ottawa Press. ISBN   978-0-7766-3122-6.
  3. ↑ "Reviews for Dear Heather by Leonard Cohen". Metacritic . Retrieved May 1, 2019.
  4. ↑ Jurek, Thom. "Dear Heather – Leonard Cohen". AllMusic . Retrieved May 1, 2019.
  5. ↑ Hunter, James (November 2004). "Leonard Cohen: Dear Heather". Blender (31): 131. Archived from the original on 4 December 2004. Retrieved 17 February 2020.
  6. ↑ Browne, David (April 3, 2005). "The latest by Nick Cave and Leonard Cohen". Entertainment Weekly . Retrieved May 1, 2019.
  7. ↑ Petridis, Alexis (October 22, 2004). "Leonard Cohen, Dear Heather". The Guardian . London. Retrieved May 1, 2019.
  8. ↑ Simmons, Sylvie (November 2004). "First Class Male". Mojo (132): 96.
  9. ↑ "Leonard Cohen: Dear Heather". NME : 65. October 30, 2004.
  10. ↑ Howe, Brian (November 3, 2004). "Leonard Cohen: Dear Heather". Pitchfork . Retrieved May 1, 2019.
  11. ↑ Matos, Michaelangelo (November 11, 2004). "Dear Heather". Rolling Stone . Retrieved May 1, 2019.
  12. ↑ Wilde, Jon (November 2004). "Bard of Paradise". Uncut (90): 114.
  13. ↑ Christgau, Robert (November 16, 2004). "Consumer Guide: Sonic Refuges". The Village Voice . New York. Retrieved May 1, 2019.
  14. ↑ "Oficjalna lista sprzedaży :: OLiS - Official Retail Sales Chart - 8 November 2004 (sales for the period 25.10.2004 - 01.11.2004)". OLiS . Retrieved 2012-02-10.
  15. ↑ "Leonard Cohen - Dear Heather". Discogs. Retrieved 2021-12-21.
  16. ↑ Ryan, Gavin (2011). Australia's Music Charts 1988–2010. Mt. Martha, VIC, Australia: Moonlight Publishing.
  17. ↑ "Austriancharts.at – Leonard Cohen – Dear Heather" (in German). Hung Medien. Retrieved November 24, 2016.
  18. ↑ "Ultratop.be – Leonard Cohen – Dear Heather" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved November 24, 2016.
  19. ↑ "Ultratop.be – Leonard Cohen – Dear Heather" (in French). Hung Medien. Retrieved November 24, 2016.
  20. ↑ "Leonard Cohen Chart History (Canadian Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved November 24, 2016.
  21. ↑ "Danishcharts.dk – Leonard Cohen – Dear Heather". Hung Medien. Retrieved November 24, 2016.
  22. ↑ "Dutchcharts.nl – Leonard Cohen – Dear Heather" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved November 24, 2016.
  23. ↑ "Leonard Cohen: Dear Heather" (in Finnish). Musiikkituottajat – IFPI Finland. Retrieved November 24, 2016.
  24. ↑ "Lescharts.com – Leonard Cohen – Dear Heather". Hung Medien. Retrieved November 24,2016.
  25. ↑ "Offiziellecharts.de – Leonard Cohen – Dear Heather" (in German). GfK Entertainment Charts. Retrieved November 24, 2016.
  26. ↑ "Italiancharts.com – Leonard Cohen – Dear Heather". Hung Medien. Retrieved November 24, 2016.
  27. ↑ "Norwegiancharts.com – Leonard Cohen – Dear Heather". Hung Medien. Retrieved November 24, 2016.
  28. ↑ "Portuguesecharts.com – Leonard Cohen – Dear Heather". Hung Medien. Retrieved November 24, 2016.
  29. ↑ "Swedishcharts.com – Leonard Cohen – Dear Heather". Hung Medien. Retrieved November 24, 2016.
  30. ↑ "Swisscharts.com – Leonard Cohen – Dear Heather". Hung Medien. Retrieved November 24, 2016.
  31. ↑ "Leonard Cohen | Artist | Official Charts". UK Albums Chart. Retrieved November 24, 2016.
  32. ↑ "Leonard Cohen Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved November 24, 2016.
  33. ↑ "Jaaroverzichten 2004". Ultratop. Retrieved March 23, 2021.
  34. ↑ "Guld og platin i 2004". IFPI Denmark (in Danish). Archived from the original on June 11, 2007. Retrieved July 14, 2022.
  35. ↑ "IFPI Norsk platebransje Trofeer 1993–2011" (in Norwegian). IFPI Norway. Retrieved February 9, 2020.
  36. ↑ "Wyróżnienia – Złote płyty CD - Archiwum - Przyznane w 2004 roku" (in Polish). Polish Society of the Phonographic Industry . Retrieved February 9, 2020.
  37. ↑ "British album certifications – Leonard Cohlen – Ten New Songs". British Phonographic Industry . Retrieved November 3, 2017.
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