Una grande occasione forse non del tutto riuscita.
Dopo ben nove anni dall'ultimo lavoro in studio, il granitico e inossidabile "The Future" del 1992, ci si aspettava grandi numeri dal ritorno in campo di Leonard Cohen, il cantore dell'anima più nascosta, il poeta del pessimismo e della malinconia più nera (ma proprio per questo più "genuina"), insomma...uno su cui si poteva puntare a colpo sicuro.
Dopo aver mollato la sua esistenza metropolitana ed aver cercato (invano?) la pace spirituale in un monastero buddista lontano da ogni segno di civiltà, da ogni contatto e da ogni "malsana" abitudine occidentale, il nostro "saggio" torna a noi portando con se dieci nuove canzoni, come recita il titolo dell'album in maniera tanto disarmante da suonare anche "meravigliosamente zen".
Dieci momenti di imbarazzante ambiguità e altalenante bellezza, divisi tra note e accordi semplici come un sasso gettato in uno stagno e passaggi più intensi (anche se abbastanza rari).
Brani interessanti e come al solito profondi per quanto riguarda i testi
("I saw you this morning./ You were moving so fast. /Can't seem to loosen my grip On the past /And I miss you so much/ There's no one in sight. And we're still making love"...canta in "In my secret Life") che ovviamente non possono prescindere dall'esperienza vissuta in un contesto così "fuori dal mondo" come un monastero tibetano.
Si parla infatti di esperienze mistiche ("By the rivers dark/ Where I could not see /Who was waiting there/Who was hunting me /And he cut my lip /And he cut my heart /So I could not drink /From the river dark" canta in "By the river dark"), di illuminazione ("Don't really know who sent me/To raise my voice and say:/May the lights in The Land of Plenty /Shine on the truth some day" canta in "The Land Of Plenty") e cose che suonano "diverse" nella loro continua ricerca di quella Verità Ultima sopra ogni cosa.
La sua voce poi, si inabissa in tonalità cupe tingendosi di insana oscurità e facendoci entrare in punta di piedi attraverso le sua basse vibrazioni "nella sua vita segreta", riuscendo a trasmettere quel fascino irresistibile, da sempre vero e proprio marchio di fabbrica del nostro cantautore americano.
Il disco si muove sinuoso e flemmatico tra atmosfere tenui e soffuse, profonde nei suoni tra tensioni appena accennate e un senso di appagata rilassatezza che fa sgorgare nuovi sentimenti ritrovati dopo la perdita della percezione e della coscienza perseverata in questi anni assenti.
Come ho già detto, musicalmente il disco è abbastanza scarno, per non dire semplicemente imbarazzante, ma la chiave di questo "nuovo Cohen" è da cercare altrove, in questo senso dello scrutare con "occhi nuovi" una realtà prima soltanto sfiorata, grazie forse alla grande carica dell'esperienza buddista accumulata e vissuta ("I fought against the bottle / But I had to do it drunk /Took my diamond to the pawnshop /But that don't make it junk /I know that I'm forgiven /But I don't know how I know/ I don't trust my inner feelings - Inner feelings come and go" canta in "That Don't Make It Junk") o il senso del "divino" in qualche modo sempre presente (sentire la cosmica "Here It Is" quasi un mantra ipnotico e circolare).
Certo manca il graffio o la forza morale di certe cose passate e qui le 10 dolci ballate latitano per quanto incisività o memorabilità, lasciandoci in certi passaggi l'amaro in bocca per il senso di sospensione che si respira qua e là.
Forse sono lontani i momenti in cui gente come Nick Cave, Jeff Buckley, Bob Dylan e lo stesso Lou Reed lo indicavano come punto di riferimento per la loro poetica comunicativa raccontando di amori finiti, di guerre, di donne o di semplici acquarelli stinti di anime pigre in cerca di quel non so chè che da dignità all'esistenza.
Qui, neppure la splendida voce di Sharon Robinson (autrice con Cohen anche della musica e gran parte dei testi) riesce a restituirci "quel" Cohen che conoscevamo. il Cohen di oggi è irrimediabilmente stanco (come confermerà il disco successivo) e fa tenerezza sentirlo ringraziare chi gli è stato vicino; uno come lui schivo e perennemente appartato che timidamente sembra quasi voglia "scusarsi" di essere tornato a dirci qualcosa di nuovo... E' un Cohen defilato e sicuramente invecchiato (o meglio "stagionato"), che si definisce si "felice" per una quiete ritrovata ma che, alla speranza e alla voglia di mettersi in gioco, preferisce una "rassegnata disillusione", morfina paliativa di quel male di vivere che solo i più grandi sanno convogliare in opere d'arte.
