It’s difficult, albeit a little ill-mannered, not to regard Old Ideas as possibly Leonard Cohen’s final recorded testament. There’s a distinct valedictory tone to his customary musings upon life, love and the spirit, with one track titled “Amen” and another “The Darkness”. But if it is to be his last communiqué, at least the old smoothie’s going down swinging.The higher concerns are continued in “Come Healing”, whose hymnal tone reflects a desire for both physical and spiritual healing: “Come healing of the reason, come healing of the heart”. It’s an obvious heir of sorts to “Hallelujah”, although given that that song was as much about waning potency as anything, a more apt successor may be “Show Me The Place”, a heartfelt plea for the restoration of desire: “Show me the place I’ve forgotten I don’t know”. Likewise, in “Crazy to Love You”, Cohen admits to the wearisome duty of love: “I’m tired of chasing desire, I’m saved by a blessed fatigue.”
