The Holy or the Broken: Leonard Cohen, Jeff Buckley, and the Unlikely Ascent of "Hallelujah"

Written by Alan Light

Narrated by Tom Perkins

Today, “Hallelujah” is one of the most-performed rock songs in history. It has become a staple of movies and television shows as diverse as Shrek and The West Wing, of tribute videos and telethons. It has been covered by hundreds of artists, including Bob Dylan, U2, Justin Timberlake, and k.d. lang, and it is played every year at countless events-both sacred and secular-around the world.

Yet when music legend Leonard Cohen first wrote and recorded “Hallelujah,” it was for an album rejected by his longtime record label. Ten years later, charismatic newcomer Jeff Buckley reimagined the song for his much-anticipated debut album, Grace. Three years after that, Buckley would be dead, his album largely unknown, and “Hallelujah” still unreleased as a single. After two such commercially disappointing outings, how did one obscure song become an international anthem for human triumph and tragedy, a song each successive generation seems to feel they have discovered and claimed as uniquely their own?

• Language: English
• Publisher: Tantor Media, Inc
• Release date: Jun 6, 2017
• ISBN: 9781541474093

Alan Light

Alan Light is one of America’s leading music journalists and is the cohost of the daily music talk show Debatable on SiriusXM. He was a senior writer at Rolling Stone, founding music editor and editor-in-chief of Vibe, and editor-in-chief of Spin. He is a frequent contributor to The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, and Esquire, among other publications. Alan is the author of Let’s Go Crazy: Prince and the Making of Purple Rain; biographies of Johnny Cash, Nina Simone, and the Beastie Boys; and was the cowriter of New York Times bestselling memoirs by Gregg Allman and Peter Frampton.

Reviews for The Holy or the Broken

[paul9the9well9read · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Excellent book about the development and history of Leonard Cohen's incredible song, Hallelujah." The many versions of the song which have been done and its undying popularity around the world are chronicled, including commentary by some who have recorded the song. Many groups, singers and bands from across several genre of music have used this song and include it in their regular concerts, yet it was ignored and pretty much lay dormant for several years after its creation and Cohen himself has continuously tinkered with it throughout its history.
The artist, Jeff Buckley included his cover of John Cale's version on his debut (and only) album, and the book includes the story of Buckley and of his rendition's impact on the song.
I have read Alan Light's books and articles in the past and find him a knowledgable and passionate music critic whose judgments are dependable and accurate, and this book was just another example of his fine scholarship and work.

[dreamweaversunited · Rating: 1 out of 5 stars]

I love this song as much as anyone, but this book would have been much better off as an essay. It just dragged on and on. I was also ticked off at the emphasis on Buckley, two whole chapters devoted to licking his boots and praising his so-called talent, when his version of Hallelujah is the absolute worst I've ever heard.

[skybalon · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

I was surprised that a biography about a song that doesn't even include an interview with the writer is as interesting as it is. You'll definitely learn something about a song that you may feel is already overdone. Well worth the read.

[streamsong_1 · Rating: 2 out of 5 stars]

Some of the early chapters were interesting - Cohen originally released this more than 30 years ago and wrote some 80 verses before deciding on the three or four usually sung. It was unknown in the popular community until it was used in the movie Shrek, and then later as background music for some of the disturbing 9/11 video montages.It exploded into popular culture and is now a 'universal' song joining others such as 'Imagine' and 'Bridge Over Troubled Water.'I started out enjoying some of the earlier versions available on Youtube (Buckley, Cohen, the strangest rap version ever by Bono) - but there just isn't enough story here to fill a book and it devolves into almost tabloid accounts of lawsuits and the million-dozens who have recorded it.Barely skimmed the last half of the book looking for nuggets. There weren't any.

[bethetter · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Great read - chronicles the evolution of the song Hallelujah from Cohen writing it to Buckley singing it and all over the world. Very informative and highly entertaining.

[froxgirl · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Can you knock an author down for being just too sincere? Alan Light's biography of the iconic song "Hallelujah", written by Leonard Cohen, enhanced by John Cale, Jeff Buckley, and Rufus Wainwright, and then destroyed by a zillion American Idol contestants, begins with an excellent introduction that could have served as a fine magazine article and that could have ended it. But he proceeds to do a good job, for the most part, of expanding the roles of John Cale and Jeff Buckley in their differing versions and recognition of Leonard Cohen's genius with a melody and with verses rarely if even sung. For those who have not read the riveting biography "I'm Your Man" by Sylvie Simmons (and you should!), the details of Cohen's exile and late life triumph are well told here.The author does a fine job of enhancing our knowledge and appreciation. The kd lang and Regina Spektor sections are particularly winsome, and Bob Dylan's small but significant role is a treat. But the book is about 3 chapters too long, and I just wish the lesser lights had never been turned on.

