I may never have gotten to sleep with Leonard Cohen (a life goal) but I did get to see him interviewed live in a small venue in Toronto. It was the highlight of my month. Never have I seen a person with so much talent be so incredibly humble--and that made him sexier than 99% of men. This book is a sociological/anthroplogical analysis of the song Hallelujah accessible and engaging to anyone whose ever been moved by the piece. Bypassing musical jargon and not allowing itself to get bogged down in technical details, this is about the humanity behind the man, the song and those who love it. Leonard Cohen you will be missed. ( )

Excellent book about the development and history of Leonard Cohen's incredible song, Hallelujah." The many versions of the song which have been done and its undying popularity around the world are chronicled, including commentary by some who have recorded the song. Many groups, singers and bands from across several genre of music have used this song and include it in their regular concerts, yet it was ignored and pretty much lay dormant for several years after its creation and Cohen himself has continuously tinkered with it throughout its history.
The artist, Jeff Buckley included his cover of John Cale's version on his debut (and only) album, and the book includes the story of Buckley and of his rendition's impact on the song.
I have read Alan Light's books and articles in the past and find him a knowledgable and passionate music critic whose judgments are dependable and accurate, and this book was just another example of his fine scholarship and work. ( )

Leonard Cohen's "Hallelujah" is one of a handful of modern day songs that has a history worthy of a 200 page book. The painstaking toil Cohen put into the lyrical precision of every verse, the song's obscure beginnings on a Cohen album all but destined to be ignored, John Cale and Jeff Buckley creating their own arrangements that nudged the song into the limelight, and the years that followed as the song became one of the most revered and covered songs in popular music (everyone from kd lang and Neil Diamond to Justin Timberlake and Bon Jovi. Susan Boyle seems to be the one responsible for completely missing the boat as far as interpreting the song is concerned.)

All of that is here, and then some. Light does a fine job of capturing the stories that align with the song, as well as the lives of Cohen and Buckley. It's fascinating to watch how the song's reemergence opened it up to an international audience. It's frustrating to read about the scores of people - audiences and artists alike - who assumed it was Buckley's composition. And it's a bit of a letdown at the end of the book to read about the song's over saturation, and the "American Idolization" of the song. The song, perhaps, needs a rest, so that it can retain its power as one of the dozen or so best songs of contemporary music.

A quick read, a must-read for Cohen fans. Most of all, it makes one want to listen to the very best versions of the song. For me, that's Cohen's live interpretation (try the 2012 Live in London version) and Jeff Buckley. ( )

I read an excerpt from The Holy or the Broken online recently and I picked up the book from my library on impulse. Like most people of my generation who know it through Jeff Buckley, I love the Leonard Cohen song "Hallelujah".

And then it sat in my "To Read" pile for some weeks while I decided whether or not I really wanted to bother reading it. Honestly, how much is there to say about one song? How compelling can a whole book about it be?

As it turns out: Quite a lot, and very compelling.

The secret to this book is that it isn't just about a song. It's a meditation on pop culture over the past few decades. Because "Hallelujah" traced arguably the most unusual and unique path of any pop song during that period, it offers us a singular perspective through which to view recent history and the changes wrought in our culture.

Because the song has endured through so many changes and found its place in so many different circumstances for so many different reasons, it says a great deal about who we are and what's important to us.

Because it resonates with us in ways that are so unexpected, it serves as a very different sort of mirror onto ourselves.

This song is difficult, it refuses to yield easy or obvious answers about its meaning or intent. This song is endlessly layered and adaptable, but it's built on a core of stark simplicity. Exploring how this song has been used, by whom and for what, is fascinating.

I sometimes feel that modern culture does everything in its power to avoid confronting the mysterious, dangerous, complex and unknowable aspects of our existence. We value comfort and convenience too much to allow true mystery into our lives.

Ancient cultures, by contrast, had no choice but to confront such mystery head-on.

Existence is still mysterious, dangerous, complex and unknowable, whether we're comfortable acknowledging that or not. By drawing on ancient tales from the Old Testament as his inspiration for "Hallelujah", Cohen threw open a window that shows us this unadulterated truth - he brought an ancient awareness of it into the modern era, and made it human and fragile, eternal and enduring.

That ancient awareness still speaks to us, still moves us, as powerfully as ever. ( )

I love this song as much as anyone, but this book would have been much better off as an essay. It just dragged on and on. I was also ticked off at the emphasis on Buckley, two whole chapters devoted to licking his boots and praising his so-called talent, when his version of Hallelujah is the absolute worst I've ever heard. ( )