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
Songs From A Room
1969 · Columbia CS 9767 · Stereo · US · LP · 33 1/3 RPM
Pressing details
| Label | Columbia |
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| Catalogue number | CS 9767 |
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| Year | 1969 |
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| Mono / Stereo | Stereo |
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| Country | US |
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| Format | LP |
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| Speed | 33 1/3 RPM |
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| Genre | Folk/Rock - Singer-Songwriter |
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| Producer | Bob Johnston |
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| Musicians | Leonard Cohen (vocals, classical guitar), Ron Cornelius (acoustic and electric guitar), Elkin “Bubba” Fowler (banjo, bass, violin, acoustic guitar), Charlie Daniels (bass, violin, acoustic guitar), Bob Johnston (producer); uncredited on the jacket: backing vocals in French (track 5) |
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Matrix / Runout
Side A: XSM138929-1C P 0 B 5
Side B: XSM138930-1C P 0 B3
Condition
- Cover
- EX+
- Vinyl
- EX
Variant chronology
1969 - US Columbia CS 9767, stereo, two-eye “360 Sound” label <- this copy
1969 - US Columbia CS 9767, mono, two-eye label
1969 - UK CBS S 63587, stereo
1969 - UK CBS 63587, mono
1969 - Canada Columbia CS 9767, stereo
1969 - Japan CBS/Sony SONP 50141, stereo
1975 - Japan CBS/Sony SOPN 143, stereo
1969 - Israel CBS CS 63587 / Columbia PC 9767, stereo
c. 1990s - US Sundazed SUNLP 5283, 150g reissue
c. 1990s - UK Simply Vinyl SVLP 0008, 180g reissue
This Pressing
1969 US stereo pressing - Columbia two-eye, 360 Sound label; 1C stamper letter on both sides, an earlier generation among this catalogue number's known runs.
The Album
Songs From A Room is Leonard Cohen's second album, recorded in Nashville after an earlier attempt in Hollywood with David Crosby was abandoned, with Bob Johnston taking over as producer and assembling a small, spare backing band in place of the lush arrangements of Cohen's debut. The stark instrumentation and Johnston's austere production matched the bleak, political and romantic preoccupations of Cohen's lyrics, from the war-ravaged imagery of The Partisan to the plainspoken devotional “Bird on the Wire,” a song Cohen would later call his own benediction before every concert. The album arrived as Cohen was moving from reputation as a poet and novelist toward a defined career as a singer-songwriter, consolidating the persona of the wry, melancholic troubadour that would define his subsequent work. Its unadorned sound, closer to folk and country than to the chamber-pop of his debut, was received by critics as a maturation of his songwriting and remains a touchstone of the late-1960s singer-songwriter movement. “Bird on the Wire” in particular became one of the most covered and admired songs of Cohen's career, cementing the album's reputation among his finest work.
Tracklist
Side 1
1. Bird On The Wire
2. Story Of Isaac
3. A Bunch Of Lonesome Heros
4. The Partisan
5. Seems So Long Ago, Nancy
Side 2
1. The Old Revolution
2. The Butcher
3. You Know Who I Am
4. Lady Midnight
5. Tonight Will Be Fine
The Label
The labels are red with white rim print, “COLUMBIA” arched in white at the top, a CBS walking-eye logo boxed at 9 and 3 o'clock, and a “360 SOUND” STEREO “360 SOUND” legend with outward arrows at the foot - the two-eye, 360 Sound Columbia design used across the late 1960s before the orange-label era replaced it in the early 1970s. No deep groove is present on either label. The runout on both sides carries a 1C stamper letter, an earlier generation than the 1D and 1G letters that also circulated for this catalogue number, placing this copy among the earlier stamper runs on the two-eye design rather than the latest. The Pitman, New Jersey plant credit on the jacket situates manufacture at Columbia's own East Coast pressing facility used for the US stereo run.
Fidelity
The album was cut from the Nashville session tapes at Columbia's own mastering facility and pressed at the Pitman, New Jersey plant, typical of Columbia's late-1960s domestic stereo output. Collectors generally regard these early two-eye US pressings as solid, warm-sounding copies without the brightness of some later reissues, though no audiophile remastering of this title has achieved landmark status. This copy's early -1C lacquer places it ahead of later-lettered stampers of the same release in the pressing hierarchy, and it ranks above the Sundazed and Simply Vinyl reissues, which collectors view as decent but not exceptional in sound.
Notes
This is a 1969 Columbia CS 9767 stereo pressing on the two-eye, “360 Sound” label, manufactured at the Pitman, New Jersey plant. The runout on both sides carries the -1C prefix, the earliest cutting generation for this release, placing this copy with the original pressing run rather than a later repress carried on the same catalogue number. The label shows no deep groove, and no later orange-label reissue tells are present.
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