What the record is and where it came from
Songs of Love and Hate is Leonard Cohen’s third studio album. It was released in 1971. It follows Songs of Leonard Cohen (1967) and Songs from a Room (1969). It is part of his early sequence of folk music albums.
How it sounds, and how it was made
Cohen’s syncopated classical guitar ‘chop’ dominates ‘Avalanche’. Most of the album was cut in four days at Columbia Studio A in Nashville. ‘Sing Another Song, Boys’ was recorded live at the Isle of Wight Festival on 30 August 1970. Additional work happened at Trident Studios in London. Ron Cornelius led The Army, the backing band. No details about microphones, room treatment, tempo, key, or instrumentation beyond Cohen’s guitar and the band are given.
What lands
‘Avalanche’ lands with Cohen’s guitar chop and vocal gravity. ‘Famous Blue Raincoat’ lands as a flawed but enduring lyrical construction—its tune strong, its imagery vivid, its structure impressionistic. ‘Joan of Arc’ lands as a stark, mythic monologue. The album lands as the third pivot in Cohen’s early folk sequence: leaner than Songs from a Room, darker than Songs of Leonard Cohen.
What does not
It does not cohere as a sonic whole. ‘Famous Blue Raincoat’ lacks resolution. ‘Dress Rehearsal Rag’ resists performance. The album makes no use of orchestration, electric textures, or studio experimentation beyond basic tracking. It does not appear in any film soundtrack per the material.
The ideas inside it
‘Joan of Arc’ explores how humans meet and embrace destiny. ‘Famous Blue Raincoat’ is about a man writing to the man who had an affair with his wife—and references Cohen’s own blue Burberry raincoat. Cohen called the song unfinished, revealing its ‘carpentry’, though he praised its tune and some images. He considered ‘Dress Rehearsal Rag’ unreperformable by him.
Who should hear it, and who should not
Singer-songwriters studying economy of arrangement should hear it. Listeners who value lyric density over melodic completeness should hear it. Those who expect polished production, consistent tone, or cinematic sweep should not.
Is it worth your time
Yes—if you want to hear Cohen’s voice and guitar unvarnished, his lyrics sharpened by austerity, and his early folk sequence at its most exposed and unresolved. It is not a record for those who need cohesion, polish, or narrative closure.