Un felice ritorno ma anche una disattesa che ci fa irrimediabilmente capire che le cose cambiano e che gli antichi fasti non tornano più: in pratica "la parabola della vita".
Nel bene e nel male.
Elenco tracce testi e video
01 In My Secret Life (04:57)
I saw you this morning.
You were moving so fast.
Can’t seem to loosen my grip
On the past.
And I miss you so much.
There’s no one in sight.
And we’re still making love
In My Secret Life.
I smile when I’m angry.
I cheat and I lie.
I do what I have to do
To get by.
But I know what is wrong,
And I know what is right.
And I’d die for the truth
In My Secret Life.
Hold on, hold on, my brother.
My sister, hold on tight.
I finally got my orders.
I’ll be marching through the morning,
Marching through the night,
Moving cross the borders
Of My Secret Life.
Looked through the paper.
Makes you want to cry.
Nobody cares if the people
Live or die.
And the dealer wants you thinking
That it’s either black or white.
Thank G-d it’s not that simple
In My Secret Life.
I bite my lip.
I buy what I’m told:
From the latest hit,
To the wisdom of old.
But I’m always alone.
And my heart is like ice.
And it’s crowded and cold
In My Secret Life.
02 A Thousand Kisses Deep (06:31)
The ponies run, the girls are young,
The odds are there to beat.
You win a while, and then it's done -
Your little winning streak.
And summoned now to deal
With your invincible defeat,
You live your life as if it's real,
A Thousand Kisses Deep.
I'm turning tricks, I'm getting fixed,
I'm back on Boogie Street.
You lose your grip, and then you slip
Into the Masterpiece.
And maybe I had miles to drive,
And promises to keep:
You ditch it all to stay alive,
A Thousand Kisses Deep.
And sometimes when the night is slow,
The wretched and the meek,
We gather up our hearts and go,
A Thousand Kisses Deep.
Confined to sex, we pressed against
The limits of the sea:
I saw there were no oceans left
For scavengers like me.
I made it to the forward deck
I blessed our remnant fleet -
And then consented to be wrecked,
A Thousand Kisses Deep.
I'm turning tricks, I'm getting fixed,
I'm back on Boogie Street.
I guess they won't exchange the gifts
That you were meant to keep.
And quiet is the thought of you
The file on you complete,
Except what we forgot to do,
A Thousand Kisses Deep.
And sometimes when the night is slow,
The wretched and the meek,
We gather up our hearts and go,
A Thousand Kisses Deep.
The ponies run, the girls are young,
The odds are there to beat...
06 By the Rivers Dark (05:22)
By the rivers dark
I wandered on.
I lived my life
in Babylon.
And I did forget
My holy song:
And I had no strength
in Babylon.
By the rivers dark
Where I could not see
Who was waiting there
Who was hunting me.
And he cut my lip
And he cut my heart.
So I could not drink
From the river dark.
And he covered me,
and I saw within,
My lawless heart
And my wedding ring.
I did not know
And I could not see
Who was waiting there,
Who was hunting me
By the rivers dark
I panicked on.
I belonged at last
To Babylon.
Then he struck my heart
With a deadly force,
And he said, "This heart"
It is not yours."
And he gave the wind
My wedding ring:
And he circled us
With everything.
By the rivers dark,
In a wounded dawn,
I live my life
In Babylon.
Though I take my song
From a withered limb,
Both song and tree,
They sing for him.
Be the truth unsaid
And the blessing gone,
If I forget
My Babylon.
I did not know
And I could not see
Who was waiting there.
Who was hunting me.
By the rivers dark,
Where it all goes on:
By the rivers dark,
In Babylon.
07 Alexandra Leaving (05:26)
Suddenly the night has grown colder.
The god of love preparing to depart.
Alexandra hoisted on his shoulder,
They slip between the sentries of the heart.
Upheld by the simplicities of pleasure,
They gain the light, they formlessly entwine;
And radiant beyond your widest measure
They fall among the voices and the wine.
It's not a trick, your senses all deceiving,
A fitful dream, the morning will exhaust �
Say goodbye to Alexandra leaving.
Then say goodbye to Alexandra lost.
