3 Things to Know About the Arrangement of Songs of Leonard Cohen

Leonard Cohen wanted a sparse sound Cohen originally envisioned the album with minimal instrumentation, focusing on his voice and guitar.

Producer John Simon added strings, horns, and drums anyway Simon overruled Cohen’s preference, bringing in orchestral and rhythm sections to fill out the arrangements.

This was the main creative disagreement on the album The clash between Cohen’s minimalist vision and Simon’s fuller production defined the album’s final sound.