Monday, September 21, 2015

I Lit a Thin, Green Candle

Sometimes I find I get to thinking of the past.
We swore to each other then that our love would surely last.
You kept right on loving, I went on a fast,
now I am too thin and your love is too vast.
But I know from your eyes
and I know from your smile
that tonight will be fine,
will be fine, will be fine, will be fine
for a while.
I choose the rooms that I live in with care,
the windows are small and the walls almost bare,
there's only one bed and there's only one prayer;
I listen all night for your step on the stair.
 
But I know from your eyes
and I know from your smile
that tonight will be fine,
will be fine, will be fine, will be fine
for a while.
Oh sometimes I see her undressing for me,
she's the soft naked lady love meant her to be
and she's moving her body so brave and so free.
If I've got to remember that's a fine memory.
And I know from her eyes
and I know from her smile
that tonight will be fine,
will be fine, will be fine, will be fine
for a while.
Leonard Cohen
BBC Broadcasts
London, UK
1968
(JWB FM+TV remaster)

01 You Know Who I Am
02 Bird On the Wire
03 The Stranger Song
04 So Long Marianne
05 Master Song
06 There's No Reason Why You Should Remember Me
07 Sisters of Mercy
08 Teachers
09 Dress Rehearsal Rag
10 Suzanne
11 Hey, That's No Way to Say Goodbye
12 Story Of Isaac
13 One of Us Cannot Be Wrong
14 Bird On the Wire
15 So Long Marianne
16 You Know Who I Am
17 Hey, That's No Way to Say Goodbye (duet with Julie Felix)

Total Time: 1:19:30

Tracks 01-13 Recorded Spring 1968 at Paris Theatre, London
Tracks 01-05 Broadcast August 31, 1968 on BBC2 TV ("Leonard Cohen Sings Leonard Cohen")
Tracks 06-13 Broadcast September 7, 1968 on BBC2 TV ("Leonard Cohen Sings Leonard Cohen")
Tracks 14-16 London, England - (BBC Piccadilly Studio 1) July 9, 1968 source: radio broadcast
broadcasted on John Peel's "Top Gear" BBC radio 1
Track 17 Recorded January 27, 1968 & Broadcast on BBC2 TV ("Once More With Felix")

all tracks:
Leonard Cohen - vocals and guitar
the band on the Paris Theatre segment is thought to be The Strawbs with Dave Cousins, but no one is really certain.
Julie Felix sings with Leonard on Track 17.
 
BBC tapes (Paris Theatre source unknown but possibly a cassette made from the U-Matic master from the BBC-TV archives before it was lost; Peel session possibly pre-FM; Track 17 aircheck tape from TV) all remastered by JWB
This is rated #9 all time on the 100 greatest bootlegs list... in some ways it surpasses Leonard's first record that he hated cuz the strings. He is 81 years young today, so pull it down and celebrate one of Earth's greatest songwriters that will ever be. This was remastered to perfection by audio guru of renown JWB, and should make a fine companion to your after-work glass of red wine and your evening's reverie. Tonight will be fine.--J.