You Want It Darker is the fourteenth studio album by Canadian singer-songwriter Leonard Cohen, released on October 21, 2016, by Columbia Records, 17 days before Cohen's death.[1][2] The album was created at the end of his life and focuses on death, God, and humor. It was released to critical acclaim. The title track was awarded a Grammy Award for Best Rock Performance in January 2018. It was Cohen's last album released during his lifetime and was followed by the posthumous album Thanks for the Dance in November 2019.
After touring extensively between 2008 and 2013, Leonard Cohen began to suffer "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 that "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]
Musicedit
Musically, the album is "a little bit more sparse and acoustic" compared to his recent albums, according to Adam Cohen. Blues dominates the album.[3][5] Due to the fact that Cohen's Jewish faith was important to him, he invited Cantor Gideon Zelermyer and Shaar Hashomayim Choir, from his childhood synagogue in Quebec to join him on the album.[6]
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.
In Canada, You Want It Darker debuted atop the album charts, with 19,400 in traditional sales and a total of 20,000 units.[28] The album occupied the top position for three consecutive weeks and sold 106,000 units by the end of the year in Canada.[29]
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.[30] It is Cohen's second American top 10 album.[30] 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.[31]
The album reached No. 1 on the Flemish Albums Chart and stayed there for 7 weeks.[32]
* Sales figures based on certification alone. ^ Shipments figures based on certification alone. ‡ Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone.
Referencesedit
^Monroe, Jazz (August 12, 2016). "Leonard Cohen Announces New Album You Want It Darker". Pitchfork. Retrieved October 16, 2016.
^"LEONARD COHEN'S YOU WANT IT DARKER IN STORES OCTOBER 21". Columbia Records. September 21, 2016. Archived from the original on October 22, 2016. Retrieved October 21, 2016.
^ abc"Inside Leonard Cohen's Late-Career Triumph 'You Want It Darker'". rollingstone.com. Retrieved January 14, 2017.
^ ab"Leonard Cohen Makes It Darker". newyorker.com. Retrieved January 14, 2017.
^"Review: Leonard Cohen's 'You Want It Darker' Possibly His Darkest LP Yet". Rolling Stone. Retrieved 2017-12-01.
^"CANADA: You Want It Darker - Leonard Cohen". 200worldalbums.com. 17 August 2020. Retrieved 25 October 2023.
^"You Want It Darker by Leonard Cohen reviews". AnyDecentMusic?. Retrieved May 29, 2018.
^"Reviews for You Want It Darker by Leonard Cohen". Metacritic. Retrieved October 20, 2016.
^Jurek, Thom. "You Want It Darker – Leonard Cohen". AllMusic. Retrieved October 21, 2016.
^Zaleski, Annie (October 21, 2016). "Leonard Cohen examines his life and details his laments on You Want It Darker". The A.V. Club. Retrieved October 21, 2016.
^Kot, Greg (October 28, 2016). "Leonard Cohen finds path through darkness on latest album". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved November 18, 2016.
^McCormick, Neil (October 18, 2016). "Leonard Cohen's You Want It Darker is a bleak masterpiece – review". The Daily Telegraph. London. Retrieved October 21, 2016.
^Greenblatt, Leah (October 14, 2016). "Leonard Cohen's 'You Want It Darker': EW Review". Entertainment Weekly. Archived from the original on October 21, 2016. Retrieved October 21, 2016.
^Petridis, Alexis (October 20, 2016). "Leonard Cohen: You Want It Darker review – still changing, still full of life". The Guardian. London. Retrieved October 21, 2016.
^Gill, Andy (October 19, 2016). "Album reviews: Lady Gaga, Leonard Cohen, Pretenders and more". The Independent. London. Archived from the original on 2022-05-07. Retrieved October 21, 2016.
^Anderson, Stacey (October 24, 2016). "Leonard Cohen: You Want It Darker". Pitchfork. Retrieved November 13, 2016.
^Hermes, Will (October 21, 2016). "Review: Leonard Cohen's 'You Want It Darker' Possibly His Darkest LP Yet". Rolling Stone. Retrieved November 18, 2016.
