You Want It Darker

You Want It Darker
A black-and-white photo of Cohen in a suit with a large black border around it
Studio album by Leonard Cohen
Released 21 October 2016 (2016-10-21)
Recorded April 2015 – July 2016
Studio Leonard Cohen's house in Wilshire, Los Angeles
Length 36:07
Label Columbia
Producer Leonard Cohen, Adam Cohen, Patrick Leonard
Leonard Cohen chronology
Can't Forget: A Souvenir of the Grand Tour
(2015)		 You Want It Darker
(2016)
Singles from You Want It Darker
  1. "You Want It Darker"
    Released: 21 September 2016

You Want It Darker is the fourteenth and final studio album by Canadian singer-songwriter Leonard Cohen, released on 21 October 2016, by Columbia Records.[1][2] The album was created while Cohen was dying and focuses on death, God, and humor. It was released to critical acclaim.

Background

After touring extensively between 2008 and 2013, Leonard Cohen began to suffer from "multiple fractures of the spine" among other physical problems, according to his son Adam Cohen.[3] Due to Leonard Cohen's mobility issues, You Want It Darker was recorded in the living room of his home in Mid-Wilshire, Los Angeles and then sent by e-mail to his musical collaborators.[4]

Cohen has said his condition helped him eliminate any distractions during the recording of the album: "In a certain sense, this particular predicament is filled with many fewer distractions than other times in my life and actually enables me to work with a little more concentration and continuity than when I had duties of making a living, being a husband, being a father".[4] Despite his medical condition, Adam Cohen said his father "Occasionally, in bouts of joy, he would even, through his pain, stand up in front of the speakers, and we'd repeat a song over and over like teenagers".[3]

Musically, the album is "a little bit more sparse and acoustic" compared to his recent albums, according to Adam Cohen.[3]

Reception

Critical reception

Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
SourceRating
Metacritic92/100[5]
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[6]
The A.V. ClubB+[7]
Chicago Tribune[8]
The Daily Telegraph[9]
Entertainment WeeklyA−[10]
The Guardian[11]
The Independent[12]
Pitchfork8.5/10[13]
Q[14]
Rolling Stone[15]

You Want It Darker received widespread acclaim from music critics. At Metacritic, which assigns a normalized rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream critics, the album received an average score of 92, which indicates "universal acclaim", based on 25 reviews.

Commercial performance

In Canada, You Want It Darker debuted atop the album charts, with 19,400 in traditional sales and a total of 20,000 units.[16] In the United States, You Want It Darker debuted at number 10 on the Billboard 200 with 25,000 units, 24,000 of which were pure album sales.[17] It is Cohen's second American top 10 album.[17] In the United Kingdom, the album debuted at number four on the UK Albums Chart, selling 20,330 copies in its first week and becoming Leonard Cohen's fifth top 10 album in the UK.[18]

Accolades

Publication Accolade Year Rank
The Independent Best Albums of 2016 2016
Mojo The 50 Best Albums of 2016 2016
Paste The 50 Best Albums of 2016 2016
Rolling Stone 50 Best Albums of 2016 2016
Stereogum The 50 Best Albums of 2016 2016

Track listing

All lyrics written by Leonard Cohen. All music written by Cohen except where noted.

  1. "You Want It Darker" (Patrick Leonard) – 4:44
  2. "Treaty" – 4:02
  3. "On the Level" (Sharon Robinson) – 3:27
  4. "Leaving the Table" – 3:47
  5. "If I Didn't Have Your Love" (Leonard) – 3:35
  6. "Traveling Light" (Adam Cohen, Leonard) – 4:22
  7. "It Seemed The Better Way" (Leonard) – 4:21
  8. "Steer Your Way" – 4:23
  9. "String Reprise / Treaty" – 3:26

Personnel

Charts

Chart (2016) Peak
position
Australian Albums (ARIA)[24] 2
Austrian Albums (Ö3 Austria)[25] 1
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Flanders)[26] 1
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Wallonia)[27] 1
Canadian Albums (Billboard)[28] 1
Czech Albums (ČNS IFPI)[29] 1
Danish Albums (Hitlisten)[30] 1
Dutch Albums (MegaCharts)[31] 1
Finnish Albums (Suomen virallinen lista)[32] 7
French Albums (SNEP)[33] 3
German Albums (Offizielle Top 100)[34] 2
Greek Albums (IFPI Greece)[35] 18
Hungarian Albums (MAHASZ)[36] 5
Irish Albums (IRMA)[37] 1
Italian Albums (FIMI)[38] 8
Japanese Albums (Oricon)[39] 242
Korean Albums (Gaon)[40] 87
Korean International Albums (Gaon)[41] 12
New Zealand Albums (RMNZ)[42] 1
Norwegian Albums (VG-lista)[43] 1
Polish Albums (ZPAV)[44] 1
Portuguese Albums (AFP)[45] 1
Scottish Albums (OCC)[46] 4
Spanish Albums (PROMUSICAE)[47] 3
Swedish Albums (Sverigetopplistan)[48] 1
Swiss Albums (Schweizer Hitparade)[49] 2
Taiwanese Albums (Five Music)[50] 14
UK Albums (OCC)[51] 4
US Billboard 200[52] 7

