John Cale, Hallelujah

[roccas100]

stupendo!!!!!

[HippieChick1776]

THUMBS UP IF SHREK 1 BROUGHT YOU HERE!!!! :D Excellent song.

[MrDSCarminia]

is that the version, which you can find on "Fragments of a rainy season"? really great!!

[mdf19]

@MrDSCarminia Yes, this is the last track on the "Fragments of a Rainy Season" DVD.

[MrDSCarminia]

@mdf19 all right, thank you!!

[TheMone67]

The best version of this song...

[ZClabatti]

Lekker thuis, Zarija Clabatti

[MrJohnnyruss]

i like his version the best i think.. lol

[KeithHarperSF]

I've never heard his version before; thanks for posting. It's great.

[MrsDunja2008]

beautiful voice, just great. to melt away (:

keep it up!

[Kavoc3]

wish my computer speakers could go louder

[manuniversjmf]

q buen video

[fizzygillespie]

John Cale's version is the one that blazed the trail. All subsequent versions have been a variation on his theme. Leonard Cohen's original from "Various Positions" had a completely different sound.

[Nganguen]

I sang it in my chord...This piece can make you cry especially when John Cale interprets it! Very deep song, I do love!!

[5rayrayluv]

From the soul, deep and dramatic !

[chaoticoli09]

My favorite version by far is by John Cale.

[stacipoitra]

@awesomedude333 you are a douche. before your post, know your facts.

[woutervdveen]

The versions of The Canadian Tenors, Jeff Buckley and John cale are the best by far (in my opinion) Leonard is the original singer and he made this great song but unfortunatelly he hasn't the voice for it I geusse.. GREAT SONG!

[AndMyAxeNew]

Rufus Wainright and Jeff Buckley have nothing on this man. Has to be my favourite, even over Leonard Cohen.

[jorgesalluh]

This is among the most covered songs "all times" yet there are 'bout 4 or 5 real classic versions of it.

John Cale's is one them for sure.

[awesomedude333]

this verson wasnt in the fucking shrek movie...this is goddamn bullshit and i ws told it was...fucking false.

[ChickinConQueso]

@awesomedude333 there's a way to state your opinion without sounding like an idiot. You sir, are doing it WRONG.

[AndMyAxeNew]

@awesomedude333 It is probably because this is a live version. Have you checked the Studion Recorded versions? They sound more like the version in Shrek.

[TudorGDavies]

@awesomedude333 Oh yes, John Cale's version WAS used in the actual film 'Shrek'. Due to contractual problems they decided to used Rufus Wainright's cover on the OST cd album. You need to check your facts and there is absolutely no need to use foul language.

[Zerofox97]

@awesomedude333 mate u r fucking false its LIVE and in cas u didnt know everything sounds different live and this is the shrek version so get ur facts right then u can complain

[bmxallday2255]

I like this version the best, hands down!

[sheilaorner]

The first time I saw this video I fell in love with John Cale...I watch this at least once a day. His voice his movements his words touch me......

[Yagyuushinobi]

yeah not bad, but i think K.D.Land does it like it was meant to be done, its a story, not a song :P

[Arnoldx1992]

Cale's and Buckley's versions are the best covers in my opinion.

Why?

The answer is simplicity - both versions are pretty simple but at the same time very touching and have the right emotional tone in them.

[DoctorDee69]

There are as many covers of this song as there are interpretations of the lyrics. And there are few truly bad versions. But for me, who sees no religious meaning, only biblical allusion, Cale's version captures perfectly the drama and desperation, the poignancy and beauty of a song about love's ability to lift the spirit, and to crush it.

[bluehollis]

Let's just all agree to disagree. Most of the covers sound good to me in different ways.

[MestizoFilipino]

It's gonna be a shame when he won't be able to sing this anymore. Then there will no longer be the perfect voice for this song. At least we got it on video.

[jwalters25]

I have listened to both versions and come to the conclusion that this IS the BEST bar none! John Cale has the voice, the emotion, and the compassion. This song was made for him. Buckley's version doesn't hold a candle in the wind when compaired to Cale's version. Keep up the great work John Cale!

[FloDrum2107]

This guys voice is just amazing, i dont know why everyone likes Buckley's more

[northerntao]

Almost all covers of this song are actually covers of Cale's cover - think I have it covered? Beautiful interpretation, and the version that launched a trillion half baked versions, including the Jeff Buckley and Rufus Wainwright versions. In Leonard Cohen's own words - "I think it's a good song, but I think too many people sing it."

