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The Holy Or The Broken
Alan Light
Leonard Cohen, Jeff Buckley, and the Unlikely Ascent of "Hallelujah"
Atria
December 2012
On Sale: December 4, 2012
ISBN: 1451657846
EAN: 9781451657845
Kindle: B007EDZ3M6
Hardcover / e-Book
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Non-Fiction
“A venerated creator. An adored, tragic interpreter.
An uncomplicated, memorable melody. Ambiguous, evocative
words. Faith and uncertainty. Pain and pleasure.”
Today, “Hallelujah” is one of the most-performed rock
songs in history. It has become a staple of movies and
television shows as diverse as Shrek and The West
Wing, of tribute videos and telethons. It has been
covered by hundreds of artists, including Bob Dylan, U2,
Justin Timberlake, and k.d. lang, and it is played every
year at countless events—both sacred and secular—around the
world. Yet when music legend Leonard Cohen first
wrote and recorded “Hallelujah,” it was for an album
rejected by his longtime record label. Ten years later,
charismatic newcomer Jeff Buckley reimagined the song for
his much-anticipated debut album, Grace. Three years
after that, Buckley would be dead, his album largely
unknown, and “Hallelujah” still unreleased as a single.
After two such commercially disappointing outings, how did
one obscure song become an international anthem for human
triumph and tragedy, a song each successive generation seems
to feel they have discovered and claimed as uniquely their
own? Through in-depth interviews with its
interpreters and the key figures who were actually there for
its original recordings, acclaimed music journalist Alan
Light follows the improbable journey of “Hallelujah”
straight to the heart of popular culture. The Holy or the
Broken gives insight into how great songs come to be,
how they come to be listened to, and how they can be forever
reinterpreted.
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