During a recent talk in Los Angeles, Leonard Cohen remained remarkably modest regarding his forthcoming album Popular Problems. Showering praise on his co-songwriter Patrick Leonard – who had a part in eight of the album’s nine songs – Cohen admitted that “most of the musical ideas were Patrick’s.” He then went on to say that the one song he wrote himself, Born in Chains, was the only one he wasn’t 100% confident about: “I’ve rewritten it many times to accommodate a change in my theological position,” he said of the lyrics, which he’s apparently been working on for around 40 years.
A willingness to collaborate extensively with another songwriter is something Cohen’s done before – not least on 2001’s Ten New Songs, which was co-written with Sharon Robinson – and the 79-year-old clearly thinks it helps keep his music fresh. So have a listen to Popular Problems ahead of release using the player below and let us know your thoughts.
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