You Want It Darker

Not to be confused with You Like It Darker.

You Want It Darker is the fourteenth studio album by Canadian singer-songwriter Leonard Cohen, released on October 21, 2016, by Columbia Records, 17 days before Cohen's death.^[1][2] The album was created at the end of his life and focuses on death, God, and humor. It was released to critical acclaim. The title track was awarded a Grammy Award for Best Rock Performance in January 2018. It was Cohen's last album released during his lifetime and was followed by the posthumous album Thanks for the Dance in November 2019.

You Want It Darker
Studio album by Leonard Cohen
Released	October 21, 2016 (2016-10-21)
Recorded	April 2015 – July 2016
Studio	Leonard Cohen's house in Mid-Wilshire, Los Angeles
Genre	Folk rock
Length	36:07
Label	Columbia
Producer	Adam Cohen Patrick Leonard
Leonard Cohen chronology
Can't Forget: A Souvenir of the Grand Tour (2015) You Want It Darker (2016) Thanks for the Dance (2019)
Singles from You Want It Darker
"You Want It Darker" Released: September 21, 2016 "Traveling Light" Released: February 23, 2017

Background

After touring extensively between 2008 and 2013, Leonard Cohen began to suffer "multiple fractures of the spine" among other physical problems, according to his son Adam Cohen.^[3] Due to Leonard Cohen's mobility issues, You Want It Darker was recorded in the living room of his home in Mid-Wilshire, Los Angeles and then sent by e-mail to his musical collaborators.^[4]

Cohen has said his condition helped him eliminate any distractions during the recording of the album: "In a certain sense, this particular predicament is filled with many fewer distractions than other times in my life and actually enables me to work with a little more concentration and continuity than when I had duties of making a living, being a husband, being a father".^[4] Despite his medical condition, Adam Cohen said that "occasionally, in bouts of joy, he would even, through his pain, stand up in front of the speakers, and we'd repeat a song over and over like teenagers".^[3]

Music

Musically, the album is "a little bit more sparse and acoustic" compared to his recent albums, according to Adam Cohen. Blues dominates the album.^[3][5] Due to the fact that Cohen's Jewish faith was important to him, he invited Cantor Gideon Zelermyer and Shaar Hashomayim Choir, from his childhood synagogue in Quebec to join him on the album.^[6]

Critical reception

Professional ratings

Aggregate scores
Source	Rating
AnyDecentMusic?	8.8/10[7]
Metacritic	92/100[8]
Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	[9]
The A.V. Club	B+[10]
Chicago Tribune	[11]
The Daily Telegraph	[12]
Entertainment Weekly	A−[13]
The Guardian	[14]
The Independent	[15]
Pitchfork	8.5/10[16]
Rolling Stone	[17]
Vice (Expert Witness)	A−[18]

You Want It Darker received widespread acclaim from music critics. At Metacritic, which assigns a normalized rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream critics, the album received an average score of 92, which indicates "universal acclaim", based on 28 reviews.

Accolades

Publication	Accolade	Year	Rank
The A.V. Club	The A.V. Club's Top 50 Albums of 2016	2016	11[19]
The Independent	Best Albums of 2016	2016	3[20]
Mojo	The 50 Best Albums of 2016	2016	5[21]
Paste	The 50 Best Albums of 2016	2016	17[22]
Pitchfork	The 50 Best Albums of 2016	2016	17[23]
Pitchfork	The 200 Best Albums of the 2010s	2019	118[24]
Rolling Stone	50 Best Albums of 2016	2016	9[25]
Stereogum	The 50 Best Albums of 2016	2016	34[26]
The Wire	Top 50 Releases of the Year	2016	22[27]

Commercial performance

In Canada, You Want It Darker debuted atop the album charts, with 19,400 in traditional sales and a total of 20,000 units.^[28] The album occupied the top position for three consecutive weeks and sold 106,000 units by the end of the year in Canada.^[29] In the United States, You Want It Darker debuted at number 10 on the Billboard 200 with 25,000 units, 24,000 of which were pure album sales.^[30] It is Cohen's second American top 10 album.^[30] In the United Kingdom, the album debuted at number four on the UK Albums Chart, selling 20,330 copies in its first week and becoming Leonard Cohen's fifth top 10 album in the UK.^[31] The album reached No. 1 on the Flemish Albums Chart and stayed there for 7 weeks.^[32]

