Artist: LEONARD COHEN
Album: NEW SKIN FOR THE OLD CEREMONY (CD)

Release date: 1974
Media type: CD

New Skin for the Old Ceremony is Leonard Cohen's fourth studio album. On this album, he begins to evolve away from the rawer sound of his earlier albums, with violas, mandolins, banjos, guitars, percussion and other instruments giving the album a more orchestrated (but nevertheless spare) sound. The album is silver in the UK, but never dented the Billboard Top 200.

The original cover art for New Skin for the Old Ceremony was an image from the alchemical text Rosarium philosophorum. The two winged and crowned beings in sexual embrace caused his U.S. record label, Columbia Records to print one early edition of the album minus the image substituting instead a photo of Cohen.

The image originally came to public attention in C.G.Jung's essay, The Psychology of The Transference (2nd ed.1966) where it is held by Jung to depict the union of psychic opposites in the consciousness of the enlightened saint. The sexual embrace as a symbol for this condition of psychic unity is also found frequently in Tibetan thangkas (sacred paintings).

All songs were written by Leonard Cohen, except "Chelsea Hotel #2" by Cohen and Ron Cornelius.

TRACKLIST:

1."Is This What You Wanted" – 4:13
2."Chelsea Hotel #2" – 3:06
3."Lover Lover Lover" – 3:19
4."Field Commander Cohen" – 3:59
5."Why Don't You Try" – 3:50

6."There Is a War" – 2:59
7."A Singer Must Die" – 3:17
8."I Tried to Leave You" – 2:40
9."Who by Fire" – 2:33
10."Take This Longing" – 4:06
11."Leaving Green Sleeves" – 2:38