Post/Author/DateTime	Post
#1 EscherEnigma Feb 14, 2010 18:50:33	So I imagine just about everyone has heard some version of Leonard Cohen's song, Hallelujah.  But which version do you like best? Prominant versions I found: Leonard Cohen (recorded in 2009) [link] John Cale (recorded in '92 I think?) [link]  Jeff Buckley (recorded in '07 I think) [link] Rufus Wainright (recorded in '01 I think?) [link] (this is the version from the Shrek soundtrack, but not the one from the movie) k.d. lang (fromm her '06 Vancouver performance) [link] Alexandra Burke (recorded in '08) [link] I really like the violin's in the Cale cover, but his voice isn't pleasing to my ears.  Burke's cover isn't bad, but it sounds too... optimistic?  Hopeful?  Happy?  Eh.  Not sure what word I'm looking for here... but I think my favorite is either the cover from Buckley or lang.  Their melancholy and sober take on it appeals to the sad romantic in me. What about other people?  Any particular version of this song you like?  Any other good covers I missed?
#2 The_Silversword Feb 14, 2010 19:39:45	I like Leonard Cohens version best, something about his voice. I really got into Leonard Cohen after watching Natural Born Killers. That movie had a killer soundtrack but I think Leonard's music really stood out. That voice, its just so deep and gravely, if i was gay that would totally turn me on, as it is it still kinda turns me on a little.
#3 Escef Feb 14, 2010 20:05:24	I had never heard of this song before. Watching the video of Cohen's live performance linked to above I was utterly underwhelmed. I got a minute or so into it and closed the tab. It bored me.
#4 EscherEnigma Feb 14, 2010 20:27:16	I had never heard of this song before. Watching the video of Cohen's live performance linked to above I was utterly underwhelmed. I got a minute or so into it and closed the tab. It bored me. /shrug As I've said elsewhere, taste in music is completetly subjective.  I am surprised you've never heard the song before, as it's been covered a lot.  That it was used in Shrek helped the exposure a bit, too.
#5 ViolenceJack Feb 14, 2010 20:55:38	Good bunch of links. Unfortunately, I couldn't watch the 2009 LC one, and I couldn't watch the Buckley version. The kd lang version was amazing. She's already one of my favourite singers, and I hadn't heard her cover that song before. Great stuff there. The last one, Burke... yeah. Too much vibrato. Needs to be sung simply. Should be very spare as far as vocal ornamentation; go to town on the instruments, but vocals gotta be simple. I'm not really familiar with Alexandra Burke, but she seems like one of those "R&B" singers who ornaments everything excessively, so maybe that's the best she can do.
#6 bone_naga Feb 15, 2010 1:33:55	I'm a fan of the John Cale one myself. Cohen's just wasn't impressive enough. It didn't instill the same emotion in me. I agree with Jack that the Burke version was just too much. It needs to have emotion, but you can't overdue it either. The others just seemed too soft, not enough put into the voice to really carry any inspiration to the listener.
#7 pluisjen Feb 15, 2010 3:35:24	I love the Rufus Wainwright version, but that might be because it was the first one I heard and/or because I love Shrek. Tried the others, but they just don't evoke the same emotion
#8 Escef Feb 15, 2010 3:52:57	I had never heard of this song before. Watching the video of Cohen's live performance linked to above I was utterly underwhelmed. I got a minute or so into it and closed the tab. It bored me. /shrug As I've said elsewhere, taste in music is completetly subjective.  I am surprised you've never heard the song before, as it's been covered a lot.  That it was used in Shrek helped the exposure a bit, too. Which Shrek was it in? I've got all three hanging around, but haven't watched them in ages.
#9 bone_naga Feb 15, 2010 9:38:53	I love the Rufus Wainwright version, but that might be because it was the first one I heard and/or because I love Shrek. Tried the others, but they just don't evoke the same emotion   I am also a huge fan of the Shrek one.
#10 zombie_babies Feb 15, 2010 10:21:25	Just not my style I guess.  And I hate songs that use organs.  It does nothing for me.  But that's music for ya.  There's a billion kinds for a reason.
#11 EscherEnigma Feb 15, 2010 11:24:14	Which Shrek was it in? I've got all three hanging around, but haven't watched them in ages. Shrek.  The first one.  Can't remember which scene it was in the background of, but that's where it is. And I can't remember which version was used in the movie.  Either Cale or Wainright, I think...
#12 xiahouxu Feb 15, 2010 11:28:56	Big fan of the Cohen version, big fan of Cohen in general (Night comes on and Bird on the Wire NEED to be listened to by everyone on the planet at some point, heh.) I think it sounds substantially different to any covers that have ever been made of it. (All the other covers seem to be trying to make a very different point, to me.) Followed By the Cale version, then Jeff Buckley...
#13 modern_iconoclast Feb 15, 2010 16:35:50	I like Cohen's original version best. And now I'm going to ruin this moment with this version: www.youtube.com/watch?v=4i8N0vKeQqs Edit: Yeah I know it's bad. I though Rammstein had a song with the same name, but I don't think it's related...
#14 boraxe Feb 16, 2010 8:27:32	I like both Cohen's and Wainwright's versions, though audio-only. I've never found Cohen much of a visual performer. KD Lang's version was an ear-scarring disaster.
#15 ViolenceJack Feb 16, 2010 9:10:15	I like both Cohen's and Wainwright's versions, though audio-only. I've never found Cohen much of a visual performer. KD Lang's version was an ear-scarring disaster. The second paragraph leads me to believe you either can't stand kd lang for some reason, or know nothing about vocal performance. That you don't like it (which is a valid opinion; not everybody likes the same things) does not in any way make it an "ear-scarring disaster." "Ear-scarring disaster" should be reserved for singer who miss every note in a grating voice, like this. That is not at all even in the same category as kd lang's performance of Hallelujah (and even the performance I linked I wouldn't rate as "ear scarring").
#16 zombie_babies Feb 16, 2010 9:14:11	Dood.  Wing pwns.
#17 CCS Feb 16, 2010 12:40:48	So I imagine just about everyone has heard some version of Leonard Cohen's song, Hallelujah.  But which version do you like best? Prominant versions I found: Leonard Cohen (recorded in 2009) [link] John Cale (recorded in '92 I think?) [link]  Jeff Buckley (recorded in '07 I think) [link] Rufus Wainright (recorded in '01 I think?) [link] (this is the version from the Shrek soundtrack, but not the one from the movie) k.d. lang (fromm her '06 Vancouver performance) [link] Alexandra Burke (recorded in '08) [link] I really like the violin's in the Cale cover, but his voice isn't pleasing to my ears.  Burke's cover isn't bad, but it sounds too... optimistic?  Hopeful?  Happy?  Eh.  Not sure what word I'm looking for here... but I think my favorite is either the cover from Buckley or lang.  Their melancholy and sober take on it appeals to the sad romantic in me. What about other people?  Any particular version of this song you like?  Any other good covers I missed? I liked the Leonard Cohen version myself. The other versions just weren't .... it.  (Though I did like the violins in the second link.) But it's also rare that I find versions of songs/music I like better than whatever the original artist provides.