Track listing

No.	Title	Music	Producer(s)	Length
1.	"You Want It Darker"	Patrick Leonard	Adam Cohen	4:44
2.	"Treaty"	L. Cohen	Leonard	4:02
3.	"On the Level"	Sharon Robinson	A. Cohen	3:27
4.	"Leaving the Table"	L. Cohen	A. Cohen	3:47
5.	"If I Didn't Have Your Love"	Leonard	Leonard	3:35
6.	"Traveling Light"	Leonard A. Cohen	A. Cohen	4:22
7.	"It Seemed the Better Way"	Leonard	A. Cohen	4:21
8.	"Steer Your Way"	L. Cohen	A. Cohen	4:23
9.	"String Reprise / Treaty"	L. Cohen	Leonard	3:26
Total length:				36:09

All lyrics are written by Leonard Cohen

Personnel

• Leonard Cohen – vocals
• Athena Andreadis – background vocals on "Traveling Light"
• Bill Bottrell – electric guitar, pedal steel guitar
• Michael Chaves – keyboards, bass guitar, drum programming
• Adam Cohen – classical guitar
• Dana Glover – background vocals on "On the Level" and "Steer Your Way"
• Alison Krauss – background vocals on "Steer Your Way"
• Patrick Leonard – keyboards, organ, piano, bass synthesizer, bass guitar, percussion, drum programming
• Howard Bilerman – engineer on "You Want It Darker" and "It Seemed the Better Way"
• Rob Humphreys – drums
• Brian MacLeod – drums
• Shaar Hashomayim Synagogue Choir (Roï Azoulay, Director; Cantor Gideon Zelermyer, vocal soloist)
• Zac Rae – guitar, classical guitar, mandolin, keyboards, Mellotron, celesta, piano, Wurlitzer, floor tom, octophone

Charts

Weekly charts Chart (2016) Peak position Australian Albums (ARIA)[33] 2 Austrian Albums (Ö3 Austria)[34] 1 Belgian Albums (Ultratop Flanders)[35] 1 Belgian Albums (Ultratop Wallonia)[36] 1 Canadian Albums (Billboard)[37] 1 Czech Albums (ČNS IFPI)[38] 1 Danish Albums (Hitlisten)[39] 1 Dutch Albums (Album Top 100)[40] 1 Finnish Albums (Suomen virallinen lista)[41] 7 French Albums (SNEP)[42] 3 German Albums (Offizielle Top 100)[43] 2 Greek Albums (IFPI Greece)[44] 12 Hungarian Albums (MAHASZ)[45] 5 Irish Albums (IRMA)[46] 1 Italian Albums (FIMI)[47] 8 Japanese Albums (Oricon)[48] 242 South Korean Albums (Circle)[49] 87 South Korean International Albums (Circle)[50] 12 New Zealand Albums (RMNZ)[51] 1 Norwegian Albums (VG-lista)[52] 1 Polish Albums (ZPAV)[53] 1 Portuguese Albums (AFP)[54] 1 Scottish Albums (OCC)[55] 4 Spanish Albums (PROMUSICAE)[56] 3 Swedish Albums (Sverigetopplistan)[57] 1 Swiss Albums (Schweizer Hitparade)[58] 2 Taiwanese Albums (Five Music)[59] 14 UK Albums (OCC)[60] 4 US Billboard 200[61] 7 US Top Rock Albums (Billboard)[62] 1

