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Dec 10, 2014The singer’s distinctive baritone, dry yet emotive talk/singing style and the crystal clear recording quality focuses attention on his dynamic, sometimes humorous, always poetic lyrics. The interplay with his three backup singers also brings depth and a sensuality often lacking from the studio versions, making some of these laconic and extended performances definitive.
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Dec 10, 2014Cohen is a genially commanding stage presence, falling on his knees at crucial moments and doffing his cap for his accompanists' solo turns. The Old Ideas songs, sprinkled throughout the set at just the right intervals, are naturally at home, capped with the wry God-speaking-to-a-man-named-Leonard "Going Home". Otherwise, the songs you know and plenty of songs you should know better are probably here.
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Dec 10, 2014The Cohen here is not all that different than on the excellent two-CD set Live in London. In fact both live shows feature several of the same songs in similar order.... Despite the three hour length of the complete box set, the time moves briskly due to the variety of the songs and musical configurations.
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Dec 10, 2014Although this is hardly an essential release--few live albums ever are--it’s no victory lap or self-indulgent unit shifter. Its true value lies in its function as a worthy addition to the latter-day Cohen canon, as a reminder that he is still an active, relevant artist and performer, rather than a self-aggrandising nostalgia act.
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Dec 10, 2014Live in Dublin reveals Leonard Cohen is actually growing and improving as a performer as his 80th birthday looms on the horizon, and this unexpected and welcome new chapter in his career continues to reap surprising and delightful rewards.
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Jan 5, 2015A great deal of the material here was covered on 2009's Live in London, but it's well worth the price to hear backup singer Sharon Robinson's exquisite take on "Alexandra Leaving," Cohen's hilariously self-referential "Going Home" and a finale where he covers "Save the Last Dance for Me."