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You Want It Darker

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Untitled

You Want It Darker is the fourteenth and final studio album by Canadian singer-songwriter Leonard Cohen, released on 21 October 2016, by Columbia Records.[1][2] The album was created towards the end of Cohen's life and focuses on death, God, and humor. It was released to critical acclaim.

Background

After touring extensively between 2008 and 2013, Leonard Cohen began to suffer from "multiple fractures of the spine" among other physical problems, according to his son Adam Cohen.[3] Due to Leonard Cohen's mobility issues, You Want It Darker was recorded in the living room of his home in Mid-Wilshire, Los Angeles and then sent by e-mail to his musical collaborators.[4]

Cohen has said his condition helped him eliminate any distractions during the recording of the album: "In a certain sense, this particular predicament is filled with many fewer distractions than other times in my life and actually enables me to work with a little more concentration and continuity than when I had duties of making a living, being a husband, being a father".[4] Despite his medical condition, Adam Cohen said his father "Occasionally, in bouts of joy, he would even, through his pain, stand up in front of the speakers, and we'd repeat a song over and over like teenagers".[3]

Musically, the album is "a little bit more sparse and acoustic" compared to his recent albums, according to Adam Cohen.[3]

Critical reception

Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
SourceRating
Metacritic92/100[5]
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[6]
The A.V. ClubB+[7]
Chicago Tribune[8]
The Daily Telegraph[9]
Entertainment WeeklyA−[10]
The Guardian[11]
The Independent[12]
Pitchfork8.5/10[13]
Q[14]
Rolling Stone[15]

You Want It Darker received widespread acclaim from music critics. At Metacritic, which assigns a normalized rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream critics, the album received an average score of 92, which indicates "universal acclaim", based on 28 reviews.

Accolades

Publication Accolade Year Rank Ref.
The A.V. Club The A.V. Club's Top 50 Albums of 2016 2016
11
[16]
The Independent Best Albums of 2016 2016
3
[17]
Mojo The 50 Best Albums of 2016 2016
5
[18]
Paste The 50 Best Albums of 2016 2016
17
[19]
Pitchfork The 20 Best Rock Albums of 2016 2016 —
[20]
Rolling Stone 50 Best Albums of 2016 2016
9
[21]
Stereogum The 50 Best Albums of 2016 2016
34
[22]

Commercial performance

In Canada, You Want It Darker debuted atop the album charts, with 19,400 in traditional sales and a total of 20,000 units.[23] The album occupied the top position for three consecutive weeks and sold 106,000 units by the end of the year in Canada.[24] In the United States, You Want It Darker debuted at number 10 on the Billboard 200 with 25,000 units, 24,000 of which were pure album sales.[25] It is Cohen's second American top 10 album.[25] In the United Kingdom, the album debuted at number four on the UK Albums Chart, selling 20,330 copies in its first week and becoming Leonard Cohen's fifth top 10 album in the UK.[26] The album reached No. 1 on the Flemish Albums Chart and stayed there for 7 weeks.[27]

Track listing

All lyrics are written by Leonard Cohen

No.TitleMusicProducer(s)Length
1."You Want It Darker"Patrick LeonardAdam Cohen4:44
2."Treaty"Leonard CohenPatrick Leonard4:02
3."On the Level"Sharon RobinsonAdam Cohen3:27
4."Leaving the Table"Leonard CohenAdam Cohen3:47
5."If I Didn't Have Your Love"Patrick LeonardPatrick Leonard3:35
6."Traveling Light"Adam Cohen, Patrick LeonardAdam Cohen4:22
7."It Seemed The Better Way"Patrick LeonardAdam Cohen4:21
8."Steer Your Way"Leonard CohenAdam Cohen4:23
9."String Reprise / Treaty"Leonard CohenPatrick Leonard3:26
Total length:36:09

Personnel

Charts

Certifications

Region Certification Certified units/sales
Australia (ARIA)[69] Gold 35,000^
Austria (IFPI Austria)[70] Platinum 15,000*
Belgium (BEA)[71] Platinum 30,000*
Canada (Music Canada)[72] Gold 40,000^
Denmark (IFPI Danmark)[73] Gold 10,000^
Germany (BVMI)[74] Gold 100,000‡
Hungary (MAHASZ)[75] Gold 1,000^
New Zealand (RMNZ)[76] Gold 7,500‡
Poland (ZPAV)[77] 2× Platinum 40,000‡
Spain (PROMUSICAE)[78] Gold 20,000‡
Sweden (GLF)[79] Gold 20,000‡
United Kingdom (BPI)[80] Gold 100,000‡

* Sales figures based on certification alone.
^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.

