Thank you for buying this record. What follows is its documentation: the
pressing identified, the matrix / runout transcribed by hand from the dead
wax, and the condition as assessed before it was listed. It is yours to keep
with the record.
— Paul, Vinyl Curator
Leonard Cohen
Recent Songs
1979 · CBS CBS 86097 · Stereo · Netherlands ("Made in Holland" printed on the labels; pressed for the European market) · LP · 33 1/3 RPM
Pressing details
| Label | CBS |
|---|
| Catalogue number | CBS 86097 |
|---|
| Year | 1979 |
|---|
| Mono / Stereo | Stereo |
|---|
| Country | Netherlands ("Made in Holland" printed on the labels; pressed for the European market) |
|---|
| Format | LP |
|---|
| Speed | 33 1/3 RPM |
|---|
| Genre | Rock - Folk Rock, Singer-Songwriter |
|---|
| Producer | Leonard Cohen, Henry Lewy |
|---|
| Musicians | Leonard Cohen (vocals, guitar), Jennifer Warnes (harmony vocals), Raffi Hakopian (violin), John Bilezikjian (oud), Randy Waldman (piano, keyboards), Abraham Laboriel (bass), Garth Hudson (keyboards), Roscoe Beck (bass), Mitch Watkins (guitar), Bill Ginn (keyboards), Paul Ostermayer (saxophone, flute), Steve Meador (drums), Stephanie Spruill, The Waters (background vocals) |
|---|
Matrix / Runout
Side A: PAL36264 01-86097-3A-1
Side B: PBL36264 01-86097-2B-1
Condition
- Cover
- EX
- Vinyl
- NM
Variant chronology
1979 - US Columbia JC 36264, orange label, Terre Haute pressing
1979 - Europe CBS 86097, orange-to-yellow label, Made in Holland (CBS Haarlem) <- this copy
1979 - Italy CBS 86097, SIAE stamp on label
1979 - UK/other Europe CBS 86097 variants
1980 - Yugoslavia Suzy/CBS 86097 - unpriced
1979 - Japan CBS/Sony 25AP 1697, with obi
2012 - Music On Vinyl MOVLP311 reissue, 180g
2017 - Columbia 88985435281 reissue - unpriced
This Pressing
1979 European pressing (stereo) - CBS 86097, Made in Holland labels, LC -0149 code, distinct from the US Columbia and Italian issues of the same catalogue number.
The Album
Recent Songs, released in 1979, was Leonard Cohen's sixth studio album and his first self-produced effort, made with longtime engineer Henry Lewy after the chaotic, Phil Spector-helmed Death of a Ladies' Man had drawn the harshest reviews of his career. Cohen assembled a loose, chamber-folk ensemble built around gypsy violinist Raffi Hakopian and oud player John Bilezikjian, layering Mediterranean and Middle Eastern colors, jazz inflections, and even a mariachi horn section onto his spare songwriting. It also marked the first prominent studio appearance of singer Jennifer Warnes, whose harmonies would become a signature of Cohen's sound for years afterward. Thematically the record returned to the intimate, literary balladry of his early career, with songs of longing, exile, and devotion standing among his most admired later-period compositions. Critics welcomed it as a return to form, and it helped restore Cohen's standing after the Spector detour, cementing his reputation as a songwriter capable of blending worldly musical textures with unflinching personal reflection. The album remains a touchstone in Cohen's catalogue for its ambitious arrangements and its role in bridging his 1970s folk persona with the more orchestrated sound of his 1980s work.
Tracklist
Side 1
1. The Guests
2. Humbled in Love
3. The Window
4. Came So Far for Beauty
5. The Lost Canadian (Un Canadien Errant)
Side 2
1. The Traitor
2. Our Lady of Solitude
3. The Gypsy's Wife
4. The Smokey Life
5. Ballad of the Absent Mare
The Label
The labels show the orange-to-yellow CBS "eye" design with BIEM/STEMRA rights-society box and an LC -0149 label code, printed CBS 86097 and (JC 36264) as the US/Canadian cross-reference number; this is the Made-in-Holland European pressing manufactured by CBS at Haarlem, distinct from the US Columbia Terre Haute pressing and from the Italian SIAE-stamped copy of the same catalogue number. The rear cover carries CBS's own price-code boxes ("CB 271" boxed, "57" circled) rather than a conflicting catalogue number - these are pricing codes used across the CBS Europe catalogue, not an alternate album number. The LC prefix on a label used on titles that predate 1977 only dates the label stock to no earlier than that code's introduction, consistent with this being a contemporary 1979 Haarlem pressing rather than an older stamper.
Fidelity
The original 1979 mix was recorded and mixed by Henry Lewy at A&M Studios with mastering by Bernie Grundman, as credited on the jacket. This European Haarlem pressing is a contemporary cut from the era rather than a later remaster, and collectors generally regard the original-era CBS/Columbia pressings as sonically comparable to one another, with the 2012 Music On Vinyl 180g reissue cited as a clean modern cut for those seeking quieter vinyl. No audiophile specialty remaster of this title exists to rank above the original pressings.
Notes
This is the 1979 CBS Europe pressing of Recent Songs, manufactured in Holland rather than the US Columbia or Italian SIAE-stamped copies that share the catalogue number CBS 86097. The orange-to-yellow CBS 'eye' label, BIEM/STEMRA box and LC -0149 code match the Haarlem-pressed European issue, and the runout on side 1 corresponds to the documented Haarlem stamper sequence; side 2's runout shows a different stamper suffix than the Haarlem variant referenced for comparison, suggesting another stamper run of the same pressing. The rear-cover price-code boxes are CBS's own European pricing marks, not evidence of a different catalogue number.
Documenting collections
I do this work for other people’s collections too — documenting a
collection record by record, researching individual pressings, and preparing
collections for sale or for insurance. If you have a collection you would like
documented, or a record you want identified properly, get in touch:
email
This record’s page: https://vinylcurator.net/albums/leonard-cohen-recent-songs/
