St. Vincent: ‘Covers of Leonard Cohen are the worst thing in the world’
Cover songs are among the most polarising tracks across the musical landscape. What often begins as a heartfelt tribute to the artists who inspired you can often come across as an insult to the original version – not least when you are attempting to cover one of the greatest songwriters of all time, Leonard Cohen.
The Oklahoma-born Anne Erin Clark, or St. Vincent to you and I, seems to agree with that sentiment. During a recent appearance on BBC Radio Two, Vincent spoke of her utter adoration for Leonard Cohen and lamented those who attempt to reimagine his work. She called Cohen’s iconic 1984 track ‘Hallelujah’ “an absolute masterpiece”, which makes the many cover versions all the more insulting.
Speaking to host Jo Whiley, Vincent called ‘Hallelujah’, “one of the best songs ever written”.
Continuing, she explained, “[It’s] about the complication that it is to be alive — and the agony and the ecstasy and everything and all of the inherent conflict therein,” before launching into a scathing review of artists who take on the track.
To be clear, St. Vincent’s beef seems to be mainly concerned with the countless hopefuls who would perform the song on television talent shows. “For a period of time, it became a song that people would cover on American Idol,” she said, before imitating the vocal style of many of these contestants and confirming, “It’s the worst thing in the world”.
For anybody who has ever watched these singing competitions, it is hard to dispute Vincent’s claim. After all, Alexandra Burke won The X-Factor in 2008 with a cover of Cohen’s track. Over the years, hundreds of artists have attempted to recreate the genius of Cohen’s original, and most have failed.
That being said, there are some undeniably fantastic covers of ‘Hallelujah’ too. For instance, Jeff Buckely’s seminal album Grace contains an irrefutable version of the track, certainly not in line with the versions performed by American Idol contestants. There is also John Cale’s 1991 version, which was the first cover of the track to gain traction, so while it is a great cover, perhaps Cale has a lot to answer for in that sense.
Revisit the original 1984 version of ‘Hallelujah’ below, and see for yourself why the countless terrible covers are a cause of such disgust for Cohen fans like St. Vincent.
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