Review Summary: I don't need a reason for what I became.
Following Leonard Cohen's death a mere three weeks after the release of his most recent album,
You Want It Darker, it was a common occurrence for the average music fan to draw comparisons between that album and the other major swan-song record of 2016, David Bowie's iconic
Blackstar. And while both records have somewhat similar geneses, conscious observations of the imminence of death from men who know their time is short, it's how they deal with death that differentiates the two of them.
Blackstar deals in the abstract, hiding its subject matter in metaphors, vague lyrics and dense, frenetic backing tracks that don't often reflect the moribundity of Bowie's situation, except to showcase an artist at the top of his game who accepts death as a soon-forthcoming inevitability while simultaneously not being ready for it to occur. It's what makes that album one of Bowie's best and a classic to be remembered for all of time, and it's what caused it to make such an impact immediately after Bowie passed away, with listeners unraveling various references to the illness in each of the album's seven tracks.
You Want It Darker is not nearly so subtle with its moribund analogies, and its opener/title track goes so far as to hit you over the head with these sentiments, thanks to its haunting choral chants and unabashedly blunt lyrics such as "
if you are the dealer, I'm out of the game" and "
Hineni, Hineni, I'm ready, my Lord". Cohen's vocals have never sounded more weathered and cavernous than on here, which only helps add to the overall message of the record: after 82 years, he's tired and ready to stop fighting his battles. This album is the rare portrayal of a man who embraces death with open arms, perhaps almost longingly. And yet there's never the feeling that Cohen is particularly satisfied with his current position; while the lyrics of "Steer Your Way" reaffirm Leonard's faith in traditional Buddhist philosophies, some of his teachings are brought into question on tracks like the melancholy "It Seemed the Better Way". It doesn't seem as though Cohen rejects anything in the way of spirituality, but rather he appears to be taking a "what will come, will come" attitude, and this uncertainty gives way to a slightly unsatisfied feeling.
By and large this album is built upon a combination of reflection and resignation: Cohen reflects on his life, love (both won and lost), and the Greater Truth while simultaneously surrendering himself to the inevitable. The lush piano and string ballad "Treaty" melds all these themes wonderfully, combining simultaneous analogies about giving up on life and love with religious imagery and rendering itself an instant classic in the process. As mentioned before, the title track also grants itself particular mention because of how directly Cohen addresses the subject matter at hand: one could easily interpret it as a final conversation with God himself from the lyrics alone, and the production work by Cohen's son Adam (which is exquisite throughout) reinforces that imagery excellently. The album is impressively well-balanced, being appropriately somber without dragging unnecessarily. But what's most staggering about
You Want It Darker is its brutal honesty: in such poor health at this point he had to record the entire album sitting in a chair, Cohen's work, whether it be vocal or lyrical, is remarkably authentic and
real, and as a result it sounds more like a deathbed confessional than perhaps any other record of its kind. In that respect, it's unfair to see Cohen's swan-song as inherently inferior to Bowie's
Blackstar: Bowie's sentiments, while perhaps artistically unequaled, are not necessarily unique and have been captured in musical form by other artists; the portrait of the artist who accepts death while being conscious of what he is losing in the process. Apart perhaps from Johnny Cash, it's hard to name an artist who has addressed death as directly and as personally as Cohen does; as he sees it, there is nothing to lose because all that is of worth has been exhausted, and now there is nothing to do except wait for the next journey. Thank you, Mr. Cohen, for sharing this particular journey with us.