Even though she sleeps upon your satin;
Even though she wakes you with a kiss.
Do not say the moment was imagined;
Do not stoop to strategies like this.
As someone long prepared for this to happen,
Go firmly to the window. Drink it in.
Exquisite music. Alexandra laughing.
Your firm commitments tangible again.
And you who had the honor of her evening,
And by the honor had your own restored �
Say goodbye to Alexandra leaving;
Alexandra leaving with her lord.
Even though she sleeps upon your satin;
Even though she wakes you with a kiss.
Do not say the moment was imagined;
Do not stoop to strategies like this.
As someone long prepared for the occasion;
In full command of every plan you wrecked �
Do not choose a coward�s explanation
that hides behind the cause and the effect.
And you who were bewildered by a meaning;
Whose code was broken, crucifix uncrossed �
Say goodbye to Alexandra leaving.
Then say goodbye to Alexandra lost.
Say goodbye to Alexandra leaving.
Then say goodbye to Alexandra lost.
10 The Land of Plenty (04:39)
Don't really have the courage
To stand there I must stand.
Don't really have the temperament
To lend a helping hand.
Don't really know who sent me
To raise my voice and say:
My the lights in The Land of Plenty
Shine on the truth some day.
I don't know why I come here,
Knowing as I do,
What you really think of me,
What I really think of you.
For the millions in the prison,
That wealth has set apart -
For the Christ who has not risen,
From the caverns of the heart -
For the innermost decision,
That we cannot but obey -
For what's left of our religion,
I lift my voice and pray:
May the lights in The Land of Plenty
Shine on the truth some day.
I know I said I'd meet you,
I'd meet you at the store,
But I can't buy it, baby.
I can't buy it anymore.
And I don't really know who sent me,
To raise my voice and say:
May the lights in The Land of Plenty
Shine on the truth some day.
For the innermost decision
That we cannot buy obey
For what's left of our religion
I lift my voice and pray:
May the lights in The Land of Plenty
Shine on the truth some day.
11 Everybody Knows (05:33)
Everybody knows that the dice are loaded
Everybody rolls with their fingers crossed
Everybody knows that the war is over
Everybody knows the good guys lost
Everybody knows the fight was fixed
The poor stay poor, the rich get rich
That's how it goes
Everybody knows
Everybody knows that the boat is leaking
Everybody knows that the captain lied
Everybody got this broken feeling
Like their father or their dog just died
Everybody talking to their pockets
Everybody wants a box of chocolates
And a long stem rose
Everybody knows
Everybody knows that you love me baby
Everybody knows that you really do
Everybody knows that you've been faithful
Ah give or take a night or two
Everybody knows you've been discreet
But there were so many people you just had to meet
Without your clothes
And everybody knows
Everybody knows, everybody knows
That's how it goes
Everybody knows
Everybody knows, everybody knows
That's how it goes
Everybody knows
And everybody knows that it's now or never
Everybody knows that it's me or you
And everybody knows that you live forever
Ah when you've done a line or two
Everybody knows the deal is rotten
Old Black Joe's still pickin' cotton
For your ribbons and bows
And everybody knows
And everybody knows that the Plague is coming
Everybody knows that it's moving fast
Everybody knows that the naked man and woman
Are just a shining artifact of the past
Everybody knows the scene is dead
But there's gonna be a meter on your bed
That will disclose
What everybody knows
And everybody knows that you're in trouble
Everybody knows what you've been through
From the bloody cross on top of Calvary
To the beach of Malibu
Everybody knows it's coming apart
Take one last look at this Sacred Heart
Before it blows
And everybody knows
Everybody knows, everybody knows
That's how it goes
Everybody knows
Oh everybody knows, everybody knows
That's how it goes
Everybody knows
12 Take This Waltz (06:00)
Now in Vienna there's ten pretty women
There's a shoulder where Death comes to cry
There's a lobby with nine hundred windows
There's a tree where the doves go to die
There's a piece that was torn from the morning
And it hangs in the Gallery of Frost
Ay, Ay, Ay, Ay
Take this waltz, take this waltz
Take this waltz with the clamp on its jaws
Oh I want you, I want you, I want you
On a chair with a dead magazine
In the cave at the tip of the lily
In some hallways where love's never been
On a bed where the moon has been sweating
In a cry filled with footsteps and sand
Ay, Ay, Ay, Ay
Take this waltz, take this waltz
Take its broken waist in your hand
This waltz, this waltz, this waltz, this waltz
With its very own breath of brandy and Death
Dragging its tail in the sea
There's a concert hall in Vienna
Where your mouth had a thousand reviews
There's a bar where the boys have stopped talking
They've been sentenced to death by the blues
Ah, but who is it climbs to your picture
With a garland of freshly cut tears?
