The Lyrics of Leonard Cohen by Leonard Cohen - Book Review

Greetings,

There are and have been quite a few good songwriters in the world. All those people who can combine words and music and give us something great to listen to. However, there aren't too many who are so good with lyrics that I would read them on their own without the music. Leonard Cohen was one of those people. So, you can imagine how thrilled I was when I found a book called The Lyrics of Leonard Cohen.

I believe the title is self-explanatory, but in case it is not, this book is crammed with lyrics written by the great Leonard Cohen. And I happen to consider him one of the greatest lyricists of all time. Of course, he has written other books, novels and collections of poetry. But, to me, this is a must have collection for any person who loves his work. I happen to be someone who falls into that category and this includes some of my favorite songs of his, like "Anthem" and "If It Be Your Will", not to mention a couple of versions of "Hallelujah" where we get some alternative lyrics that aren't always sung. So, indeed, this collection is something to behold.

There is just something so satisfying about sitting down and flipping through this book. The first time I read this it was nearly impossible to look at those words and not read them to the melodies that are attached to them. I may have even begun to hum a bit as I did so. But after a while and after a few reads, I began to simply do that. Just read the words as they appeared on the page. It was at that point that I really looked at all the work within as not only lyrics but poetry. And it is just that. Although, I can admit that, as much as I love this man's writing, there are a few lines here and there of which I am not totally fond, but they are massively outweighed by the ones I love. And that is a very good thing to have happen.

Oh, and by the way, in addition to the wonderful words, this book also contains quite a few wonderful picture. In amongst the song lyrics, you'll see some beautiful black and white shots of Mr. Cohen. Some of them are in concert, some look like promotional shots and others just look like candids. Any way, they are perfect additions to this collection. Not to mention the very nice introduction by Graham Vickers.

I know that this review is very short and hopefully sweet, but to be honest, there is little more to say about this book. It's just an amazing collection of writing and it's nice to have all these lyrics together in one place, so we can read them whenever we wish to do so. And I wish to do so quite often. So, if you are an admirer of the late, great Leonard Cohen. This is definitely one to check out if you haven't already.

Love and full moons,
Becky the Writer

Daily Battles

Greetings,

Things have been interesting for me lately. I know I mentioned how, for the last couple of years, I've been dealing with some depression. I've also mentioned that, for the last couple of months, I've been pulling myself out of it. It's been tough, but I'm making it through. However, even when things are getting better, it doesn't mean you don't still have things to fight against. In fact, sometimes that's when you have to fight more.

Ever since I made the decision to get my life back together in many ways, I've noticed something. I've been getting attacked quite a bit. I can see that more things have been trying to put me off track more than they have in the past. Just the other day, I had to deal with something that might have been very majorly bad and it hit me pretty hard. Still, I took care of it as best I could, and I chose to move on from it and trust that everything would be okay. Better than okay. That's what I've been doing a lot lately. It's as though something is trying to pull me back to where I was, but I won't let that happen.

All of us deal with daily battles, some bigger than others. It's just a part of life. We can have good days, even great days, but things can sneak in to try to mess with that. Sometimes those things are as little as a person being rude. Sometimes it's something much worse. Either way, we have to fight the battles, work through them, and get on with our lives. It's not always easy. Some daily battles may be the hardest you've ever had to deal with. But you can.

Our lives are full of ups and downs. And no matter what, we can hold on, get through every day and look forward to the next one with hope.

Love and full moons,
Becky the Writer

Let's Start Over / Spencer Gibb - Album Review

Greetings,

If there's one thing I've done quite a bit on this blog, it is complain that there is very little good music being released these days. At least, when it comes to the new stuff and what is put out on the radio. In my opinion, anyway. Therefore, when I come across something that is fairly new and also happens to be excellent, I tend to get very excited. And that is why I chose this particular album to discuss today.

