The Essential Leonard Cohen

The Essential Leonard Cohen
Greatest hits album by
Leonard Cohen
ReleasedOctober 22, 2002
Recorded1967–2004
GenreFolk rock
Length2:34:10
Labels
ProducersDigitally remastered by Leonard Cohen and Bob Ludwig
Leonard Cohen chronology
Ten New Songs
(2001)		 The Essential Leonard Cohen
(2002)		 Dear Heather
(2004)
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusicStarStarStarStarHalf star[1]
Robert ChristgauA[2]
Rolling StoneStarStarStarStarStar[3]

The Essential Leonard Cohen is a career-spanning collection of Leonard Cohen songs released in 2002. It is part of Sony's The Essential series.

The songs are arranged in chronological order; all studio albums released before 2002 are represented, except the 1977 album Death of a Ladies' Man. All tracks were digitally remastered by Leonard Cohen and Bob Ludwig. All songs on the compilation were chosen by Cohen himself.

The album was re-released in August 2008 with an extra disc of previously not included tracks (presented as the selection of "fans' favorite" songs).

Track listing

Disc one
No.TitleLength
1."Suzanne"3:47
2."The Stranger Song"4:59
3."Sisters Of Mercy"3:33
4."Hey, That's No Way to Say Goodbye"2:54
5."So Long, Marianne"5:37
6."Bird on the Wire" (misspelled as "Bird on a Wire" on tracklist)3:25
7."The Partisan"3:25
8."Famous Blue Raincoat"5:07
9."Chelsea Hotel #2"3:05
10."Take This Longing"4:05
11."Who By Fire"2:33
12."The Guests"6:39
13."Hallelujah"4:39
14."If It Be Your Will"3:42
15."Night Comes On"4:39
16."I'm Your Man"4:26
17."Everybody Knows"5:34
18."Tower of Song"5:37

Notes

Disc two
No.TitleLength
1."Ain't No Cure For Love"4:49
2."Take This Waltz"5:58
3."First We Take Manhattan"5:50
4."Dance Me to the End of Love" (live)6:04
5."The Future"6:41
6."Democracy"7:13
7."Waiting For The Miracle"7:42
8."Closing Time"5:58
9."Anthem"6:06
10."In My Secret Life"4:53
11."Alexandra Leaving"5:22
12."A Thousand Kisses Deep"6:26
13."Love Itself"5:22

Notes

Disc three (The Essential 3.0)
No.TitleLength
1."Seems So Long Ago, Nancy"3:39
2."Love Calls You By Name"5:38
3."A Singer Must Die"3:17
4."Death Of A Ladies' Man"9:19
5."The Traitor"6:14
6."By The Rivers Dark"5:20
7."The Letters"4:48

Notes

Track 1 is from Songs from a Room

Track 2 is from Songs of Love and Hate

Track 3 is from New Skin for the Old Ceremony

Track 4 is from Death of a Ladies' Man

Track 5 is from Recent Songs

Track 6 is from Ten New Songs

Track 7 is from Dear Heather

Charts

Certifications

Region CertificationCertified units/sales
Australia (ARIA)[26] 2× Platinum 140,000^
Finland (Musiikkituottajat)[27] Gold 17,896[27]
Germany (BVMI)[28] Gold 150,000‡
Italy (FIMI)[29] Gold 25,000*
New Zealand (RMNZ)[30] Platinum 15,000^
Norway (IFPI Norway)[31] Platinum 47,000[32]
Poland (ZPAV)[33] Platinum 20,000‡
Sweden (GLF)[34] Gold 30,000^
United Kingdom (BPI)[35] Platinum 235,749[36]
United States (RIAA)[37] Gold 500,000^

* Sales figures based on certification alone.
^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.
‡ Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone.

