Hal Willner wasn’t known for playing music himself. But the producer, who died Monday at 64, had a unique gift for making music happen. Through his marvelously eclectic tribute albums — which featured everything from Tom Waits yowling out Snow White’s “Heigh Ho (The Dwarf’s Marching Song)” to Debbie Harry singing a wordless tune from Fellini’s La Dolce Vita and Chuck D declaiming passages from Charles Mingus’ autobiography — he turned countless sonic what-ifs into reality. As he once put it, through his curation he was “trying to to...
- 4/7/2020
- by Hank Shteamer
- Rollingstone.com
All your prayers to the Gods of Rock have been answered in one little song. Punk pioneer Iggy Pop teamed with post-punk icons Nick Cave and former Sonic Youth frontman Thurston Moore, creating a musical Dream Team to cover underrated L.A. cult figures The Gun Club for a new tribute album. The faithful take on "Nobody's City" features Pop howling his way through the highly visual lyrics, while Cave adds his ominous baritone growl to the choruses and the bridge. Moore endlessly shreds and feeds back in the background. It's heavy and pummeling, while staying catchy. The version can be found on "Axels & Sockets" is the newest addition to the Jeffrey Lee Pierce Sessions Project, which pays tribute to Gun Club founder Pierce. Listen to it here: Hear the Gun Club's original version here. "Sockets" also pairs Cave with Blondie's Debbie Harry, and Moore with Pierce himself. It...
- 5/2/2014
- by Dave Lewis
- Hitfix
TORONTO -- Built around a tribute concert that took place at the Sydney Opera House in January of this year, "Leonard Cohen I'm Your Man" is an affectionate and intimate celebration of the acclaimed troubadour in stirring music and words.
Culling 13 performances from the "Came So Far for Beauty" evening, which was produced by concept album maestro Hal Willner, Australian filmmaker Lian Lunson has gracefully woven in testimonials from his musical peers, personal photos and artwork, and alternately candid and amusing self-analysis from the notoriously private man of the hour-and-a-half, himself.
While Cohen's far-reaching fan base will be pleased -- his ruminations on love and loneliness have been embraced by everybody from Diana Ross to punk rockers -- the Lions Gate release also serves as a terrific primer for the as-yet uninitiated.
Among the many musical riches are heartfelt performances of Cohen's "Chelsea Hotel #2" and "Hallelujah" by Rufus Wainwright, who's accompanied on the latter by his sister Martha and Joan Wasser; while "Suzanne" and "I'm Your Man" are done interpretive justice by Nick Cave.
There's also a beautiful rendition of "Anthem" by Perla Battala and Julie Christensen and a delightfully theatrical take on "Death of a Ladies Man" by Jarvis Cocker and Beth Orton.
And, as icing on Cohen's 70th birthday cake, the man whose low, gravelly rumble of a singing voice only grows more intriguing with age is joined by U2 for an eloquent reading of "Tower of Song" produced exclusively for the film.
The only drawback is that many of those terrific performances are subject to requisite cutaways to pertinent images or interview subjects in the interest of pacing and time, but presumably they'll be made available for enjoying uninterrupted and repeatedly on DVD.
LEONARD COHEN I'M YOUR MAN
Lions Gate Films
Credits:
Director: Lian Lunson
Producers: Lian Lunson, Mel Gibson
Executive producers: Erik Nelson, Kevin Beggs, Sandra Stern, Bruce Davey
Cinematographers: Geoff Hall, John Pirozzi, Lian Lunson, Brit Marling
Editor: Mike Cahill
Music: Leonard Cohen
Performers:
Nick Cave, Rufus Wainwright, Martha Wainwright, Kate & Anna McGarrigle, Bert Orton, Linda Thompson, Teddy Thompson, Jarvis Cocker, The Handsome Family, Antony, Julie Christensen, Perla Battala, Leonard Cohen and U2
Running time -- 98 minutes
MPAA rating: Not yet rated...
Culling 13 performances from the "Came So Far for Beauty" evening, which was produced by concept album maestro Hal Willner, Australian filmmaker Lian Lunson has gracefully woven in testimonials from his musical peers, personal photos and artwork, and alternately candid and amusing self-analysis from the notoriously private man of the hour-and-a-half, himself.
While Cohen's far-reaching fan base will be pleased -- his ruminations on love and loneliness have been embraced by everybody from Diana Ross to punk rockers -- the Lions Gate release also serves as a terrific primer for the as-yet uninitiated.
Among the many musical riches are heartfelt performances of Cohen's "Chelsea Hotel #2" and "Hallelujah" by Rufus Wainwright, who's accompanied on the latter by his sister Martha and Joan Wasser; while "Suzanne" and "I'm Your Man" are done interpretive justice by Nick Cave.
There's also a beautiful rendition of "Anthem" by Perla Battala and Julie Christensen and a delightfully theatrical take on "Death of a Ladies Man" by Jarvis Cocker and Beth Orton.
And, as icing on Cohen's 70th birthday cake, the man whose low, gravelly rumble of a singing voice only grows more intriguing with age is joined by U2 for an eloquent reading of "Tower of Song" produced exclusively for the film.
The only drawback is that many of those terrific performances are subject to requisite cutaways to pertinent images or interview subjects in the interest of pacing and time, but presumably they'll be made available for enjoying uninterrupted and repeatedly on DVD.
LEONARD COHEN I'M YOUR MAN
Lions Gate Films
Credits:
Director: Lian Lunson
Producers: Lian Lunson, Mel Gibson
Executive producers: Erik Nelson, Kevin Beggs, Sandra Stern, Bruce Davey
Cinematographers: Geoff Hall, John Pirozzi, Lian Lunson, Brit Marling
Editor: Mike Cahill
Music: Leonard Cohen
Performers:
Nick Cave, Rufus Wainwright, Martha Wainwright, Kate & Anna McGarrigle, Bert Orton, Linda Thompson, Teddy Thompson, Jarvis Cocker, The Handsome Family, Antony, Julie Christensen, Perla Battala, Leonard Cohen and U2
Running time -- 98 minutes
MPAA rating: Not yet rated...
- 9/12/2005
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
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