Various Positions

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This is an irrepressible, Jewish/Greek-sounding song I can imagine moving to, in soft inebriation, in a taverna somewhere crepuscular and warm.

Although it featured a more contemporary sound for its time compared with the singer's previous LPs, Columbia did not think it was commercially viable and refused to release Various Positions in the US.I've listened to it during a million (full)moonlit nights and sung some of its songs aloud again and again (and then some)! Cohen, like very few others, has always appreciated that love is at least as much comedy as tragedy. Cohen's words are often interestingly cryptic, moving and deeply reflective, rather than being outrightly political or 'protest'. Although structured as a love song, "Dance Me to the End of Love" was in fact inspired by the Holocaust.

This explains the slight strain in Cohen's singing on the track; changing the key on the Casio would have meant altering the drum pattern that Cohen wanted to use (The song, which would become Cohen's perennial show opener, is performed in a lower key live). As usual it is Cohen's strong lyrics (more poetry really) and the quality of his voice that holds the simple backing tunes together.Released in 1985 Various Positions proved to be a transitional album for Cohen, poised halfway between the classic balladic style of Recent Songs and the cool electronic backing of I'm Your Man.