Having Mentioned Leonard Cohen...

It wouldn't be right not to include something with the great man, himself. And in this case with Sonny Rollins! How cool is that?

Hallelujah

Leonard Cohen originally released this song on his 1985 opus Various Positions, a somewhat underrated album, in my opinion. I think it stands with his best work. This song, a tour de force of spiritual ambivalence, is among my favorite of his lyrics. Cale's interpretations - the first of which I encountered in the soundtrack of the animated film Shrek (I wish I could have found a widescreen version to link to) - have been really strong. Accompanied only by his own piano playing, they are spare and beautiful. This adds a string trio quartet to that simplicity without in any way detracting from the immediacy and beauty.