Year-end charts Chart (2016) Position Australian Albums (ARIA)[63] 42 Austrian Albums (Ö3 Austria)[64] 7 Belgian Albums (Ultratop Flanders)[65] 4 Belgian Albums (Ultratop Wallonia)[66] 26 Danish Albums (Hitlisten)[67] 37 Dutch Albums (MegaCharts)[68] 9 French Albums (SNEP)[69] 46 German Albums (Offizielle Top 100)[70] 22 Icelandic Albums (Plötutíóindi)[71] 35 Italian Albums (FIMI)[72] 88 New Zealand Albums (RMNZ)[73] 20 Polish Albums (ZPAV)[74] 5 Spanish Albums (PROMUSICAE)[75] 29 Swedish Albums (Sverigetopplistan)[76] 30 Swiss Albums (Schweizer Hitparade)[77] 9 UK Albums (OCC)[78] 53 US Top Rock Albums (Billboard)[79] 75 Chart (2017) Position Belgian Albums (Ultratop Flanders)[80] 16 Belgian Albums (Ultratop Wallonia)[81] 86 Canadian Albums (Billboard)[82] 17 Dutch Albums (MegaCharts)[83] 60 Spanish Albums (PROMUSICAE)[84] 69 Swiss Albums (Schweizer Hitparade)[85] 34 US Top Rock Albums (Billboard)[86] 44 Chart (2019) Position Belgian Albums (Ultratop Flanders)[87] 151

Certifications

Certifications for You Want It Darker

Region	Certification	Certified units/sales
Australia (ARIA)[88]	Gold	35,000^
Austria (IFPI Austria)[89]	Platinum	15,000*
Belgium (BEA)[90]	Platinum	30,000*
Canada (Music Canada)[91]	Platinum	80,000‡
Denmark (IFPI Danmark)[92]	Platinum	20,000‡
France (SNEP)[93]	Platinum	100,000‡
Germany (BVMI)[94]	Platinum	200,000‡
Hungary (MAHASZ)[95]	Gold	1,000^
New Zealand (RMNZ)[96]	Gold	7,500‡
Poland (ZPAV)[97]	3× Platinum	60,000‡
Spain (PROMUSICAE)[98]	Gold	20,000‡
Sweden (GLF)[99]	Gold	20,000‡
Switzerland (IFPI Switzerland)[100]	Platinum	20,000^
United Kingdom (BPI)[101]	Gold	153,460[102]
Summaries
Worldwide	—	1,100,000[103]
* Sales figures based on certification alone. ^ Shipments figures based on certification alone. ‡ Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone.

