Leonard Cohen - Songs from a Room

Songs From A Room, Leonard Cohen’s sophomore studio album was released in 1969. This album features a more stripped-down approach than its predecessor that emphasizes the lyrics rather than the musical arrangements. In 2001, Cohen admitted to Sylvie Simmons of Mojo Magazine, "It's very stark. A lot of my friends who were musical purists had castigated me for the lushness and over-production of my first record, and I was determined to do a very simple album."

Producer Bob Johnston enlisted a smaller complement of musicians than had backed Cohen on his debut album, including Ron Cornelius playing acoustic and electric guitar, Charlie Daniels playing bass, fiddle and acoustic guitar, Elkin "Bubba" Fowler contributing banjo, bass and acoustic guitar, while Johnston himself played keyboards.

Johnston later referred to the album as a painting, not a record, and described his role as 'a musical bodyguard,' protecting Cohen and his music from artificial intrusions and falsification of sound."

The album contains "Bird on the Wire", one of Cohen's most famous songs, about which he wrote, "I always begin my concert with this song. It seems to return me to my duties.