A Summer of High Art
It was the summer of 1983, and Leonard was in New York recording his seventh album, Various Positions. The pressure to release a good, solid LP was especially high, considering he hadn’t released a single song in the preceding five years. Along with producer John Lissauer, Cohen experimented with different sounds, introducing synthesizers for the first time into his work.
Photo by Richard McCaffrey/Michael Ochs Archive/Getty Images
Lissauer described his time with Cohen as one of the most rewarding experiences of his life. “Leonard and I got along so well it’s almost scary,” he told Rolling Stone. “There were no roadblocks, no disasters; it was great start to finish – it was high art, it was just thrilling.”