This review may be different from others I've done regarding music. Mostly because I have very little behind the scenes info on this album. Usually I could search the internet, even Wikipedia, for all that good stuff, but I'm limited here. Thankfully, what I am limited to is some very good music. Some extremely good music, actually, from an album called Let's Start Over by Spencer Gibb.

I was first exposed to some of this music about seven years ago, when I inadvertently found an EPK about Spencer Gibb. I watched it quite a few times and I still watch it every now and then. So, I did get a bit of inside information about how it all came to be, which I hope is accurate. For example, we got to meet a couple of people who worked with Spencer on this music. One being a guy name Aaron Frescas, a producer, who clearly knows what he's doing from what I can tell here. He also seems like he'd be a fun guy to hang out with, if I may say so. Another one is Kasi Painter, a singer with an absolutely beautiful voice. I hesitate to call her a backup singer, because she almost seems like more a vocal partner to Spencer on many of these songs. Their voices are quite different, but they compliment each other very well. One more contributor was a guy named Bernie Grundman, who was the mastering engineer and who is a bit of a legend in the industry, having worked on some very important projects in the past. And then, I learned about the string arrangements, done with the help of a guy named Ludek Drizhal, which are used quite brilliantly. They just lend themselves so well to this entire piece, especially at the end of the album. But I'll discuss that later.

One other thing I discovered was what I see as the concept of the album. Spencer said it started with a bad breakup. He didn't have to say that, because you can certainly tell that's what inspired it. Through and through. I love when an artist knows what story they want to tell with their music and they do exactly that. I can hear the story in this. Most importantly, I can feel it. And when a songwriter can make me feel something through what they create, it means the world to me.

Now normally when I review an album, I talk about the highlights and the lowlights, but here, I kind of want to go through all the songs and say a little something about them. Just a little rapid fire. So, that is what I'm going to do. Again, I hope all of my perceptions about these songs are accurate. I know I'm just giving my opinions, but I do like to get things right.

The first thing we hear as the album starts is that unmistakable sound of orchestral instruments being tuned up and prepared to play. I think. Look, I'm not an expert on this, but that's what it sounds like to me. And I've always loved that sound, as I feel like I'm being told that something important is about to begin. That would be true here. Immediately, we get started with a song called "False Hope", where we get to hear the first of some incredible and thematic lyrics that will continue on throughout. After that, we get the title track, "Hey, World (Let's Start Over)". Interestingly enough, though I do see this as a breakup album, this song really has nothing to do with that, as far as I can tell. It's more about Spencer venting his frustrations about all the horrible stuff that is still happening in this world. I can relate. I've written about those things quite a lot myself. And he seems to be going beyond himself here, talking about everyone's pain, not just his own.

"Empty Room" comes next and it is such a soulful sounding song. You can tell through this one what kind of music Spencer was influenced by whilst making this album. There's such a great flavor of R & B all over this. And there's also a wonderfully simple video that goes along with it. You can see all of the emotions being shared through the song also being expressed through the look in his eyes. Then, we have "I Can't Stand Up", which I think has some of the best lyrics. You can feel a sense of helplessness and asking to be held up by someone you love.

After that is "Water Under the Bridge". This might be my favorite song on the whole album. It certainly is the one that made me feel something more than any other. I may have even teared up a little at this one. Just the longing you can feel here is heartbreaking and the melodies in this song are astoundingly beautiful. This one absolutely took hold of my heart and has not let go yet. "You're Gonna Love Me Again" made me think one thing. I don't know what caused this breakup of which he sings, but he must have done something bad if his former love won't take him back. Especially if that person heard this. I mean, one listen to this song and I'd take him back in a second. But maybe that's just me.

"Man Burning" feels like the most aggressive track on the album, both musically and lyrically speaking. A lot of the songs here are, as I mentioned, heartbreaking, but I can sense a bit of anger with this one. Of course, that can often be part of a relationship ending as well. Next comes a song called "Forgive". Of course, there's a song called "Forgive" on an album like this. It's very appropriate. It seems to speak to that longing, yet again, to want someone back, but sometimes you may wonder why you want that at all.