References

1. Monroe, Jazz (August 12, 2016). "Leonard Cohen Announces New Album You Want It Darker". Pitchfork. Retrieved October 16, 2016.
2. "LEONARD COHEN'S YOU WANT IT DARKER IN STORES OCTOBER 21". Columbia Records. September 21, 2016. Archived from the original on October 22, 2016. Retrieved October 21, 2016.
3. "Inside Leonard Cohen's Late-Career Triumph 'You Want It Darker'". rollingstone.com. Retrieved January 14, 2017.
4. "Leonard Cohen Makes It Darker". newyorker.com. Retrieved January 14, 2017.
5. "Review: Leonard Cohen's 'You Want It Darker' Possibly His Darkest LP Yet". Rolling Stone. Retrieved 2017-12-01.
6. "CANADA: You Want It Darker - Leonard Cohen". 200worldalbums.com. 17 August 2020. Retrieved 25 October 2023.
7. "You Want It Darker by Leonard Cohen reviews". AnyDecentMusic?. Retrieved May 29, 2018.
8. "Reviews for You Want It Darker by Leonard Cohen". Metacritic. Retrieved October 20, 2016.
9. Jurek, Thom. "You Want It Darker – Leonard Cohen". AllMusic. Retrieved October 21, 2016.
10. Zaleski, Annie (October 21, 2016). "Leonard Cohen examines his life and details his laments on You Want It Darker". The A.V. Club. Retrieved October 21, 2016.
11. Kot, Greg (October 28, 2016). "Leonard Cohen finds path through darkness on latest album". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved November 18, 2016.
12. McCormick, Neil (October 18, 2016). "Leonard Cohen's You Want It Darker is a bleak masterpiece – review". The Daily Telegraph. London. Retrieved October 21, 2016.
13. Greenblatt, Leah (October 14, 2016). "Leonard Cohen's 'You Want It Darker': EW Review". Entertainment Weekly. Archived from the original on October 21, 2016. Retrieved October 21, 2016.
14. Petridis, Alexis (October 20, 2016). "Leonard Cohen: You Want It Darker review – still changing, still full of life". The Guardian. London. Retrieved October 21, 2016.
15. Gill, Andy (October 19, 2016). "Album reviews: Lady Gaga, Leonard Cohen, Pretenders and more". The Independent. London. Archived from the original on 2022-05-07. Retrieved October 21, 2016.
16. Anderson, Stacey (October 24, 2016). "Leonard Cohen: You Want It Darker". Pitchfork. Retrieved November 13, 2016.
17. Hermes, Will (October 21, 2016). "Review: Leonard Cohen's 'You Want It Darker' Possibly His Darkest LP Yet". Rolling Stone. Retrieved November 18, 2016.
18. Christgau, Robert (February 18, 2017). "An Incorrigibly Courteous Liar's Last Act: Expert Witness with Robert Christgau". Vice. Retrieved February 18, 2017.
19. "The A.V. Club's Top 50 Albums of 2016". The A.V. Club. December 12, 2016. Retrieved December 12, 2016.
20. "Best Albums of 2016". The Independent. November 30, 2016. Retrieved December 1, 2016.
21. "The 50 Best Albums of 2016". Mojo. November 22, 2016. Retrieved November 22, 2016.
22. "The 50 Best Albums of 2016". Paste. November 30, 2016. Retrieved December 1, 2016.
23. "The 50 Best Albums of 2016". Pitchfork. December 13, 2016. Retrieved February 28, 2019.
24. "The 200 Best Albums of the 2010s". Pitchfork. 8 October 2019. Retrieved 9 October 2019.
25. "50 Best Albums of 2016". Rolling Stone. November 29, 2016. Retrieved November 29, 2016.
26. "The 50 Best Albums of 2016". Stereogum. December 1, 2016. Retrieved December 1, 2016.
27. "Rewind 2016: Releases of the Year 1–50". The Wire. No. 395. London. January 2017. p. 30 – via Exact Editions. (subscription required)
28. "On The Charts | FYIMusicNews". Fyimusicnews.ca. 2016-10-31. Archived from the original on 2017-01-12. Retrieved 2016-11-13.
29. "Nielsen Music Releases 2016 Canada Year-end Report" (PDF). Nielsen SoundScan. 5 January 2016. Archived from the original (PDF) on 22 December 2021. Retrieved 5 January 2016.
30. Caulfield, Keith (30 October 2016). "Seven Albums Debut in Top 10 of Billboard 200 Chart, Led by Lady Gaga, Michael Buble & Pentatonix". Billboard. Retrieved 31 October 2016.
31. Jones, Alan (28 October 2016). "Official Charts Analysis: Elvis tops the albums chart again". Music Week. NewBay Media. Retrieved 30 October 2016.