[techeditor_1 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

If you really love the song "Hallelujah," you want to read this book. If you want to read the book for pleasure rather than just to be informed, sit near your computer or smart phone while you do so.Most people probably discovered this song in the 21st century. Even if they know it was written by Leonard Cohen, they will probably be surprised to learn that he wrote it during the 1980s. And, no, he didn't just sit on it all these years. He really did include it on one of his albums at that time. But hardly anyone noticed it, and it was never released as a single.In THE HOLY OR THE BROKEN, Alan Light covers "Hallelujah's" history since then and gives various artists' opinions about the meaning of the song and the reason it took so long to achieve the status it has today. This book can be fun to read, too; you can let it be interactive.In relating the history of this song, Light covers the many artists who performed it over the years, especially Jeff Buckley. If you have a computer, you can search the particular name and "Hallelujah" and find a youtube.com video of that performance. So you can see and hear what Light talks about. I kept my iPhone next to me while I read the book so my reading and listening could be smooth, without much interruption.THE HOLY OR THE BROKEN is not for everyone. It's great if you read the book interactively and if you enjoy this song so much that you won't get sick of hearing different people sing it over and over and over. If you are one of those people, then, in the end, you'll have a favorite. Mine's Justin Timberlake's version.I won a copy of THE HOLY OR THE BROKEN as part of an Atria Books giveaway.

[bridgey_1 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

The Holy of the Broken - Alan Light ***Ok, so I am a massive Leonard Cohen fan and have been for a long time. As anyone who is familiar with his music/poetry knows his song lyrics can be very ambiguous and complex. With this in mind when I came across a book that promised to delve into the meanings of possibly his most famous song, Hallelujah, I jumped at the chance and snatched it up.Alan Light starts off the book very promisingly, deconstructing the song line by line and offering various opinions on what the lyrics could have meant. As part of his research he has contacted an impressive cross section of society. From music legends to journalists to religious leaders, all manner of interpretations are offered and discussed. Unfortunately the great man himself, although giving his blessing for the book, refused to be interviewed.All this sounds like all a Cohen fan could ever want, so why have I only given the book 3 stars? Firstly, out of the 230 pages (excluding acknowledgements etc etc etc) that actually deal with the song and its various versions only around 50 of these pages actually deal with the song lyrics themselves. The last 80+ pages just gave the impression of reading a phone book, whereby anyone and everyone who has ever so much as hummed the tune gets a mention. Not only do we learn their names, dates recorded and chart position/youtube views but we are constantly told what lyrics of the song they chose to include in their own composition. While this was interesting for the odd few major recordings (Buckley/Cale etc) it began to become very wary and repetitive. Secondly, even though the cover does claim to deal with both Cohen's version and Buckley's, I couldn't help but feeling that the original was overlooked somewhat. Not so much the lyrics but Leonard's Various Positions album version. For those of us out there that do not by an means see Buckley's COVER of the song as the definitive, all singing all dancing track, it can get slightly annoying the way in which the author constantly rebuffs the original. We are told on numerous occasions of Leonard's 'limited vocal range' that I think Mr Light may have forgotten that primarily Cohen fan's would be buying his book. Light does manage to attempt to convince the reader of Cohen's greatness as a lyricist/poet but I really feel that he fails to capture his greatness as a recording artistAnyway, I did manage to learn a number of facts about both the music world and the actual song of Hallelujah, but if I am perfectly honest I think I could have found these with half hour of free time and access to Wiki/Google, although it was handy to have them all collected on my behalf. Not a book I feel I would recommend (at least at the current price), but if you are a completest of all things Leonard then it may be worth adding this to your collection.

[klarsenmd · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

This is a great piece of journalistic writing that shows the path of the song Hallelujah. While I've always been a Jeff Buckley fan, I have to admit, I never really grasped how his brief rise to fame and early death were related to the cover tune that has now become such a huge piece of american music history. while I've always been aware that Cohen is a fantastic writer of music, I truly enjoyed reading about his experience in the music industry and the legacy he has left. I don't watch reality TV music competitions, so I was surprised to see how many time this song has been covered. i loved the writing and the explanations for how different musicians are able to mold the song by picking and choosing which verses they record, soemthing you cant do with many other tunes. A great book for music lovers and hsitorians.

[satyridae · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

It's hard for me to tease out my feelings for the book, when the book is an exercise in conjuring the song. Like nearly everyone else, I adore the song. I have a favorite version, maybe three. I've sat in concert halls and listened to Cohen sing it, tears running down my face, exactly twice. So far.

Well written, well-researched, this book is fascinating to read if you are at all interested in the long strange trip this song has taken, and what many of the singers think about it. It's a special song, and it's fun to hear what so many singers have to say about it. Recommended.