References

  1. ↑ The Essential Leonard Cohen at AllMusic
  2. ↑ link
  3. ↑ link
  4. ↑ "Leonard Cohen: The Essential" (in Finnish). Musiikkituottajat – IFPI Finland. Retrieved August 14, 2013.
  5. ↑ "Offiziellecharts.de – Cohen, Leonard – The Essential" (in German). GfK Entertainment charts. Retrieved August 18, 2024.
  6. ↑ "Norwegiancharts.com – Leonard Cohen – The Essential". Hung Medien. Retrieved August 14, 2013.
  7. ↑ "Oficjalna lista sprzedaży :: OLiS - Official Retail Sales Chart". OLiS. Polish Society of the Phonographic Industry. Retrieved August 14, 2013.
  8. ↑ "Swedishcharts.com – Leonard Cohen – The Essential". Hung Medien. Retrieved August 14, 2013.
  9. ↑ "Swisscharts.com – Leonard Cohen – The Essential". Hung Medien. Retrieved August 14, 2013.
  10. ↑ "Austriancharts.at – Leonard Cohen – The Essential" (in German). Hung Medien. Retrieved August 14, 2013.
  11. ↑ "Dutchcharts.nl – Leonard Cohen – The Essential" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved August 14, 2013.
  12. ↑ "Australiancharts.com – Leonard Cohen – The Essential 3.0". Hung Medien. Retrieved August 14, 2013.
  13. ↑ "ČNS IFPI – CZ Albums – Top 100 – 36. týden 2009" (in Czech). ČNS IFPI. Retrieved August 14, 2013.
  14. ↑ "Album Top 40 slágerlista – 2009. 36. hét" (in Hungarian). MAHASZ. Retrieved August 27, 2026.
  15. ↑ "Spanishcharts.com – Leonard Cohen – The Essential". Hung Medien. Retrieved August 14, 2013.
  16. ↑ "Charts.nz – Leonard Cohen – The Essential 3.0". Hung Medien. Retrieved November 2, 2021.
  17. ↑ "Official Scottish Albums Chart on 18/11/2016 – Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved August 18, 2024.
  18. ↑ "Official Albums Chart on 18/11/2016 – Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved November 19, 2016.
  19. ↑ "Oficjalna lista sprzedaży :: OLiS - Official Retail Sales Chart". OLiS. Polish Society of the Phonographic Industry. Retrieved January 25, 2018.
  20. ↑ "Oficjalna lista sprzedaży :: OLiS - Official Retail Sales Chart". OLiS. Polish Society of the Phonographic Industry. Retrieved April 18, 2019.
  21. ↑ "Official IFPI Charts Top-75 Albums Sales Chart (Combined) – Εβδομάδα: 45/2025" (in Greek). IFPI Greece. Archived from the original on November 12, 2025. Retrieved November 12, 2025.
  22. ↑ "Årslista Album – År 2002" (in Swedish). Sverigetopplistan. Retrieved November 7, 2020.
  23. ↑ "Jaaroverzichten – Album 2008". dutchcharts.nl. Retrieved November 7, 2020.
  24. ↑ "ARIA Top 100 Albums for 2009". Australian Recording Industry Association. Retrieved November 2, 2021.
  25. ↑ "Najpopularniejsze albumy i single 2019 roku" (in Polish). Polish Society of the Phonographic Industry. Archived from the original on July 26, 2020. Retrieved January 28, 2020.
  26. ↑ "ARIA Charts – Accreditations – 2016 Albums" (PDF). Australian Recording Industry Association. Retrieved August 23, 2022.
  27. 1 2 "Kulta- ja platinalevyt - Leonard Cohen" (in Finnish). Musiikkituottajat – IFPI Finland. Retrieved August 15, 2013.
  28. ↑ "Gold-/Platin-Datenbank (Leonard Cohen; 'The Essential Leonard Cohen')" (in German). Bundesverband Musikindustrie. Retrieved January 31, 2023.
  29. ↑ "Italian album certifications – Leonard Cohen – The Essential" (in Italian). Federazione Industria Musicale Italiana. Retrieved 10 December 2018.
  30. ↑ "Latest Gold / Platinum Albums". Radioscope. 17 July 2011. Archived from the original on 2011-07-24. Retrieved August 15, 2013.
  31. ↑ "IFPI Norsk platebransje Trofeer 1993–2011" (in Norwegian). IFPI Norway.
  32. ↑ Karlsen, Veronica (13 December 2002). "Guttas år" (in Norwegian). Aftenposten. Retrieved 20 July 2023.
  33. ↑ "Wyróżnienia – Platynowe płyty CD - Archiwum - Przyznane w 2019 roku" (in Polish). Polish Society of the Phonographic Industry. Archived from the original on 2024-11-10. Retrieved May 30, 2019.
  34. ↑ "Guld- och Platinacertifikat − År 2002" (PDF) (in Swedish). IFPI Sweden. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2011-05-17. Retrieved 1 May 2019.
  35. ↑ "British album certifications – Leonard Cohen – The Essential". British Phonographic Industry. Retrieved August 15, 2013. Select albums in the Formats field. Type The Essential Leonard Cohen in the "Search:" field.
  36. ↑ Jones, Alan (November 18, 2016). "Official Charts Analysis: Olly Murs fifth album debuts at No.1". Music Week. Intent Media. Retrieved November 24, 2016.
  37. ↑ "American album certifications – Leonard Cohen – The Essential". Recording Industry Association of America. Retrieved August 15, 2013.
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