Five Leonard Cohen covers better than the original
Leonard Cohen is a music icon who owed a lot to covers. In fact, he was indebted to them to a great extent as other artists took his work to new levels.
The world may never have known who Cohen was if it wasn’t for covers. It wasn’t until 1966 that Judy Collins covered a once-unknown song by a once-unknown artist and boomed it to notoriety. Her version of Cohen’s classic ‘Suzanne’ made the track a hit and, in turn, made him a folk star too.
Collins would go on to record several of Cohen’s songs, as would hundreds of other artists. Later in his career, when he was struggling to maintain his place in the cultural conversation, Jeff Buckley’s cover of ‘Hallelujah’ revived attention on his work.
With so many timeless anthems, like ‘Hey, That’s No Way To Say Goodbye’, ‘Bird On A Wire’, ‘I’m Your Man’, and more, it’s no wonder Cohen has become one of the most covered artists around. His poetic lyrics and ever-changing music style allow artists to run wild, often totally reinventing his songs into their own.
But there are a few versions that stand out as particularly special. Giving the original a run for their money, a handful of artists have done covers so beautiful and so powerful that they might just usurp Cohen’s own.
The five best Leonard Cohen covers:
5. Nick Cave – ‘Avalanche’
Nick Cave has spoken a lot about the impact Leonard Cohen had on him. He described the artist as “the greatest songwriter of them all,” crediting him for making Cave think deeper about lyricism. “It really kinda changed the way I looked at things,” he added, “He had a tendency to air his linen in public in a way. I thought that was all very impressive at the time. I still do, of course.”
On his 2021 compilation, B-Sides and Rarities (pt. ii), Cave shared a stunning cover of ‘Avalanche’, a piece from Cohen’s 1971 Songs Of Love And Hate. Turning the original rolling guitar track into a haunting piano ballad, Cave’s version lets the lyricism sit undisturbed as the focus of the song.
4. Anna Calvi – ‘Joan Of Arc’
Shared as a B-side to one of her first singles in 2011, Anna Calvi decided that when she introduced herself to the world, she’d hold Cohen’s hand. As a testament to the impact the musician had on her, the choice to share that early limelight with his work was a statement of intention for the kind of artist she would be: mysterious, poetic and simply, very good.
But Calvi’s version of ‘Joan Of Arc’ is very different from the original. Cohen’s 1971 song is a sparse one, with minimalistic guitars that let his vocals sit at the very front. But Calvi removed all of them, instead playing it as a fully instrumental jazz and blues guitar track. Showing off her skill and talent with her instrument, her take on ‘Joan Of Arc’ asserts her as one of the finest but most underrated players of our time.
3. Françoise Hardy – ‘Suzanne’
There have been so many amazing covers of ‘Suzanne’. The original Judy Collins version that first drew the world’s attention to Cohen’s work is up there. Nina Simone even shared a beautiful piano take on the song. But there is magic in Françoise Hardy’s dreamy French version.
Translating the track into her silky mother tongue, the French language makes this beautiful ballad even more romantic. Hardy’s angelic vocals seem to float along the track, providing such a stark but stunning contrast to Cohen’s gruff voice.
2. Anohni – ‘If It Be Your Will’
In 2005, a star-studded lineup of musicians came together to celebrate Cohen’s work. Putting on a tribute show at the Sydney Opera House, acts like Nick Cave, the Wainwright family, Jarvis Cocker, and Beth Orton took turns performing their favourite Cohen song. Captured in a 2006 concert documentary, one performance stands out.
When Anohni takes to the stage, the atmosphere transforms into one of total and utter awe. Taken under Lou Reed’s wing as a kind of musical heir, their vocal talent has been spotlighted by the greats. Now giving back to Cohen, Anohni’s take on the devastating ballad ‘If It Be Your Will’ draws all the beauty and pain out of the lyrics. A masterpiece of vocal acrobatics and emotion, it’s surely exactly the kind of performance Cohen hoped the song would foster.
1. Jeff Buckley – ‘Hallelujah’
It would be wrong to make this list and not include Jeff Buckley’s iconic take on ‘Hallelujah’. A cover so stunning and so popular that it’s often mistaken for being Buckley’s own song. But his version is very different from the long and rolling original. It’s said that Cohen wrote anywhere between 80 and 180 draft verses for this song, seeing it as a kind of musical prayer that he just couldn’t seem to quit. Adding to it for five years, it was a hard-earned and long-awaited piece for Cohen, one that is full of strife.
But Buckley’s version makes it all sound so effortless. With his rich, velvety voice, the singer traverses Cohen’s verses with emotion yet ease. Boiling it down to the best lyrics but not making it too short or too radio-friendly, this hit cover version maintains the original heart and soul of the track but in a more accessible package. Cohen himself said of the cover, “I wrote the lyrics, but it is definitely a Buckley song”.