[Fluggy2003]

Best version ever (and the original cover/reworking). Cale's voice - at once celebratory and desperate! A Meisterwerk!!!

[SnkyToast]

This song isn't about the love of God...it's about how love sucks and just hurts you. From the singer's perspective he's only seen the bad sides of love.

"Maybe there is a god above

But all I've ever learned from love

Was how to shoot somebody who outdrew you

And it's not a cry that you hear at night

It's not somebody who's seen the light

It's a cold and it's a broken Hallelujah"

[RuralNler92]

Another part that backs your idea is

"I've seen the flag on the marble arch

but love is not a victory march

it's a cold and broken hallelujah"

[letshurtplanfans]

i used to prefer jeff's version but now i think that the song needs to be played simply. I think john's is the closest to perfect out there.

[okean10]

this is the fuckin best version

[LoverBunny11306]

Jeff who

[dashndan]

@LoverBunny11306 Surely you jest...

[VelvetPunk4life]

Jeff's version is the most accessible out there...although the most sensual.

John's version is for everybody. :D

[debc50]

it doesn't matter who is doing this song, it has to be one of the most beautiful songs ever written! this is a great version.

[shellcracker18]

this is one of those covers that is better than the original.

[Ennio444]

OF course, it depends on opinions and tastes. I prefer Cohen's original version.

[mrmele]

Good version but miles away from Jeff Buckley's one on Grace. There is much more passion than here.

[VelvetPunk4life]

Nope, Jeff's was miles away from this one.

[Rgalvez]

nope for you but yep for me .

[skylineiiigtr]

Yea, if by that you mean Jeff was miles ahead.

[MestizoFilipino]

@mrmele I'm gonna have to disagree with you, I much prefer this one; the voice just seems to fit for me. And your comment shouldn't of been flagged BTW. Someone who can't respect opinions must've done it.

[mrmele]

@MestizoFilipino: No worries, mate! It's always a question of taste. As I have written: I consider John Cale's version as a good one. But in my eyes there are five or six singers with piano that do the song about the same as John whereas Jeff Buckley's version is completely different to anything else and therefore I love it. It is a brilliant song anyway. Enjoy it!

[MrBroady02]

My favourite version by far..

[Ginnyaw24]

The best version imo!! :)

[arthur5135]

the best of all versions.

[eamonn72]

great cover of a great song but for me jeffs version is streets ahead,his voice is just fits the lyrics, almost like it was written for him

[SetApartBeauty]

This version is so beautiful! I could listen to it all day...

[3ric3ric]

Absolute favorite cover. Hands down.

[diasthema]

*cries*

[mizz77anna]

Together with kd lang the two most beautiful renditions

of this song In my humble opinion of course !

[reynar09]

This version > all. A seasoned voice combined with that beautifully simple arrangement make it perfect.

[SadLisa777]

We love you, John!

[bobfaust]

Mr Cale has a story to tell...

[entity3sf]

That's why he does honor to this great song. IMO Cale's is the very best cover of this timeless song.

[SadLisa777]

Yes, and he is still silent. Wish he were more popular, he is AMAZING!

[edschlesinger]

Sledgehammer

Volgens mij veruit de mooiste versie van dit lied, John Cale heeft dit nummer ook ingezongen voor de soundtrack van Shrek 1.

Sorry voor Lisa van X-factor, in deze uitvoering ligt veel meer gevoel.

[mizz77anna]

Lisa kan dit lied "nog"niet zingen en ze laat twee coupletten weg Wat bij dit nummer natuurlijk niet kan :-)

[outsidechange]

Cale's is the adult's version, Buckley is for teenie boppers. Cale sounds like he's been there more than anyone.

Long live the Velvet Underground!

[Corallis]

17 years old and my favourite rendition by far is Cale's. maybe it's the aged voice, maybe it's the haunting piano, but his has always seemed to be the one i want to listen to.

[ettubrutemusic]

Nonsense. Cale's phrasing is simply more old-time churchy.

Maybe that's why the "teenie boppers" like Buckley - because he makes the phrasing interesting. And he actually sounds like he has emotion without sounding like he's in church.

[piratpojken]

i don't agree, jeff buckley's version is still respectable.

[wizkidextrodinare]

John Cale's is the best; his voice, tone and, tempo fits the song perfectly.

[wizkidextrodinare]

Tupac's version is the best!

[2siq4u]

lol i wish 2pac had one

[wizkidextrodinare]

I know it would had been epic!!

