Ten New Songs
by Leonard Cohen
  • Record Label: Sony
  • Release Date: Oct 9, 2001
Metascore
76

Generally favorable reviews - based on 14 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 10 out of 14
  2. Mixed: 3 out of 14
  3. Negative: 1 out of 14
  1. Uncut
    100
    You have to adjust to its lack of ornamentation and let it settle, seep, uncurl like smoke or love. And there are songs here to equal his best. [Album Of The Month, Dec 2001, p.100]
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  2. Entertainment Weekly
    91
    He's never sounded more sensuous. [12 Oct 2001, p.88]
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  3. Village Voice (Consumer Guide)
    91
    The first four tracks... [are] as powerful as any he's written.
  5. Pitchfork
    80
    [Robinson's] kind of soft rock-- closer to "I Want to Know What Love Is" by Foreigner than I'm comfortable with-- probably isn't going to score many points with the indie crowd, but it's not going to throw off your concentration for very long.
  6. Rolling Stone
    80
    Ten New Songs manages to sustain loss's fragile beauty like never before and might just be the Cohen's most exquisite ode yet to the midnight hour.
  7. Blender
    80
    While Ten New Songs is not an attempt to break new ground, its sophistication and unassuming depth are almost worth the decade-long wait. [Oct/Nov 2001, p.103]
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  8. AllMusic
    80
    Cohen's poetic vision remains the dominant element on this elegiac set.
  9. Mojo
    70
    His relentless intelligence is itself a consolation, bearing gifts of order and sly humour -- though not so many haunting tunes as on, say I'm Your Man. [Nov 2001, p.100]
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  10. Sonicnet
    70
    It's not inappropriate to think of Ten New Songs as an audio book of poetry with musical accompaniment.
  11. New Musical Express (NME)
    70
    Beneath the plasticky politeness is the same old wry fatalism that the likes of Smog continue to strive for.
  12. Village Voice
    60
    Ten New Songs is all introspection, closer in sound to a technologically updated Songs From a Room.
  13. Q Magazine
    60
    Arguably his best record in 20 years.
  14. E! Online
    58
    10 mediocre new songs.
  15. The A.V. Club
    30
    This is the first time he's sounded less than vital.

Awards & Rankings

87
#87 Best Album of 2001
56
#56 Most Discussed Album of 2001
71
#71 Most Shared Album of 2001

User Reviews

All reviews »
User Score
8.4

Universal acclaim- based on 19 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 17 out of 19
  2. Mixed: 0 out of 19
  3. Negative: 2 out of 19
  1. lorem
    Apr 2, 2020
    8
    A superb and emotional soft album released after a long wait, a duet that really works and brings some of Leonard Cohen's most memorable modern songs.
  2. alecvl08
    Dec 12, 2014
    3
    Cohen's songs are devoid of emotion, he sings like a robot with bronchitis. Every track follows a horribly simple cadence, and Cohen doesn'tCohen's songs are devoid of emotion, he sings like a robot with bronchitis. Every track follows a horribly simple cadence, and Cohen doesn't seem to know what he wants to write about. The instrumentals could've been made by some dude on GarageBand, and Cohen's backup singer outsings Cohen himself. If not for a handful of lyrical details, this album could be a complete failure.… Full Review »
  3. Shiira
    Oct 12, 2012
    10
    This review contains spoilers, click full review link to view. "..we met when we were almost young/deep in the green lilac park..."

    I think about you every day. And I hope you are well. There's this version of "C'mon, Marianne" by Bill Callahan that just kills me. It makes me wonder what it would be like to be loved by you. But it's really a Leonard Cohen song. I have read so much about your condition. I'm a compulsive reader. Take care. Not in the cliched sense, but really, take care. If we ever see each other on the street, I hope you won't turn the other way.    … Full Review »
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