32. "Leonard Cohen - You Want It Darker". ultratop.be. Retrieved 14 January 2017.
33. "Australiancharts.com – Leonard Cohen – You Want It Darker". Hung Medien. Retrieved 19 November 2016.
34. "Austriancharts.at – Leonard Cohen – You Want It Darker" (in German). Hung Medien. Retrieved 3 November 2016.
35. "Ultratop.be – Leonard Cohen – You Want It Darker" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved 28 October 2016.
36. "Ultratop.be – Leonard Cohen – You Want It Darker" (in French). Hung Medien. Retrieved 19 November 2016.
37. "Leonard Cohen Chart History (Canadian Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved 31 October 2016.
38. "Czech Albums – Top 100". ČNS IFPI. Note: On the chart page, select 43.Týden 2016 on the field besides the words "CZ – ALBUMS – TOP 100" to retrieve the correct chart. Retrieved 31 October 2016.
39. "Danishcharts.dk – Leonard Cohen – You Want It Darker". Hung Medien. Retrieved 2 November 2016.
40. "Dutchcharts.nl – Leonard Cohen – You Want It Darker" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved 28 October 2016.
41. "Leonard Cohen: You Want It Darker" (in Finnish). Musiikkituottajat – IFPI Finland. Retrieved 30 October 2016.
42. "Lescharts.com – Leonard Cohen – You Want It Darker". Hung Medien. Retrieved 27 November 2016.
43. "Offiziellecharts.de – Leonard Cohen – You Want It Darker" (in German). GfK Entertainment Charts. Retrieved 18 November 2016.
44. "Top-75 Albums Sales Chart Week: 02/2017". IFPI Greece. Archived from the original on 20 October 2016. Retrieved 25 November 2016.
45. "Album Top 40 slágerlista – 2016. 45. hét" (in Hungarian). MAHASZ. Retrieved 17 November 2016.
46. "GFK Chart-Track Albums: Week 43, 2016". Chart-Track. IRMA. Retrieved 28 October 2016.
47. "Italiancharts.com – Leonard Cohen – You Want It Darker". Hung Medien. Retrieved 29 October 2016.
48. "レナード・コーエン [Leonard Cohen album sales ranking]". Oricon. Japan. Retrieved 25 November 2016.
49. "South Korea Circle Album Chart". On the page, select "2016.10.16~2016.10.22" to obtain the corresponding chart. Circle Chart Retrieved 31 October 2016.
50. "South Korea Circle International Album Chart". On the page, select "2016.10.16~2016.10.22" to obtain the corresponding chart. Circle Chart Retrieved 31 October 2016.
51. "Charts.nz – Leonard Cohen – You Want It Darker". Hung Medien. Retrieved 28 October 2016.
52. "Norwegiancharts.com – Leonard Cohen – You Want It Darker". Hung Medien. Retrieved 29 October 2016.
53. "Oficjalna lista sprzedaży :: OLiS - Official Retail Sales Chart". OLiS. Polish Society of the Phonographic Industry. Retrieved 24 November 2016.
54. "Portuguesecharts.com – Leonard Cohen – You Want It Darker". Hung Medien. Retrieved 30 November 2016.
55. "Official Scottish Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 29 October 2016.
56. "TOP 100 ALBUMES — SEMANA 43: del 21.10.2016 al 27.10.2016" (in Spanish). Productores de Música de España. Retrieved 4 November 2016.
57. "Swedishcharts.com – Leonard Cohen – You Want It Darker". Hung Medien. Retrieved 29 October 2016.
58. "Swisscharts.com – Leonard Cohen – You Want It Darker". Hung Medien. Retrieved 2 November 2016.
59. "第46 週 統計時間：2016/11/11 - 2016/11/17" (in Chinese). Five-Music. Archived from the original on September 25, 2013. Retrieved November 25, 2016.
60. "Official Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 29 October 2016.
61. "Leonard Cohen Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved 22 November 2016.
62. "Leonard Cohen Chart History (Top Rock Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved 3 August 2020.
63. "ARIA Top 100 Albums 2016". Australian Recording Industry Association. Retrieved 6 January 2017.
64. "Ö3 Austria Top 40 - Album-Charts 2016". oe3.orf.at. Archived from the original on 4 January 2016. Retrieved 29 December 2016.
65. "Jaaroverzichten 2016 Albums". Hung Medien. Retrieved 29 December 2016.
66. "Rapports Annuels 2016 Albums". Hung Medien. Retrieved 29 December 2016.
67. "Album Top-100 2016" (in Danish). Hitlisten.NU. Retrieved 31 December 2016.
