[Originally Published: May 25, 2010]
Leonard Cohen’s Hallelujah, off his 1984 album Various Positions, is one of those songs that seems ubiquitous but the original version rarely heard. The song plays out as an epic saga and has a seemingly endless supply of lyrics that never drag on if delivered properly. It’s been covered nearly as many times as there are verses. Countless times it’s appeared on soundtracks to films and television shows as a poignant backdrop to directors’ attempts at tugging on heartstrings. While what follows are each great renditions, I implore you to start with the original done by a maestro and true craftsman of song.
The Contestants:
Jeff Buckley: Buckley’s hauntingly dramatic version from his 1994 debut Grace is the best known cover of Hallelujah. It’s one of the best known covers of any song ever. Many people who love the Buckley version have no idea Cohen was the originator – I know I’ve met more than a few.
[audio:https://glidemag.wpengine.com/hiddentrack/wp-content/uploads/2010/05/hallelujahbuckley.mp3]READ ON for the scoop on the rest of this week’s contestants…
Helpless was written by Neil Young and released on the 1970 Crosby Stills Nash & Young album Deja Vu. There are three definitive performances by Young of this tune – the studio recording, Young’s performance with The Band that is captured in both audio and video formats at The Last Waltz where drugs were involved and the third is from MTV’s Unplugged.
We’ve got a lot of renditions this week, more than I normally allow, but when it was time to cut some, I thought they were all pretty damn good.
The Contestants:
Buffy Sainte-Marie: This cover was recorded just a year after the original release of CSNY’s version of Helpless. In fact, Neil Young plays on this album but I have been unable to determine if he plays on this track. For those of you listening on headphones, crazy reverb/delay on the snare drum in the intro to this song. I’m not sure if this is intentional as it disappears once the vocals kick in. Source: She Used To Wanna Be A Ballerina
[audio:https://glidemag.wpengine.com/hiddentrack/wp-content/uploads/2010/01/buffyhelpless.mp3]READ ON for the rest of this week’s contestants…
