Leonard Cohen Preps New Album for 2011

Onstage illness and back-injuring live return be damned. The great Leonard Cohen is preparing to hit both the road and recording studio again shortly. We knew that his first LP in 6 years was in the works — featuring a handful of songs debuted on last year’s world tour — but subsequent setbacks threw the anticipated project into question. Until now, that is: “God willing it will be finished next spring,” said Cohen of his next album to Rolling Stone, adding later, “I’m producing it.” (Jack Frost would be proud.)

With new funny/poetic charmers like “Feels So Good” in his back pocket, I can’t imagine Cohen’s collection of “10 or 11 songs” being anything less than brilliant. Until the record drops, however, he has European/Australian tours and a Cambodian charity gig set for coming months, not to mention being honored alongside Phil Collins and Taylor Swift (?) at last night’s Songwriters Hall of Fame event.

In any event, as anyone who has heard his debut LP or beyond could attest to, new “songs of Leonard Cohen” being recorded is great news. Revisit a live debut of “Feels So Good” after the jump