Leonard Cohen - You Want It Darker (LP) [2016]

Leonard Cohen's fourteenth and final studio album, You Want It Darker was released on 21 October 2016 through Columbia Records — just seventeen days before the legendary Canadian singer-songwriter's death on 7 November 2016, at the age of 82. Produced by his son Adam Cohen, the album is a stark, contemplative work that stands as one of the most powerful closing statements in the history of recorded music.

The Album

Across nine tracks, Cohen addresses themes of mortality, faith, surrender, and spiritual reckoning with the unflinching directness that defined his later work. The title track features the voice of Cantor Gideon Zelermyer and the Shaar Hashomayim Synagogue Choir from Cohen's childhood congregation in Montreal — a profound musical collaboration that grounds the album in liturgical tradition. The title track went on to win the Grammy Award for Best Rock Performance.

Tracklist

Side 1

1. You Want It Darker
2. Treaty
3. On the Level
4. Leaving the Table
5. If I Didn't Have Your Love

Side 2

6. Traveling Light
7. It Seemed the Better Way
8. Steer Your Way
9. String Reprise/Treaty