Old Ideas

With a successful world tour and his “Hallelujah” becoming a first-call contemporary standard, the past few years have been particularly rewarding for Leonard Cohen. On Old Ideas, his 12th studio album, the iconic singer/songwriter/poet continues his exploration of the spiritual, the sensual, and the cycle of life over the course of 10 songs. His unexcitable, half-spoken baritone is a calming, lyrical guide, with vocalists Dana Glover and The Webb Sisters and longtime collaborators Jennifer Warnes and Sharon Robinson providing tonal contrasts. With dual piano and organ accompaniment, “Show Me the Place” has the solemn levity of a modern hymn. The bluesy “Darkness” and the cabaret-friendly “Different Sides” showcase Cohen’s noirish and uptempo sides. “Banjo" has a rural North Americana arrangement, appropriately enough, with an unexpected, Dixieland-like clarinet-and-trumpet interlude.