I admit to having collected a few bootleg tapes of Leonard Cohen in concert. Though he is not known to be prolific, his 30-year music career has produced a nice trunk of smuggled concert cassettes circulated among die-hard fans. So when I heard about this live album from the 1979 European tour, I had mixed feelings. What could it offer that I did not already have? Well, not only was I not disappointed, I suspect my bootlegs will be gathering dust for many months to come. Field Commander Cohen: Tour of 1979 sounds so clear, so alive, so strong, so breathtakingly real, you had better check out your window several times to remind yourself you have not been transported back to a concert hall in England and the year is not 1979.

Cohen has always been known for a lyrical precision that is unmatched in music and the songs chosen for this album are a celebration of his greatest talents: "Oh bless the continuous stutter of the word being made into flesh" ("The Window"); "Long ago we agreed to keep it light. So let's be married one more night." ("The Smokey Life"); "I locked you in this body, I meant it as a kind of trial. You can use itto make some woman smile." ("Lover Lover Lover"); and"Do you need his labour for your baby? Do you need his beast forthe bone? Do you need to hold a leash to be a lady? I know that youcan make, make it on your own." ("Why Don't You Try").These are the lyrics that send your jaw dropping and the mind graspingfor the meaning of the meaning. But no man can survive on gloriouslyrics alone and it is the music of this album that makes you remember each song long after the CD has stopped spinning. The violin solos by Raffi Hakopian, especially on "The Gypsy Wife," touch you to near tears. John Bilezikjian's magic from the little known oud is stunning. Paul Ostermayer's saxophone solo on "Memories" adds so much fun and spirit (yes, let's make all those who ever labeled Cohen's music depressing hear this one!). Add to the musicians' talents, the haunting and gentle voices of Jennifer Warnes and Sharon Robinson and you are simply swept away.

Finally, Cohen's own voice really is a golden voice. He has never sounded better, a mix of that deep, rich, sensual quality with the buoyancy and exuberance of the young Cohen. Were this not enough, Cohen brings something else to the table: a love of the song, a simple desire to perform at his best, and a genuine appreciate of his audience. You will hear it clearly on every song on this album.

Having actually attended one of the shows Leonard Cohen gave during his 1979 Fall tour, I was thrilled to find that some of the shows had been recorded. 21 years later Sony Music - lacking new material from Mr. Cohen - decided to release these treasures from the vaults, and this is probably the best (at least legally available) Cohen collection you could ever obtain.

Back in late 1979, Leonard Cohen toured the world with a stellar assembly of musicians, including famous singer Jennifer Warnes and the exotic art of Armenian violin player Raffi Hafkopian, some magical oud/mandolin by John Bilezijkian plus a solid band. These combined talents add wonderful texture and unforgettable arrangements to the originally sparse and dark songs.

The sound quality of this recording is excellent, and Cohen classics like "Bird on the Wire" or "Hey That's No Way to Say Goodbye" never sounded better on record. This collection is so much better than the bestselling "Greatest Hits" release; all that's missing is Mr. Cohen's most famous tune "Suzanne".

Leonard Cohen sings for the broken hearts. He sings for the losers, the cast aways, the rejected lovers and the renegades. His record are not the stuff of parties and bars; rather they must be played in dark rooms, in dark nights, when you are alone with your memories.

All this is to say that a Leonard Cohen live album seems remarkably strange as a concept. Concerts are happy celebration of popular music, not dark meditations on poetry.

Furthermore, the Leonard Cohen live album I have heard (Cohen Live), is interesting but often weak. While some old song are reinterpreted in interesting ways (most noticably 'There Is A War'), there are far too many overly grand, Kitchy and Las Vegas style renditions of otherwise great songs.

But 'Field Commander Cohen' is the stuff of legends. Cohen is backed up by an amazing band of musicians, who really draw out the greatness of these tunes. Every song here is better then the original versions, and some are remarkably so. Passanger manages to transform songs which, on Cohen's albums, are often little more then poetry with music, into real epic songs.

The album opens with the title track, a song from Cohen's 74 classic, New Skin for the Old Ceremony. FIELD COMMANDER COHEN has been a favourite of mine in the old version. In this new one, it is just stunning. The gentle drumming, the sublime back up vocals in the chorus, and the wierd but cool insertion of 'Rum and Coca Cola' into the song makes Cohen's meditation on a retired soldier (comes back to nothing special, like waiting rooms, and ticket lines, silver buillet suicides, messianic ocean tides, racial roller coaster rides, and other forms of bordom advertises as poetry) into a classic.

Next follow three songs from Cohen's then recent RECENT SONGS. of these THE SMOKY LIFE sounds almost like something out of Cohen's THE FUTURE, complete with low vocals. THE WINDOW is a slow poem song, while THE GYPSY WIFE, probably the best of these, is a great poem about a betrayed husband (but where... where is my gypsy wife tonight?), complete with wonderful violins.

LOVER, LOVER, LOVER, another great song from New Skin, is another highlight. The strong rythem of the song is a base for improvised guitars and ood solos. Cohen's voice is strong and passionate, and the rewritten lyric, especially in the new final verse, is truly powerful, and is an improvement on the already good song.

