Canada produced
some of the best songwriters of the time. These people made their living
traveling around with acoustic guitars strapped across their backs and playing
the songs they wrote wherever they could. Their style is very simple
musically and very personal lyrically. An independent breed, which is what
I guess you get out of Canada, they were essentially non-commercial. They
didn't try to figure out what people wanted to hear, they just put what they had
out there and hoped someone would be interested.
Leonard Cohen - Field Commander Cohen: Tour of 1979 Joni Mitchell and the L.A. Express - Miles of Aisles Neil Young Live On Sugar Mountain
February 1, 1971
In an era of great writers, Cohen was the best, by far. These songs were recorded live at the Hammersmith Odeon, London, on December 4,5,6, 1979; and at the Dome Theatre, Brighton, on December 15, 1979. The musicians performing with him are incredible and add a dimension to his songs that most of his studio recordings never had.
Cohen was born in Montreal in 1934 and attended McGill University. He came to America in 1966 to settle near Nashville and pursue a musical career. He started to get noticed when Judy Collins recorded both Suzanne and Dress Rehearsal Rag on her 1966 album, In My Life. In 1967, Cohen appeared at the Newport Folk Festival where he was seen by Columbia A&R man John Hammond (who also recruited Billie Holiday, Bob Dylan and Bruce Springsteen). By Christmas, Columbia had released his first album, The Songs of Leonard Cohen, which included the memorable Suzanne, a tune which captures the sixties sensibility like no other . These recordings were made at a performance at the Universal Amphitheatre August 14th through 17th, 1974 in Los Angeles (except for 2 songs recorded earlier that year elsewhere in California). It pretty much covers her "greatest hits" going back to Circle Game (which you probably remember singing at summer camp) and up to Jericho, which she had just written.
Mitchell was definitely the 60's ideal free spirit singer who packed a suitcase and a guitar and played wherever they'd let her. When her marriage broke up in 1967 she left the folk music scene in Toronto to go to New York City. Along the way she hooked up with David Crosby of the Byrds, moved out to LA with him and he helped her get her first album out in 1968. This live recording made by a member of the audience captures Young at the top of his game. This is a rare collector's item, available only at Strictly Sixties. The guitar break above is a clip from this recording. For more information go to the Gift Shop.
Born in Toronto, Canada, Neil Young moved to Winnipeg with his mother following her divorce. Young began playing music in local folk clubs, where he met Joni Mitchell and Stephen Stills. During the mid-'60s, he returned to Toronto, where he played as a solo folk act then moved to Los Angeles where he and Stills formed Buffalo Springfield, which became one of the leaders of the Californian folk-rock scene. Young quit the band to become a solo artist in May of 1968. In 1969 he recorded his second album, Everybody Knows This Is Nowhere, with the group Crazy Horse and joined up with Crosby, Stills and Nash to record the Deja Vu album in 1970. Young continued to record solo as well, releasing After the Goldrush in 1970 and Harvest in 1972.
Leonard Cohen - Field Commander Cohen: Tour of 1979
In an era of great writers, Cohen was the best, by far. These songs were recorded live at the Hammersmith Odeon, London, on December 4,5,6, 1979; and at the Dome Theatre, Brighton, on December 15, 1979. The musicians performing with him are incredible and add a dimension to his songs that most of his studio recordings never had.
Cohen was born in Montreal in 1934 and attended McGill University. He came to America in 1966 to settle near Nashville and pursue a musical career. He started to get noticed when Judy Collins recorded both Suzanne and Dress Rehearsal Rag on her 1966 album, In My Life. In 1967, Cohen appeared at the Newport Folk Festival where he was seen by Columbia A&R man John Hammond (who also recruited Billie Holiday, Bob Dylan and Bruce Springsteen). By Christmas, Columbia had released his first album, The Songs of Leonard Cohen, which included the memorable Suzanne, a tune which captures the sixties sensibility like no other .
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