Certifications

Region Certification Certified units/Sales
Canada (Music Canada)[53] Gold 40,000^
Poland (ZPAV)[54] Gold 10,000*
United Kingdom (BPI)[55] Silver 60,000^

*sales figures based on certification alone
^shipments figures based on certification alone

References

  1. ↑ Monroe, Jazz (12 August 2016). "Leonard Cohen Announces New Album You Want It Darker". Pitchfork. Retrieved 16 October 2016.
  2. ↑ "LEONARD COHEN'S YOU WANT IT DARKER IN STORES OCTOBER 21". Columbia Records. 21 September 2016. Retrieved 21 October 2016.
  3. 1 2 3 http://www.rollingstone.com/music/features/inside-leonard-cohens-late-career-triumph-w447921
  4. 1 2 http://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2016/10/17/leonard-cohen-makes-it-darker
  5. ↑ "Reviews for You Want It Darker by Leonard Cohen". Metacritic. Retrieved 20 October 2016.
  6. ↑ Jurek, Thom. "You Want It Darker – Leonard Cohen". AllMusic. Retrieved 21 October 2016.
  7. ↑ "Leonard Cohen examines his life and details his laments on You Want It Darker". The A.V. Club. 21 October 2016. Retrieved 21 October 2016.
  8. ↑ Kot, Greg (28 October 2016). "Leonard Cohen finds path through darkness on latest album". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved 18 November 2016.
  9. ↑ McCormick, Neil (18 October 2016). "Leonard Cohen's You Want It Darker is a bleak masterpiece – review". The Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 21 October 2016.
  10. ↑ Greenblatt, Leah (14 October 2016). "Leonard Cohen's 'You Want It Darker': EW Review". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved 21 October 2016.
  11. ↑ Petridis, Alexis (20 October 2016). "Leonard Cohen: You Want It Darker review – still changing, still full of life". The Guardian. Retrieved 21 October 2016.
  12. ↑ Gill, Andy (19 October 2016). "Album reviews: Lady Gaga, Leonard Cohen, Pretenders and more". The Independent. Retrieved 21 October 2016.
  13. ↑ Anderson, Stacey (24 October 2016). "Leonard Cohen: You Want It Darker". Pitchfork. Retrieved 13 November 2016.
  14. ↑ Snow, Mat (December 2016). "Sacred Songs". Q (366): 114.
  15. ↑ Hermes, Will (21 October 2016). "Review: Leonard Cohen's 'You Want It Darker' Possibly His Darkest LP Yet". Rolling Stone. Retrieved 18 November 2016.
  16. ↑ "On The Charts | FYIMusicNews". Fyimusicnews.ca. 2016-10-31. Retrieved 2016-11-13.
  17. 1 2 Caulfield, Keith (30 October 2016). "Seven Albums Debut in Top 10 of Billboard 200 Chart, Led by Lady Gaga, Michael Buble & Pentatonix". Billboard. Retrieved 31 October 2016.
  18. ↑ Jones, Alan (28 October 2016). "Official Charts Analysis: Elvis tops the albums chart again". Music Week. NewBay Media. Retrieved 30 October 2016. (subscription required (help)).
  19. ↑ "Best Albums of 2016". The Independent. November 30, 2016. Retrieved December 01, 2016. Check date values in: |access-date= (help)
  20. ↑ "The 50 Best Albums of 2016". Mojo. November 22, 2016. Retrieved November 22, 2016.
  21. ↑ "The 50 Best Albums of 2016". Paste. November 30, 2016. Retrieved December 1, 2016.
  22. ↑ "50 Best Albums of 2016". Rolling Stone. November 29, 2016. Retrieved November 29, 2016.
  23. ↑ "The 50 Best Albums of 2016". Stereogum. December 1, 2016. Retrieved December 1, 2016.
  24. ↑ "Australiancharts.com – Leonard Cohen – You Want It Darker". Hung Medien. Retrieved 19 November 2016.
  25. ↑ "Austriancharts.at – Leonard Cohen – You Want It Darker" (in German). Hung Medien. Retrieved 3 November 2016.
  26. ↑ "Ultratop.be – Leonard Cohen – You Want It Darker" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved 28 October 2016.
  27. ↑ "Ultratop.be – Leonard Cohen – You Want It Darker" (in French). Hung Medien. Retrieved 19 November 2016.