The next to last song is called "Next To Last". Clever. To me, it has the most unexpected musical sound, and I love how he expresses the feelings about knowing you're gonna get hurt if you hold on to something you probably shouldn't. Yeah, I can relate to that, too. Though I wish I couldn't. Lastly, we have a track called "Avenue F" and it is a very strong ending to this fantastic album. It starts of very softly, almost making me think it would be a piano ballad all the way through, but it does build and it ends on what could easily be called a fanfare, where those wonderful orchestrations come in again. It just sounds so symphonic, for lack of a better term. It sounds like the end and it was the perfect way to do it. And when compared to what we hear at the start of the album, it's as though we got some lovely bookends for this masterfully created work of art.

So, in case it isn't obvious, I think that Let's Start Over by Spencer Gibb is an incredible album. I mean, if I'm forced to make a complaint, there are a couple of swear words in there, which I tend to not be a fan of. But, hey, it's his album. He can do what he wants. Seriously, though, this man is quite a brilliant musician and songwriter, something that is obviously in his blood. But I think it also comes from his own passion as an individual and as an artist. He's clearly a gifted storyteller and he isn't afraid to expose his heart through his music. I don't know what else that Spencer Gibb has in store for us in the future, but if it's anything like this, I will not be disappointed.

Love and full moons,
Becky the Writer

Ashley Bell by Dean Koontz - Book Review

Greetings,

Every now and then, I come across a book that has just too much going on for me as a reader, and for some reason, I can have trouble following the story. On the other hand, there are books that have a whole lot going on and that's what engages me, draws me in and keeps me there until I reach the end. Ashley Bell by Dean Koontz is one I would describe as the latter.

Ashley Bell is about a young woman named Bibi Blair. Yes, I know. I thought the main character's name would be something else, too. All in good time, though. Anyway, she is twenty-two years old and a writer, who is doing quite well in her career. She has these great parents who are very hippie-ish, but in a delightful way and she has a wonderful fiance who is very much in love with her. Basically, she has an extremely great life. However, out of nowhere, she is hit with a dire medical crisis, one that doctors say she cannot be cured from. She and her loved ones begin to prepare for the worst, but miraculously, she is cured. No one can figure out how or why it happened. Yet Bibi begins to believe that her life was spared to save the life of someone else. Someone named Ashley Bell. And this is what leads her to begin an exciting and dangerous adventure.

As I started to read this book, I wondered to myself where it was going exactly. At first, we get to know Bibi and her parents quite well, and I enjoyed that aspect of it because I really enjoyed these characters. I liked so much how this family was portrayed, very loving and caring and even fun. Then, all of a sudden, they're pushed into this horrible situation, and you can sense the love between these family members even more so than before. Not to mention the immense love that Bibi's fiance has for her, almost in a way that goes far beyond our understanding.

After a while, though still curious about the direction of the plot, I truly began to get sucked in. For me, it was as though being hit with so many unexpected turns is what made me want to know more. And it does jump around quite a bit. We delve into Bibi's past a lot and into her childhood where there are many interesting secrets to be revealed. I'm not always a fan of books that do this, but in this case, it's what held my interest.

I have read a few reviews that had some complaints about this book. Some did not like all the jumping around and others had issues with the ending, which clearly leaves way for a sequel. I had no problem with that, probably because I went into this thinking we weren't going to get the whole story just yet. I mean, on GoodReads, it is called Ashley Bell #1, after all. One other complaint was about the length. And I will admit, it is a very long book. Nearly 600 pages. At first, I thought it would be daunting, but once I got into it, it didn't seem to be as long as I thought it would be. Maybe, if I was nitpicking, I would say it could be trimmed just a bit, but I think pretty much everything served its purpose to the whole story.

