Leonard Cohen vs. Gordon Lightfoot!

[Foxhound]

Two Canadian folk-rock icons! Which one do you like better? Why?

Leonard Cohen












Gordon Lightfoot

[dr wu]

Two well respected singer songwriters....many have covered their songs and many artists like them as well. Dylan said he's a fan of Lightfoot while Judy Collins helped Cohen to get started.
I would be more likely to play a Lightfoot lp because I like his melody and style better ,but Cohen has a lot of gravitas going for him and has written some gems ...so...tough choice. They both have won awards and acclaim from various groups (both are Order of Canada recipients) ,etc...Cohen even got into the Rock and Roll Hall of fame (though I don't respect that group much due to their poor choices and omissions over the years.) Have to think on this....

[Foxhound]

Yes, this is a tough one indeed. While I don't want to vote against Gordon Lightfoot who recorded several ethereal tracks, I have to go with Leonard Cohen in this one because he recorded quite a few more.

[dr wu]

Ok..went with Lightfoot because he plays guitar well and his voice is simply much better...Cohen has never been much of a musician even by his own commets btw.
When he fist started he wrote poetry and some fiction...and didn't really know music at all or how to play an instrument according to his own words.
I do think he has written some great poetry for his songs over the years...but as a musician Lightfoot stands well ahead imho.

[Darth Pazuzu]

Now this is a pretty cool poll! Dueling legendary Canadian singer-songwriters.

I kind of have to go with Cohen on this one because of greater diversity, poetry and depth. But I've always got time for Lightfoot!

I do feel sort of ill-qualified to take part in this poll because I only have one compilation from each...



(BTW #1, Suzanne was my mother's name. She passed away in 2005 from breast cancer. And she always liked that Cohen song.)

(BTW #2, I first really became aware of Cohen's work because of Oliver Stone's 1994 film Natural Born Killers. Stone used three tracks from 1992's The Future - the title track, Waiting For The Miracle and Anthem. I also thought it was cool the way Zack Snyder used Hallelujah and First We Take Manhattan in 2009's Watchmen.)

(BTW #3, I've never quite heard Sundown quite the same way again after hearing it used in The Blacklist!)