Ay, Ay, Ay, Ay
Take this waltz, take this waltz
Take this waltz it's been dying for years
There's an attic where children are playing
Where I've got to lie down with you soon
In a dream of Hungarian lanterns
In the mist of some sweet afternoon
And I'll see what you've chained to your sorrow
All your sheep and your lilies of snow
Ay, Ay, Ay, Ay
Take this waltz, take this waltz
With its "I'll never forget you, you know!"
This waltz, this waltz, this waltz, this waltz
With its very own breath of brandy and Death
Dragging its tail in the sea
And I'll dance with you in Vienna
I'll be wearing a river's disguise
The hyacinth wild on my shoulder,
My mouth on the dew of your thighs
And I'll bury my soul in a scrapbook,
With the photographs there, and the moss
And I'll yield to the flood of your beauty
My cheap violin and my cross
And you'll carry me down on your dancing
To the pools that you lift on your wrist
Oh my love, Oh my love
Take this waltz, take this waltz
It's yours now. It's all that there is.
13 Tower of Song (05:39)
Well, my friends are gone and my hair is grey
I ache in the places where I used to play
And I'm crazy for love but I'm not comin' on.
I'm just payin' my rent everyday in the Tower of Song.
I said to Hank Williams "How lonely does it get?"
Hank Williams hasn't answered yet
But I hear him coughing all night long
Oh, a hundred floors above me in the Tower of Song.
I was born like this, I had no choice
I was born with the gift of a golden voice
And twenty-seven angels from the Great Beyond,
They tied me to this table right here in the Tower of Song.
So you can stick your little pins in that voodoo doll
I'm very sorry, baby, it doesn't look like me at all
I'm standin' by the window where the light is strong
Ah, they don't let a woman kill you, not in the Tower of Song.
Now, you can say that I've grown bitter but of this you may be sure:
The rich have got their channels in the bedrooms of the poor
And there's a mighty Judgement comin' but I may be wrong
You see, I hear these funny voices in the Tower of Song.
I see you standin' on the other side
I don't know how the river got so wide
I loved you, baby, way back when...
And all the bridges are burnin' that we might've crossed
But I feel so close to everything that we lost
We'll never, we'll never have to lose it again.
Now, I bid you farewell, I don't know when I'll be back
They're movin' us tomorrow to the tower down the track
But you'll be hearin' from me, baby, long after I'm gone
I'll be speakin' to you sweetly from a window in the Tower of Song.
Yeah, my friends are gone and my hair is grey
I ache in the places where I used to play
And I'm crazy for love but I'm not comin' on.
I'm just payin' my rent everyday in the Tower of Song.
14 Anthem (06:06)
The birds they sang
At the break of day
Start again
I heard them say
Don't dwell on what
Has passed away
Or what is yet to be
Ah the wars they will
Be fought again
The holy dove
She will be caught again
Bought and sold
And bought again
The dove is never free
Ring the bells that still can ring
Forget your perfect offering
There is a crack, a crack in everything
That's how the light gets in
We asked for signs
The signs were sent
The birth betrayed
The marriage spent
Yeah the widowhood
Of every government
Signs for all to see
I can't run no more
With that lawless crowd
While the killers in high places
Say their prayers out loud
But they've summoned, they've summoned up
A thundercloud
And they're going to hear from me
Ring the bells that still can ring
Forget your perfect offering
There is a crack, a crack in everything
That's how the light gets in
You can add up the parts
But you won't have the sum
You can strike up the march
There is no drum
Every heart, every heart
To love will come
But like a refugee
Ring the bells that still can ring
Forget your perfect offering
There is a crack, a crack in everything
That's how the light gets in
Ring the bells that still can ring
Forget your perfect offering
There is a crack, a crack in everything
That's how the light gets in
That's how the light gets in
That's how the light gets in
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Di JohnOfPatmos
Poesia ora venata di solitudine, ora di abbandono, ora di disincanto, ora di tenerezza.
E anche con questo album ti ipnotizza, ti incanta e, a volte, ti fa sentire un retrogusto amaro in cui ti rifletti.