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You Want It Darker Image
Metascore
92

Universal acclaim - based on 28 Critic Reviews What's this?

User Score
8.4

Universal acclaim- based on 185 Ratings

  • Summary: The 14th full-length studio release for the Canadian singer-songwriter was produced by his son.
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You Want It Darker
If you are the dealer I'm out of the game If you are the healer it means I'm broken and lame If thine is the glory then Mine must be the shame You... See the rest of the song lyrics
Score distribution:
  1. Positive: 28 out of 28
  2. Mixed: 0 out of 28
  3. Negative: 0 out of 28
  1. 100
    This album, musically, feels like a return to Cohen’s work in the 1960’s and 1970’s. While all the songs are brilliant, they’re not pop songs.
  2. Oct 18, 2016
    100
    Leonard Cohen’s 14th studio album is a bleak masterpiece for hard times from pop’s longest-serving poet.
  3. Oct 19, 2016
    91
    Using his remaining time, he’s not only putting his house in order, he’s tidying up ours too. You Want It Darker prepares us for his departure and, in turn, shows us how it’s done, so we have a road map--pockmarked by land mines as it is--in place when we reach that stage.
  4. Oct 18, 2016
    90
    It's become a cliche to treat every latter-day Cohen album like a potential swansong but it's hard to imagine a richer, finer or more satisfying finale than this. [Nov 2016, p.18]
  5. Oct 21, 2016
    83
    He’s choosing to examine his life (and life’s work) rather than ponder the abyss. That ensures You Want It Darker doesn’t feel like an ending, as much as it feels like one more chapter in Cohen’s songbook.
  6. Nov 3, 2016
    80
    It’s as strong a collection as any of his in recent times and tied together of course by that voice--deeply authoritative, unfathomably evocative and really quite irreplaceable.
  7. Oct 24, 2016
    70
    You Want It Darker doesn’t just boast a broad sonic palette, but the return of a broad-minded pop sensibility to his work after a sustained period of asceticism, with a precise lyrical platform granted manifold meanings through differing musical approaches, the songs bolstered by Eastern rhythms, full-bodied organ lines, and choral chants.

See all 28 Critic Reviews

Score distribution:
  1. Positive: 15 out of 15
  2. Mixed: 0 out of 15
  3. Negative: 0 out of 15
  1. Oct 21, 2016
    10
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. Sem sombra de dúvidas um trabalho incrível, todo trabalhado e com produção monumental, cada nota, cada vocal, cada som, cada melodia e algo surpreendente e supera tudo. Expand
  2. Apr 2, 2020
    10
    A dark and mystical masterpiece that fascinates and terrifies you at the same time, presenting Leonard Cohen's voice at the highest level of depth.
  3. Oct 21, 2016
    10
    Bowie's Blackstar was a goodbye from a rock god. I'm really hoping this isn't a poet god's own way of saying the same. It's a brilliantBowie's Blackstar was a goodbye from a rock god. I'm really hoping this isn't a poet god's own way of saying the same. It's a brilliant record--but a grim one. Expand
  4. Sep 8, 2017
    10
    This is an album that will get you goosebumps in just a few minutes. An amazing farewell to a legendary songwriter. There isn't a single songThis is an album that will get you goosebumps in just a few minutes. An amazing farewell to a legendary songwriter. There isn't a single song less touching than the other. Expand
  5. Nov 20, 2019
    10
    Simply, quite possibly the most perfectly fragile, devastating and hopeful album of the 21st Century. Exquisite in its pain
  6. Oct 24, 2016
    9
    Excelent album! It's great how Cohen writes his songs, and also, who he mix the sounds with the words. Treaty moves me more every time IExcelent album! It's great how Cohen writes his songs, and also, who he mix the sounds with the words. Treaty moves me more every time I listen to it... Expand
  7. Feb 12, 2022
    7
    Using his remaining time, he’s not only putting his house in order, he’s tidying up ours too. You Want It Darker prepares us for his departureUsing his remaining time, he’s not only putting his house in order, he’s tidying up ours too. You Want It Darker prepares us for his departure and, in turn, shows us how it’s done, so we have a road map--pockmarked by land mines as it is--in place when we reach that stage. Expand

See all 15 User Reviews

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