Personnel: Leonard Cohen (vocals, guitar); Dan Kessel (guitar, keyboards, organ, synthesizers, background vocals); Phil Spector (guitar, keyboards); Art Munson, David Kessel, David Isaac, Jesse Ed Davis, Ray Pohlman (guitar); Albert Perkins, "Sneaky Pete" Kleinow (slide pedal guitar); Bobby Bruce (fiddle); Don Menza, Steve Douglas (flute, saxophone); Jay Migliori (saxophone); Conte Candoli (trumpet); Charles Loper, Jack Redmond (trombone); Pete Jolly, Tom Hensley, Don Randi, Bill Mays, Barry Goldberg, Mike Lang (keyboards); Devra Robitaille (synthesizer); Ray Pohlman, Ray Neopolitan); Terry Gibbs (vibraphone, percussion); Hal Blaine, Jim Keltner (drums); Gene Estes (percussion); Bob Dylan, Alan Ginsberg, Bill Diez (background vocals).
Recorded at Whitney Recording Studios, Gold Star Recording Studios & Devonshire Sound Studios, Los Angeles, California.
Composers: Leonard Cohen; Phil Spector.
Personnel: Leonard Cohen (vocals); Clydie King, Gerald Garrett, Oma Drake, Julia Tillman Waters, Billy Diez, Lorna Willard, Ronee Blakley, Venetta Fields, Bob Dylan, Brenda Bryant (vocals, background vocals); Sneaky Pete Kleinow (guitar, slide guitar); Dan Kessel (guitar, organ, keyboards, synthesizer, background vocals); Phil Spector (guitar, keyboards, background vocals); David Kessel (guitar, background vocals); Art Munson, Art Blaine, David Isaac, Jesse Ed Davis , Ray Pohlman (guitar); Al Perkins (slide guitar); Bobby Bruce (violin, fiddle); Don Menza, Steve Douglas (flute, saxophone, wind); Jay Migliori (saxophone); Conte Candoli (trumpet); Jack Redman, Charles Loper, Jack Redmond (trombone); Don Randi, Michael Lang , Mike Lang, Mike Long, Pete Jolly, Tom Hensley, Barry Goldberg , Bill Mays (keyboards); Devra Robitaille, Bob Robitaille (synthesizer); Terry Gibbs (vibraphone, percussion); Ray Neapolitan (upright bass, electric bass); Hal Blaine, Jim Keltner (drums); Emil Radocchia, Gene Estes, Robert Zimmitti (percussion); Sherlie Matthews, Gerry Garrett, Allen Ginsberg, Oren Waters, Bill Thedford, Julia Tillman (background vocals).
Recording information: Devonshire Sound Studios, North Hollywood, CA; Gold Star Recording Studios, Hollywood, CA; Gold Star Recording studios, Lo; Whitney Recording Studios, Los Angeles, CA; Whitney Studios, Los Angeles, CA.
Arranger: Nino Tempo.
One of the most controversial partnerships in either man's career was inaugurated the day Leonard Cohen and Phil Spector decided to make an album together. In the course of just three weeks together, the pair had written 15 new songs, described by Spector as "some great f*ckin' music." And though the recording took somewhat longer, Death of a Ladies' Man still emerged as an album that, while it certainly lives up to Spector's billing, can also be viewed as the most challenging record of both Cohen and Spector's careers. Certainly, Cohen fans were absolutely taken aback by the widescreen wash that accompanied their idol's customary tones, and many hastened to complain about the almost unbridled sexuality and brutal voyeurism that replaced Cohen's traditionally lighter touch -- as if the man who once rhymed "four poster bed" with "giving me head" was any stranger whatsoever to explicitness. It is also true that a cursory listen to the album suggests that the whole thing was simply a ragbag of crazy notions thrown into the air to see where they landed.
Pay attention, however, and it quickly makes sense. The brawling "Memories" bowls along, an echo-laden vaudeville drinking song that invites everyone who hears it to join in with the so-perfectly timed refrain of "won't you let me see...your naked body." "Iodine," meanwhile, swings on one of Nino Tempo's most seductive rhythm arrangements, while Steve Douglas' sax squalls behind Cohen and co-singer Ronee Blakley's rambunctious duet; and anybody looking for a dance smash to sidle wholly out of left field could turn to "Don't Go Home with Your Hard-On," a number that not only captured an almost irresistible funk edge, but also roped Bob Dylan and Allen Ginsberg into its rambunctious backing chorus.
Cohen himself has never been happy with the record -- Spector's mix, he complained, stripped "the guts out of the record," but when he suggested the producer have another go, his entreaties were ignored. Finally agreeing to write the album off as "an experiment that failed" and trust that his fans would be able to pick out its "real energizing capacities," Cohen allowed it to be released as Spector left it -- and then effectively retired for the next five years. His judgment, and that most commonly passed down by rock history, has not been borne out by time. Alongside Songs of Love and Hate, Death of a Ladies' Man represents the peak of Cohen's first decade or so as a recording artist, both lyrically and stylistically stepping into wholly untapped musical directions -- and certainly setting the stage for the larger scale productions that would mark out his music following his return. It might even be his masterpiece. ~ Dave Thompson
In retrospect, after Cohen's ironic latter-day embrace of Europop sounds, the brashness of Phil Spector's production style doesn't seem such an unlikely mate for Cohen's songs. At the time, though, the pairing of the genteel acoustic songpoet with Mr. Wall of Sound raised more than a few eyebrows. While Spector's famed everything-but-the-kitchen-sink approach does largely preclude the opportunity for subtlety, the sheer audaciousness of the Big Sound works nicely with Cohen's spleen-venting sensibilities. Wailing at the top of his lungs over a sea of sound, Cohen comes off like a crazed, poetic carnival barker. Highlights are the ribald, funky and uproarious "Don't Go Home With Your Hard-On" (featuring backing vocals by Bob Dylan and Allen Ginsberg!) and the epic title cut. This isn't the place for neophytes to start, but for hardcore fans, it'll be irresistible. minimize