  28. ↑ "Leonard Cohen – Chart history" Billboard Canadian Albums Chart for Leonard Cohen. Retrieved 31 October 2016.
  29. ↑ "Czech Albums – Top 100". ČNS IFPI. Note: On the chart page, select 201643 on the field besides the word "Zobrazit", and then click over the word to retrieve the correct chart data. Retrieved 31 October 2016.
  30. ↑ "Danishcharts.com – Leonard Cohen – You Want It Darker". Hung Medien. Retrieved 2 November 2016.
  31. ↑ "Dutchcharts.nl – Leonard Cohen – You Want It Darker" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved 28 October 2016.
  32. ↑ "Leonard Cohen: You Want It Darker" (in Finnish). Musiikkituottajat – IFPI Finland. Retrieved 30 October 2016.
  33. ↑ "Lescharts.com – Leonard Cohen – You Want It Darker". Hung Medien. Retrieved 27 November 2016.
  34. ↑ "Offiziellecharts.de – Leonard Cohen – You Want It Darker" (in German). GfK Entertainment Charts. Retrieved 18 November 2016.
  35. ↑ "Top-75 Albums Sales Chart Week: 45/2016". IFPI Greece. Archived from the original on 24 October 2016. Retrieved 25 November 2016.
  36. ↑ "Top 40 album DVD és válogatáslemez-lista – 2016. 45. hét" (in Hungarian). MAHASZ. Retrieved 17 November 2016.
  37. ↑ "GFK Chart-Track Albums: Week 43, 2016". Chart-Track. IRMA. Retrieved 28 October 2016.
  38. ↑ "Italiancharts.com – Leonard Cohen – You Want It Darker". Hung Medien. Retrieved 29 October 2016.
  39. ↑ "レナード・コーエン [Leonard Cohen album sales ranking]". Oricon. Japan. Retrieved 25 November 2016.
  40. ↑ "South Korea Gaon Album Chart". On the page, select "2016.10.16~2016.10.22" to obtain the corresponding chart. Gaon Chart Retrieved 31 October 2016.
  41. ↑ "South Korea Gaon International Album Chart". On the page, select "2016.10.16~2016.10.22", then "국외", to obtain the corresponding chart. Gaon Chart Retrieved 31 October 2016.
  42. ↑ "Charts.org.nz – Leonard Cohen – You Want It Darker". Hung Medien. Retrieved 28 October 2016.
  43. ↑ "Norwegiancharts.com – Leonard Cohen – You Want It Darker". Hung Medien. Retrieved 29 October 2016.
  44. ↑ "Oficjalna lista sprzedaży :: OLIS - Official Retail Sales Chart". OLiS. Polish Society of the Phonographic Industry. Retrieved 24 November 2016.
  45. ↑ "Portuguesecharts.com – Leonard Cohen – You Want It Darker". Hung Medien. Retrieved 30 November 2016.
  46. ↑ "Official Scottish Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 29 October 2016.
  47. ↑ "TOP 100 ALBUMES — SEMANA 43: del 21.10.2016 al 27.10.2016" (in Spanish). Productores de Música de España. Retrieved 4 November 2016.
  48. ↑ "Swedishcharts.com – Leonard Cohen – You Want It Darker". Hung Medien. Retrieved 29 October 2016.
  49. ↑ "Swisscharts.com – Leonard Cohen – You Want It Darker". Hung Medien. Retrieved 2 November 2016.
  50. ↑ "第46 週 統計時間：2016/11/11 - 2016/11/17" (in Chinese). Five-Music. Archived from the original on November 11, 2016. Retrieved November 25, 2016.
  51. ↑ "Official Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 29 October 2016.
  52. ↑ "Leonard Cohen – Chart history" Billboard 200 for Leonard Cohen. Retrieved 22 November 2016.
  53. ↑ "Canadian album certifications – Leonard Cohen – You Want It Darker". Music Canada. Retrieved November 4, 2016.
  54. ↑ "Polish album certifications – Leonard Cohen – Want It Darker" (in Polish). Polish Society of the Phonographic Industry. Retrieved 30 November 2016.
  55. ↑ "British album certifications – Leonard Cohen – You Want It Darker". British Phonographic Industry. Enter You Want It Darker in the field Keywords. Select Title in the field Search by. Select album in the field By Format. Select Silver in the field By Award. Click Search

External links

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