So, as you can see, this book had some mixed reviews, but I really did like it. I have enjoyed many of Dean Koontz's books and this would be rather high on my ranking list. Perhaps it is an acquired taste. Still, I found Ashley Bell to be compelling and very interesting. Interesting enough that I hope we do, indeed, get that sequel someday. Although, if it comes before the third Chris Snow book, people who have been waiting years for that one may be a little upset. I'm just saying.

Love and full moons,
Becky the Writer

About My Books: Beneath the Sable Veil

Greetings,

I can write at any time. I think most writers can say that, even though some of us allot special times to do it, for various reasons. But that inspiration to get our words down can hit at any time of the day or night. That's how it has always been for me, for better or worse. To be honest, there are few things worse for a writer than to be hit with a great idea when there is no way to be able to even get it down on paper, much less cultivate it. Yes, those awful moments do exist. However, when it came to this book, I mostly wrote at night. Which means I was writing Beneath the Sable Veil

The strangest thing about my writing so much of this book at night is that I am, in fact, very much a morning person. I love the dawn and the sunrise and the start of new day, leaving the old one far behind. But, for some reason, I found myself being awake well into the night and doing a lot of writing in those hours. And some of what I was writing about had me exploring the shadows that have lurked in my own life and heart. I was going into those caverns where light is at its weakest, but that was where I found some very valuable treasures. And then I found my way back to that light.

Digging deep to get to the part of myself that I may not want to confront, the part that may frighten me sometimes, is something I've tried to do since I started writing. I had learned that I can't be afraid to face those areas of my life, because they exist for a reason. Someone who taught me how to do that is the same person to whom I dedicated this book - Rich Mullins.

If you don't know who Rich Mullins is, he was a Christian singer/songwriter. who sadly passed away in 1997. Well, sadly for us, as I believe that he truly is in a better place and has been since the moment he left us. And if I may say, he may have been the best artist in the entire industry. Just the pure musicianship alone that he possessed would put him along the most acclaimed musicians. And not just ones from the Christian music world. The man was a musical genius, but he also had an amazing message. And he was not afraid to show himself for who he truly was. He never tried to portray himself as perfect. He showed the flaws, the bruises, the scars that he had. He showed what was hiding in his own shadows. The things that a lot of people try to hide.

So, in addition to writing about whatever came along to inspire me, I took a lesson from Rich and went to those places, once again, that are sometimes hard to deal with about myself. I told the stories that I may not have wanted to tell, but once I let myself go there, more and more flowed out and then, all of a sudden, I had a new book.

I'll mention some of the poems that stand out to me. There is "Winter Cafe", which I wrote due to all the time that I . . . cliche-ly wrote in cafes, always looking at the door, hoping that someone special might walk through it. "Fall Into the Gray" is about my love of cloudy, rainy days. A book and film about the struggles of creative types, like myself, inspired "If They Could See The Dawn Like Us". And of course, there is "Diamonds Out of Stones" and "In the Strangest World", which are ones that I wrote about the aforementioned Rich Mullins.

And there is my take on my book Beneath the Sable Veil. Though I do still enjoy my beautiful mornings, I am grateful for the nights that brought these poems to me so that I can bring them to anyone who reads my work.

Love and full moons,
Becky the Writer

About My Books: The Heartening Voice

Greetings,

The Heartening Voice is the book I consider my best. I don't know why. It just is. And there is something of an interesting story behind the process of how I came to write it.

At the time, I was doing a lot of writing, trying to compile things for a new book. But I kept hearing a voice in my head. I certainly recognized it, but it was not one that was not my own. It's never a good idea for me to have that happen, because, when I write new things, I like to hear them in my own voice. I even read them aloud to hear how they sound. And I don't particularly like my voice, so if something I've written sounds good, even as I'm reading it, I figure it must be good.

But this other voice I was hearing could have thrown things off, as this person has some vocal chords that could make the worst bit of writing sound like it's the song of an angel. Therefore, how could I judge on the quality if everything automatically seemed amazing? So, I tried very hard to clear my head of anything but my own words and sounds. But then, I hit a wall.

