Leonard Cohen: everybody knows - Hardcover

Leonard Cohen's songs and poetry are defined by their emotional and intellectual intelligence. Lyrically potent, his records are full of romance, innuendo and humour, and in performance his smoke-black vocal cords navigate the most sophisticated and arresting of melodies. He has captivated generations of listeners and audiences around the world and his work has inspired many other performers from Johnny Cash to Nick Cave, Judy Collins to Adele. There have been over three hundred cover versions of the sublime 'Hallelujah', which took Cohen ten years to perfect.

Leonard Cohen arrived fashionably late in Greenwich Village as the sixties' folk-music party was in full swing. He was persuaded by Judy Collins to perform his own songs and released his debut album - Songs of Leonard Cohen - in 1967. At thirty-three years of age, he was the adult in the room, a room brimming, then as now, with literary pretension and artistic self-importance.

But Cohen, already established as a respected poet and novelist, was the real deal. In the decades since, he's battled with drugs, love, and bankruptcy; become a Buddhist monk while simultaneously reaffirming his Jewish faith; and recorded eleven more albums of unfailingly affecting beauty.

This revised edition of the critically-acclaimed Everybody Knows is a fitting tribute to Leonard Cohen's genius, illustrated with many rare photographs and items of memorabilia and integrated with the recollections and comments of those who have worked with and are close to him. With insider's knowledge Harvey Kubernik reviews this unique achievement, beginning with the young poet and author starting out in his home city of Montreal, through to his latest album, Old Ideas, and his acclaimed worldwide concert tours.