^Christgau, Robert (February 18, 2017). "An Incorrigibly Courteous Liar's Last Act: Expert Witness with Robert Christgau". Vice. Retrieved February 18, 2017.
^"The A.V. Club's Top 50 Albums of 2016". The A.V. Club. December 12, 2016. Retrieved December 12, 2016.
^"Best Albums of 2016". The Independent. November 30, 2016. Retrieved December 1, 2016.
^"The 50 Best Albums of 2016". Mojo. November 22, 2016. Retrieved November 22, 2016.
^"The 50 Best Albums of 2016". Paste. November 30, 2016. Retrieved December 1, 2016.
^"The 50 Best Albums of 2016". Pitchfork. December 13, 2016. Retrieved February 28, 2019.
^"The 200 Best Albums of the 2010s". Pitchfork. 8 October 2019. Retrieved 9 October 2019.
^"50 Best Albums of 2016". Rolling Stone. November 29, 2016. Retrieved November 29, 2016.
^"The 50 Best Albums of 2016". Stereogum. December 1, 2016. Retrieved December 1, 2016.
^"Rewind 2016: Releases of the Year 1–50". The Wire. No. 395. London. January 2017. p. 30 – via Exact Editions. (subscription required)
^"On The Charts | FYIMusicNews". Fyimusicnews.ca. 2016-10-31. Retrieved 2016-11-13.
^"Nielsen Music Releases 2016 Canada Year-end Report" (PDF). Nielsen SoundScan. 5 January 2016. Retrieved 5 January 2016.
^ abCaulfield, 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.
^Jones, Alan (28 October 2016). "Official Charts Analysis: Elvis tops the albums chart again". Music Week. NewBay Media. Retrieved 30 October 2016.
^"Leonard Cohen - You Want It Darker". ultratop.be. Retrieved 14 January 2017.
^"Australiancharts.com – Leonard Cohen – You Want It Darker". Hung Medien. Retrieved 19 November 2016.
^"Austriancharts.at – Leonard Cohen – You Want It Darker" (in German). Hung Medien. Retrieved 3 November 2016.
^"Ultratop.be – Leonard Cohen – You Want It Darker" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved 28 October 2016.
^"Ultratop.be – Leonard Cohen – You Want It Darker" (in French). Hung Medien. Retrieved 19 November 2016.
^"Leonard Cohen Chart History (Canadian Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved 31 October 2016.
^"Czech Albums – Top 100". ČNS IFPI. Note: On the chart page, select 43.Týden 2016 on the field besides the words "CZ – ALBUMS – TOP 100" to retrieve the correct chart. Retrieved 31 October 2016.
^"Danishcharts.dk – Leonard Cohen – You Want It Darker". Hung Medien. Retrieved 2 November 2016.
^"Dutchcharts.nl – Leonard Cohen – You Want It Darker" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved 28 October 2016.
^"Italiancharts.com – Leonard Cohen – You Want It Darker". Hung Medien. Retrieved 29 October 2016.
^"レナード・コーエン [Leonard Cohen album sales ranking]". Oricon. Japan. Retrieved 25 November 2016.
^"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.
^"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.
^"Charts.nz – Leonard Cohen – You Want It Darker". Hung Medien. Retrieved 28 October 2016.
^"Norwegiancharts.com – Leonard Cohen – You Want It Darker". Hung Medien. Retrieved 29 October 2016.
^"Spanish album certifications" (in Spanish). Productores de Música de España. Retrieved 31 August 2019. Select Álbumes under "Categoría", select 2016 under "Año". Select 52 under "Semana". Click on "BUSCAR LISTA".
^"Veckolista Album, vecka 48, 2016 | Sverigetopplistan" (in Swedish). Sverigetopplistan. Retrieved 16 December 2016.
^"The Official Swiss Charts and Music Community: Awards ('You Want It Darker')". IFPI Switzerland. Hung Medien. Retrieved 16 December 2016.
^Paine, Andre (20 September 2019). "Sony to release posthumous Leonard Cohen album in Q4". Music Week. Retrieved 22 September 2019.