After I silenced that voice, I found it very hard to continue writing. It was then that I realized that it was that voice which was inspiring me to write in the first place. So I chose to embrace it. Once that happened, the writing started to flow again and I started coming up with some of the best stuff I ever had.

Again, I cover a wide range of topics. I wrote about some people I admire, about some movies that I love and about some personal experiences I was dealing with at the time. I pulled inspiration from everywhere to write the poems for this book. There was one called "Street", which was my take on a movie called Once. "How Much Love" was inspired by my favorite Shakespeare quote. I had the Chelsea on my mind when I wrote "Hotel" because I was thinking about who I would want to stay as a guest if I had a hotel like of my own. Lots of fellow artists is the answer to that by the way. And the one I would call the best in here, "Sea Calling" was indirectly inspired by Sting, as I had recently heard the music from The Last Ship. So, I had was thinking a lot about ships and the sea, which morphed, slowly but surely, into the fairy tale sounding poem that I came up.

As usual, I just let everything around me inspire me. Including that beautiful voice, whose owner I may never reveal. A lot of what's in this book is much more personal than in the previous ones and it felt good to be able to do that and share myself more openly with my readers.

So, that is my summary of my best book, in my opinion, The Heartening Voice. Enjoy.

Love and full moons,
Becky the Writer

About My Books: Letters To My Stranger Loves

Greetings,

I really like the title I came up with for this book. Letters To My Stranger Loves. It actually expresses what I was trying to do perfectly. So, what was I trying to do? Let me tell you.

I have been writing since I was a kid and sometimes, I write about people who I don't even know. As I got older, I sometimes wrote about people I don't know who I also happened to have crushes on. Yes, that's right. This book is all about my celebrity crushes. Well, it's not ALL about that. Let's just say it was inspired by them.

One day, I thought about all the things I'd written about people I don't know and for some reason, I started thinking about all the famous guys who made my heart flutter, even if it only lasted for like ten minutes. I started to make a list, and the list got quite long. So, I thought that I should write about all these guys and make a new book. Although, to say I wrote about them directly is a bit misleading.

In a few cases, yes, I did write about the actual person who I had in mind. Other times, I was inspired by something they did, usually a role they've played, if they were an actor, or a song they wrote, if they were a musician. The point is that, a lot of the time, these guys were simply a jumping off point for my inspiration. Somehow that made it much easier to write. And it makes it much harder for anyone to guess who these poems are about. I mean, I barely remember in some places and I'm the one who wrote all of them. I did make a list of names and matched them with the poems, but I may or may not have misplaced it. Who knows? Maybe I am meant to forget.

If I may point out a few of my favorites, they would include, "Tell Me With Your Eyes", "Gentle Traveler", "Mysteries", "Sunburst" and "Wondered Love". I suppose I could name a few more, but I don't want to influence any readers on what they might choose to like themselves. But, indeed, these ones are quite good, in my opinion. Apparently, these "loves" of mine were extra inspiring.

The point is that this shows how I am willing to open myself up to any kind of inspiration. I understand that the concept of this book may seem a little odd to some people. Possibly even pathetic. I mean, I can imagine someone reading this thing or even just hearing what it's about and saying, "Oh, please! Just get a real boyfriend!" Because it's that easy, apparently. I'm not saying that a real boyfriend isn't better than an imaginary one, or whatever, but still.

In short, I'd say this book is rather gentle and sweet. For the most part. There may be a tad bit of negativity here. I mean, there are all sorts of reasons why crushes go away. Sometimes we grow out of them and move on. Sometimes said crush does something just plain dumb and it makes you stop liking them altogether. Such is life. However, collectively speaking, this is probably the calmest book I've ever written, which is a nice shift from some of the things I had to write about in its predecessor. Perhaps, I needed the change. This book has some great stuff and some okay stuff, much like all of my books. But overall, I think Letters To My Stranger Loves is a pretty good one.

Love and full moons,
Becky the Writer