There’s something fitting about Rodney Crowell including a song about Leonard Cohen on a “lost” album. Both artists forged storied careers on restless intelligence, emotional precision and an unwillingness to repeat themselves, even if might’ve been more comfortable. “If I Could Speak To Leonard” is one of many great moments on Then Again, a shelved 2006 LP that will finally see release on June 26 via New West after it spent nearly 20 years sitting unheard in the Grammy-winning singer/songwriter’s archives.
As the title implies, “If I Could Speak To Leonard” unfolds like the beginnings of an imagined conversation between two master craftsmen. Written before Cohen’s death and newly recorded for Then Again’s belated release, the track has an understated elegance that mirrors the spirit of the album surrounding it.
“I’ve always acknowledged Leonard Cohen’s early work as a songwriter, particularly ‘Bird On A Wire’ and ‘Chelsea Hotel,’” says Crowell. “But once I heard the live version of ‘Waiting For The Miracle’ and the next few albums he’d release—especially Old Ideas and You Want It Darker—I came to believe he was the most important songwriter of our time. And I say that with all due respect for Bob Dylan and Tom Waits. Seeing him in concert after coming down from the mountain in California, I was convinced he was the most generous performer I’d ever witnessed.”
Intended as the follow-up to a celebrated trilogy that included 2001’s The Houston Kid, 2003’s Fate’s Right Hand and 2005’s The Outsider, Then Again was completed in 2006 before Crowell abruptly decided to move on creatively. At the time, he felt the material sounded too close to the style he’d already established, even as the musicians around him insisted he was abandoning something special.
Then Again was shelved and eventually forgotten, despite featuring an extraordinary supporting cast that includes Emmylou Harris, Lyle Lovett, Benmont Tench and the late Guy Clark (whose appearance on the album marks one of the final recorded collaborations between the two longtime friends). But time has a way of softening initial impressions. Revisiting the sessions two decades later sans baggage, Crowell heard “a fresh batch of songs.”
That freshness pervades “If I Could Speak To Leonard,” a song that was simply waiting patiently for the right time to be heard.
“His message was spiritual, his artistic presence a blueprint for how to achieve your most inspired work later in life,” Crowell says of Cohen. “Thanks to his breadcrumbs, I have more work to do.”
We’re proud to premiere Rodney Crowell’s “If I Could Speak To Leonard.”
—Hobart Rowland
See Rodney Crowell live.