References

  1. ^ Monroe, Jazz (12 August 2016). "Leonard Cohen Announces New Album You Want It Darker". Pitchfork. Retrieved 16 October 2016.
  2. ^ "LEONARD COHEN'S YOU WANT IT DARKER IN STORES OCTOBER 21". Columbia Records. 21 September 2016. Retrieved 21 October 2016.
  3. ^ a b c "Inside Leonard Cohen's Late-Career Triumph 'You Want It Darker'". rollingstone.com. Retrieved 14 January 2017.
  4. ^ a b "Leonard Cohen Makes It Darker". newyorker.com. Retrieved 14 January 2017.
  5. ^ "Reviews for You Want It Darker by Leonard Cohen". Metacritic. Retrieved 20 October 2016.
  6. ^ Jurek, Thom. "You Want It Darker – Leonard Cohen". AllMusic. Retrieved 21 October 2016.
  7. ^ "Leonard Cohen examines his life and details his laments on You Want It Darker". The A.V. Club. 21 October 2016. Retrieved 21 October 2016.
  8. ^ Kot, Greg (28 October 2016). "Leonard Cohen finds path through darkness on latest album". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved 18 November 2016.
  9. ^ McCormick, Neil (18 October 2016). "Leonard Cohen's You Want It Darker is a bleak masterpiece – review". The Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 21 October 2016.
  10. ^ Greenblatt, Leah (14 October 2016). "Leonard Cohen's 'You Want It Darker': EW Review". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved 21 October 2016.
  11. ^ Petridis, Alexis (20 October 2016). "Leonard Cohen: You Want It Darker review – still changing, still full of life". The Guardian. Retrieved 21 October 2016.
  12. ^ Gill, Andy (19 October 2016). "Album reviews: Lady Gaga, Leonard Cohen, Pretenders and more". The Independent. Retrieved 21 October 2016.
  13. ^ Anderson, Stacey (24 October 2016). "Leonard Cohen: You Want It Darker". Pitchfork. Retrieved 13 November 2016.
  14. ^ Snow, Mat (December 2016). "Sacred Songs". Q (366): 114.
  15. ^ Hermes, Will (21 October 2016). "Review: Leonard Cohen's 'You Want It Darker' Possibly His Darkest LP Yet". Rolling Stone. Retrieved 18 November 2016.
  16. ^ "The A.V. Club's Top 50 Albums of 2016". The A.V. Club. December 12, 2016. Retrieved December 12, 2016.
  17. ^ "Best Albums of 2016". The Independent. November 30, 2016. Retrieved December 1, 2016.
  18. ^ "The 50 Best Albums of 2016". Mojo. November 22, 2016. Retrieved November 22, 2016.
  19. ^ "The 50 Best Albums of 2016". Paste. November 30, 2016. Retrieved December 1, 2016.
  20. ^ "The 20 Best Rock Albums of 2016". Pitchfork. December 7, 2016. Retrieved December 7, 2016.
  21. ^ "50 Best Albums of 2016". Rolling Stone. November 29, 2016. Retrieved November 29, 2016.
  22. ^ "The 50 Best Albums of 2016". Stereogum. December 1, 2016. Retrieved December 1, 2016.
  23. ^ "On The Charts | FYIMusicNews". Fyimusicnews.ca. 2016-10-31. Retrieved 2016-11-13.
  24. ^ "Nielsen Music Releases 2016 Canada Year-end Report" (PDF). Nielsen SoundScan. 5 January 2016. Retrieved 5 January 2016.
  25. ^ a b Caulfield, Keith (30 October 2016). "Seven Albums Debut in Top 10 of Billboard 200 Chart, Led by Lady Gaga, Michael Buble & Pentatonix". Billboard. Retrieved 31 October 2016.
  26. ^ Jones, Alan (28 October 2016). "Official Charts Analysis: Elvis tops the albums chart again". Music Week. NewBay Media. Retrieved 30 October 2016. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |subscription= ignored (|url-access= suggested) (help)
  27. ^ "Leonard Cohen - You Want It Darker". ultratop.be. Retrieved 14 January 2017.
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  29. ^ "Austriancharts.at – Leonard Cohen – You Want It Darker" (in German). Hung Medien. Retrieved 3 November 2016.
  30. ^ "Ultratop.be – Leonard Cohen – You Want It Darker" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved 28 October 2016.
  31. ^ "Ultratop.be – Leonard Cohen – You Want It Darker" (in French). Hung Medien. Retrieved 19 November 2016.
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  36. ^ "Leonard Cohen: You Want It Darker" (in Finnish). Musiikkituottajat – IFPI Finland. Retrieved 30 October 2016.
