I’ve often thought about doing a programme based around one song and I have to say Leonard Cohen’s Hallelujah would be a contender.
Jeff Buckley’s version of the much covered classic is somewhat unbelievably in America after it was performed on American Idol last week.
Amusingly the king of pap, Simon Cowell was quick to point out that Buckley’s Hallelujah was one of his “favourite ever songs.” This from the man who signed Westlife and brought the world Robson and Jerome.
The song has been featured in many films and TV shows over the years including Shrek, ER, Hollyoaks and memorably in The West Wing. ( Over the sequence in series 3 where CJ’s secret service boyfriend gets killed. Heartbreaking!)
Buckley’s version brought the song to a wider audience of music lovers ( and Cowell) and was rightly acclaimed. However it’s also been covered by Rufus Wainright, Katherine Williams, kd lang and …. dare I say it, Bon Jovi. Why not post a comment and let me know which one tops your list of covers?
For me kd’s live version of the song is truly breathtaking and if my producer Matt is wondering why I was glued to my screen this afternoon with my headphones on and something mysteriously “stuck in my eye", it was because I was watching .
I saw her on New York recently and loved her as much as this critic from the New York Times:
"Possessed of one of the world’s most beautiful and steady pop voices, she flexes her instrument like a sleepy cat stretching on a carpet. As she unabashedly luxuriates in the sound that she makes, her showmanship and sheer enjoyment of playing the diva transform the angst and self-questioning of her lyrics into a personal credo: If you can manage all that pain and longing, emotional turbulence can be pleasurable."
I can exlusively reveal that "one of the world's most beautiful voices" is coming to Edinburgh in July to play at The Festival Theatre. Tickets go on sale tomorrow morning. See you in the queue.