Next follows HEY, THAT'S NO WAY TO SAY GOODBYE. The version is solid rock good, better than the original (from SONGS OF LEONARD COHEN). Good violin solo comes in this song, which also has some truly great lyrics (Many loved before us, I know we are not new/ in city and in forest, they loved like me and you).

Possibly the single highlight of the album THE STRANGER SONG from Cohen's debut album is next. While the song is not bad in its original version, this version is simply stunning, although it is also sparse (I wonder if it is Cohen on the guitar here - if it is, he has certainly improved in the dozen or so years since 'Songs of') The lyrics of this song are so wonderful that it is useless to quote some - you must look them up yourself. Cohen's voice here is perfect too: dark, sympathetic, all-knowing.

From Recent Songs we get THE GUESTS, a solid song in which Cohen reflects on his relationship with his lover by looking at the party as a metaphor for his own experience.

Memories is a song from Cohen's collaboration with Phil Spector 'Death of a Ladies' Men'. Ilbegotten is the word for this song, which features simply dreadful lyrics, which make Cohen seem like an old, rather pathetic womaniser. Cohen wisely chose to retitle his song collection 'Death of a Lady's Man'. Memories does have a strong if rather straightforward melody, and great Sax playing.

'Why Don't You Try' is the third song from Old Skin. While I didn't care for the song in the album, this version is wonderful, the instruments really drawing out the song, and Cohen's vocals strong enough to deliver this challanging piece. The only draw back is the irritating back up vocals which seriously damage the enjoyment.

Honest to god, I fail to see why 'Bird on the Wire' has to appear on EVERY SINGLE LEONARD COHEN LIVE ALBUM. I mean, it's a good, popular song, but so is 'Suzanne' for instance. The version here is again weaker then the original, because 'Bird' is a simple song, requiring no guitar solos or any complicated instruments. However, this is a much better version then the one in Cohen Live.

Finally, the album ends with one of Cohen's best songs, SO LONG MARIANNE. The direct song has a wonderful melody, is vastly aided by great playing by all, great vocals (probably the best use of backup vocalists in the album), and of course, wonderful lyrics (You know I'd love to live with you. But you make me forget about so much. I forgot to pray for the angels, and the angels forgot to pray for us).

I was noy yet born when cohen performed these songs in concert. But I truly wish I could have attended. Until someone builds a time machine (and even after), this is a truly great record.

Before listening to this record, I approached it with skepticism because of the ostensibly inept song selection. I found myself pining to see tracks like Suzanne or anything from Songs of Love and Hate. However, after just one whirl of this album I realized that this is an opportunity to re-examine some unfortunately forgotten efforts from Cohen's career.

Field Commander Cohen and Why Don't You Try are a couple of quietly memorable tunes from 1974's awkwardly pleasurable folk outing, "New Skin For The Old Ceremony." of course, this album documents Cohen's 1979 tour, so the song set is drenched with tunes from his then new album, Recent Songs, released on the tails of Cohen's abominable pop experiment with Phil Specter, "Death of A Ladies Man."

Recent Songs is a respectively raw album that offered a reprisal to his folk days of the late 60's and early 70's, before Cohen "Orbisized' his music with "Various Positions," the brilliant "I'm Your Man" of 1988 and "The Future," his best-selling album to date. Recent Songs is a comparatively unimpressive effort, but the crispness and precision of these live renditions brushes listeners against the hidden beauty and enduring lyrical power of Cohen's music. The Guests, The Smokey Life, The Gypsy's Wife and The Window are all tracks from Recent Songs, and all transcend the studio versions because of this album's stellar sound, partly attributed to the digital remastering of the original tapes, but also thanks to the massively talented lot of musicians Cohen assembled for this tour.

Jennifer Warnes's contribution to Cohen's musical achievement is quite well documented by now, but accompanying her velvet croon and Cohen ever-deepening baritone is a chiming, impassioned and exact group of players. You'll hear some of the most gorgeous violin and mandolin work of your life on many of these lives songs, acoustic guitars that blast through the speakers as though they were 60 feet tall, and vocal performances that sound almost unworthy of the biggest cathedral in Manhattan.

While Field Commander Cohen is not a resort for nostalgia or a "greatest hits" selection, it allows Cohen's more patient, seasoned fans to reconsider some of his lesser-known material. With Cohen's trademark lyrical prowess and the band's commitment to perfection, there is just no reason not to devote a little patience to Field Commander Cohen.

This record has been in my car for months. Yes, a Leonard Cohen album to drive to and no, I am not insane. This set of hightlights from his 1979 tour is the best live document I've ever heard from the Field Commander. Rousing versions of the title track, "Lover Lover Lover", "Memories", and "So Long, Marianne" effectively break up the more familiar, somber Cohen some know and love. He is in great voice, and the band and overall sound is incredible. Leonard sounds genuinely interested in hearing the whereabouts of his gypsy wife. "The Stranger Song" is breathed new life with a huskier, more assured vocal and "The Smokey Life" has added movement, almost a swaying quality not as apparent in the reedy original. Personally, I don't need another rendition of "Bird On The Wire", but "Memories" is normally still bouncing around in my head until we say goodbye to Marianne. Consistenly exciting, this is a great live record and a must have for anyone wanting to hear an American original at his best.