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  44. ^ "South Korea Circle Album Chart". On the page, select "2016.10.16~2016.10.22" to obtain the corresponding chart. Circle Chart Retrieved 31 October 2016.
  45. ^ "South Korea Circle International Album Chart". On the page, select "2016.10.16~2016.10.22" to obtain the corresponding chart. Circle Chart Retrieved 31 October 2016.
  46. ^ "Charts.nz – Leonard Cohen – You Want It Darker". Hung Medien. Retrieved 28 October 2016.
  47. ^ "Norwegiancharts.com – Leonard Cohen – You Want It Darker". Hung Medien. Retrieved 29 October 2016.
  48. ^ "Oficjalna lista sprzedaży :: OLiS - Official Retail Sales Chart". OLiS. Polish Society of the Phonographic Industry. Retrieved 24 November 2016.
  49. ^ "Portuguesecharts.com – Leonard Cohen – You Want It Darker". Hung Medien. Retrieved 30 November 2016.
  50. ^ "Official Scottish Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 29 October 2016.
  51. ^ "TOP 100 ALBUMES — SEMANA 43: del 21.10.2016 al 27.10.2016" (in Spanish). Productores de Música de España. Retrieved 4 November 2016.
  52. ^ "Swedishcharts.com – Leonard Cohen – You Want It Darker". Hung Medien. Retrieved 29 October 2016.
  53. ^ "Swisscharts.com – Leonard Cohen – You Want It Darker". Hung Medien. Retrieved 2 November 2016.
  54. ^ "第46 週 統計時間：2016/11/11 - 2016/11/17" (in Chinese). Five-Music. Retrieved November 25, 2016. {{cite web}}: Check |archiveurl= value (help)
  55. ^ "Official Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 29 October 2016.
  56. ^ "Leonard Cohen Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved 22 November 2016.
  57. ^ "ARIA Top 100 Albums 2016". Australian Recording Industry Association. Retrieved 6 January 2017.
  58. ^ "Ö3 Austria Top 40 - Album-Charts 2016". oe3.orf.at. Retrieved 29 December 2016.
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  64. ^ "Top of the Music - FIMI/GfK: Le uniche classifiche annuali complete" (in Italian). Federazione Industria Musicale Italiana. Retrieved January 29, 2017.
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  66. ^ "W 2016 roku najlepiej sprzedającym się albumem było "Życie po śmierci" O.S.T.R." 2016. Retrieved January 14, 2016.
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  70. ^ "Austrian album certifications – Leonard Cohen – You Want It Darker" (in German). IFPI Austria. Retrieved December 20, 2016.
  71. ^ "Ultratop − Goud en Platina – albums 2016". Ultratop. Hung Medien. Retrieved 20 December 2016.
  72. ^ "Canadian album certifications – Leonard Cohen – You Want It Darker". Music Canada. Retrieved 4 November 2016.
  73. ^ "Danish album certifications – Leonard Cohen – You Want It Darker". IFPI Danmark. Retrieved 26 December 2016. Scroll through the page-list below until year 2016 to obtain certification.
  74. ^ "Gold-/Platin-Datenbank (Leonard Cohen; 'You Want It Darker')" (in German). Bundesverband Musikindustrie. Retrieved 5 January 2017.
  75. ^ "Adatbázis – Arany- és platinalemezek – 2016" (in Hungarian). MAHASZ. Retrieved 29 December 2016.
  76. ^ "New Zealand album certifications – Leonard Cohen – You Want It Darker". Recorded Music NZ. Retrieved 16 December 2016.
  77. ^ "Wyróżnienia – Platynowe płyty CD - Archiwum - Przyznane w 2017 roku" (in Polish). Polish Society of the Phonographic Industry. Retrieved 25 January 2017.
  78. ^ "Spanish album certifications – Leonard Cohen – You Want It Darker". El portal de Música. Productores de Música de España. Retrieved 28 December 2016.
  79. ^ certweek IS REQUIRED FOR SWEDISH CERTIFICATIONS.
  80. ^ "British album certifications – Leonard Cohen – You Want It Darker". British Phonographic Industry. Select albums in the Format field. Select Gold in the Certification field. Type You Want It Darker in the "Search BPI Awards" field and then press Enter.
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