This is not just another Leonard Cohen tribute album. It is an ambitious, unified work of art. The performances are all new. They constitute a profound encounter with a towering figure among North American songwriters.
The producer is Larry Klein, who has won Grammy awards for his collaborations with people like Joni Mitchell (his ex-wife) and Herbie Hancock. For this project, Klein assembled a world-class jazz ensemble and recorded 12 tracks in The Village, a studio in Los Angeles. Then he recruited 10 prominent vocalists, from 10 different genres, to sing one Cohen song each. Gregory Porter, Luciana Souza, and Nathaniel Rateliff recorded their tracks in The Village. Norah Jones, James Taylor, Peter Gabriel, Sarah McLachlan, Mavis Staples, David Gray, and Iggy Pop recorded their tracks in studios around the world.
Leonard Cohen was never a “good singer” in the traditional sense. His typical presentation was somewhere between talking and singing. But his deep, stark, untrained voice laid bare the searing poetry of his lyrics. The fascination of Here It Is comes from hearing nine real singers (plus Iggy Pop), with their unique vocal instruments and their extraordinary interpretive gifts, apply themselves to these great songs.
Klein made a crucial production decision: He did not want the singers to trot out their chops, but to take a “more conversational” approach so as “not to get in the way of [Cohen’s] poetry.” As the singers bring measured versions of their virtuosity to this project, they reveal a paradox of art: The more deeply they give themselves up to the songs—the more selfless they sound—the more they make these songs their own.
Gregory Porter’s rich, powerful baritone is turned inward, as if he is thinking “Suzanne” to himself. James Taylor sings a lesser-known Cohen piece, “Coming Back to You,” in Cohen’s original key, which is at the bottom of his own voice’s range. His spare, plainspoken, sometimes halting reading is very moving. “Hey, That’s No Way to Say Goodbye” is a song of parting, from Cohen’s debut album in 1967. Luciana Souza’s gorgeous voice turns parting into a celebration of love’s transcendence. “Steer Your Way” is from Cohen’s final recording, , released 17 days before his death in 2016. Norah Jones’s version is light and airy and, consequently, chilling. David Gray, a British pop star, has a pure, penetrating, captivating voice. Nathaniel Rateliff, a rough-hewn