68. "Jaaroverzichten - Album 2016". Hung Medien. Retrieved 26 December 2016.
69. "Classement des 200 meilleures ventes d'albums de 2016". Syndicat National de l'Édition Phonographique (in French). snepmusique.fr. Retrieved January 14, 2017.
70. "Top 100 Album-Jahrescharts" (in German). GfK Entertainment. Retrieved 26 September 2020.
71. "Tónlistinn – Plötur – 2016" (in Icelandic). Plötutíóindi. Retrieved 1 April 2022.
72. "Top of the Music - FIMI/GfK: Le uniche classifiche annuali complete" (in Italian). Federazione Industria Musicale Italiana. Archived from the original on January 10, 2017. Retrieved January 29, 2017.
73. "Top Selling Albums of 2016". Recorded Music NZ. Retrieved 25 December 2016.
74. "W 2016 roku najlepiej sprzedającym się albumem było "Życie po śmierci" O.S.T.R." 2016. Retrieved January 14, 2016.
75. "Top 100 Albums Annual 2016". El portal de Música. Retrieved 22 January 2022.
76. "Årslista Album – År 2016" (in Swedish). Sverigetopplistan. Retrieved 10 October 2020.
77. "Schweizer Jahreshitparade Alben 2016 – hitparade.ch". Hung Medien. Retrieved 2 January 2017.
78. "End of Year Album Chart Top 100 – 2016". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 31 December 2016.
79. "Top Rock Albums – Year-End 2016". Billboard. Retrieved 3 August 2020.
80. "Jaaroverzichten Albums 2017". Ultratop. Retrieved 21 December 2017.
81. "Rapports Annuels Albums 2017". Ultratop. Retrieved 21 December 2017.
82. "Top Canadian Albums – Year-End 2017". Billboard. Retrieved 15 December 2017.
83. "Jaaroverzichten – Album 2017". Hung Medien. Retrieved 23 December 2017.
84. "Top 100 Albums Annual 2017". El portal de Música. Retrieved 22 January 2022.
85. "Schweizer Jahreshitparade Alben 2017 – hitparade.ch". Hung Medien. Retrieved 31 December 2017.
86. "Top Rock Albums – Year-End 2017". Billboard. Retrieved 3 August 2020.
87. "Jaaroverzichten 2019". Ultratop. Retrieved 5 July 2020.
88. "ARIA Charts – Accreditations – 2017 Albums" (PDF). Australian Recording Industry Association. Retrieved 28 January 2017.
89. "Austrian album certifications – Leonard Cohen – You Want It Darker" (in German). IFPI Austria. Retrieved December 20, 2016.
90. "Ultratop − Goud en Platina – albums 2016". Ultratop. Hung Medien. Retrieved 20 December 2016.
91. "Canadian album certifications – Leonard Cohen – You Want It Darker". Music Canada. Retrieved 10 March 2017.
92. "Danish album certifications – Leonard Cohen – You Want It Darker". IFPI Danmark. Retrieved 26 December 2016.
93. "French album certifications – Leonard Cohen – You Want It Darker" (in French). Syndicat National de l'Édition Phonographique. Retrieved August 15, 2013.
94. "Gold-/Platin-Datenbank (Leonard Cohen; 'You Want It Darker')" (in German). Bundesverband Musikindustrie. Retrieved December 22, 2022.
95. "Adatbázis – Arany- és platinalemezek – 2016" (in Hungarian). MAHASZ. Retrieved 29 December 2016.
96. "New Zealand album certifications – Leonard Cohen – You Want It Darker". Recorded Music NZ. Retrieved 16 December 2016.
97. "Wyróżnienia – Platynowe płyty CD - Archiwum - Przyznane w 2018 roku" (in Polish). Polish Society of the Phonographic Industry. Retrieved 19 September 2018.
98. "Spanish album certifications" (in Spanish). Productores de Música de España. Retrieved 31 August 2019. Select Álbumes under "Categoría", select 2016 under "Año". Select 52 under "Semana". Click on "BUSCAR LISTA".
99. "Veckolista Album, vecka 48, 2016 | Sverigetopplistan" (in Swedish). Sverigetopplistan. Retrieved 16 December 2016.
100. "The Official Swiss Charts and Music Community: Awards ('You Want It Darker')". IFPI Switzerland. Hung Medien. Retrieved 16 December 2016.
101. "British album certifications – Leonard Cohen – You Want It Darker". British Phonographic Industry.
102. Paine, Andre (20 September 2019). "Sony to release posthumous Leonard Cohen album in Q4". Music Week. Retrieved 22 September 2019.
103. "Anuarios SGAE 2017". Archived from the original on 2018-01-12.

External links

• Official website