[Darkez982]

@outsidechange

you cant compare jeff's to this, its totally different

[Thrash0Jazz0Assassin]

@outsidechange I must disagree with that. Much as I love Cale and his version of this song, I would say Buckley's one is the best I've heard so far. He DOES sound like he's been there, and his vocal performance is not a teenie bopper's one. Buckley's version was surely influenced by this one, but he made something unique out of it. And anyway, I believe it's stupid to think one version MUST be better than the other. They're different, and I'm glad to be able to hear both.

[mvoress]

@Thrash0Jazz0Assassin I've been spending the better part of the day listening to different versions. Cale, Buckley, kd lang, Cohen, and several acapella groups. Each has something different to add to the canon (pun intended). Almost makes me want to pick up my guitar or sit at the piano to learn it myself.

[galexynye]

@outsidechange

i think saying "Buckley is for teenie boppers" makes it sound like Buckley's version is a lesser version.

in this perfomance Cale's rhythm is all over the place on piano and he get's a bit out of tune. it's his dylanesque phrasing and other imperfections that probably make it sound so appealing to you. Cale's version, in my humble opinion, is looking back in time while Buckley is looking at a recent tragedy.

Check out Buckley's Chicago performance,"teenie bopper"=poor word choice

[samdotcom31]

Best version of this song...Buckley-fail man, but ok i guess

[outsidechange]

Thanks for posting-- John Cale's version is the very best, bar none!

The Cale-Cohen combination is just magic in action.

[OnBetamax]

My favourite is Buckley's one, but I'll never forguet that mr Cale was the one that really covered it. Buckley's moved the piano to guitar and diferent voice. Rufus covered Cale, and all X factor kind of programs just cover Cale's way to see the song, even that most of public don't even know who Cale is (and some don't know who even cohen is.. sad)

[jethrose]

Cale´s version is much better than Buckley.

Buckley loses the the plot with all his wailing.

[mere0mortal]

This version made Cale's Fragments of a Rainy Season, my favorite Hallelujah performance.

Give Cohen latitude on his work, he has at least one spectacular concert version. Even Cale's non-live performance of this sounds rushed.

Most performances of this song that I've heard are too fast, as if they're trying to be Dylan, whose version I also did not like.

If you do Leonard Cohen, do it slow, do it at the lowest octave you can manage, and do it in a soulful manner.

Everybody Knows that.

[jmkish48]

Give kd lang a listen. There are two excellent performances of Hallelujah by kd land on You Tube.

One is where she performed the song for Leonard Cohen when Hallelujah was inducted into the Canadian Songwriter's Hall of Fame, in 2006.

The other is when she sang Hallelujah for the Canadian Juno awards in 2005.

She has the speed nailed down and the soul of the song as well.

[admirali7]

Is this originally a Bob Dylan work?

[jla1357]

It says right in the video... "this is a song that was written by leonard cohen" Bob Dylan like so many other people just covered it.

[lolerz222]

Personally I think Cale's voice got better as he got older.

[AvatarKyosho]

This is the version of the song that has been covered so much, not the version in which leonard cohen awfully sings it. He should of stuck to writing songs

[ZANTEDESH]

Yes, John Cale is a genius. He really knows how to arrange and express a song, bringing forth its potential. Thank you for posting this. I love Leonard Cohen, but this song is so beautiful from Cale. Thanks.

[Mirrigold]

Fabulous version, but then so is Buckleys and Wainwrights, K D Lang's etc. This is a song which stands above the artist performing it.

[orange8129]

But it's Cales rearrangement both musically and lyrically that became the standard. Cohen is a tremendous,wonderful lyricist and the song required a few tweakings by a musician such as Cale to make it a song for the ages. Much of the same could be said for a lot of The Velvet's output.

[orange8129]

No, this is the version which everyone else performs. Cale asked Cohen if he could rearrange the song. Since it was from an obscure/unpopular album from the 80's, Cohen gave Cale the green light. Cohen is a poet. Cale is a  musician. It took the two of them to make this into a song for the ages.

[Mirrigold]

Well yes, but I didn't say anything different, I said the song stands above the artist performing it, whether it's Cale's version or Cohen's the song's power is what makes it memorable in whatever version is being performed.

[nanookie]

Agreed. It's John Cale's version that made the Shrek soundtrack and brought the song its current fame. A beautiful Leonard Cohen composition (aren't they all).

[mikedias29]

best version

[yungarkelv16]

JUST ABSOLUTLY FANTASTIC LOVE IT.

[orange8129]

Cale introduces this song as an "experiment". The experiment is the rearrangement of Cohen's original song and this has become the standard. If Jeff Buckley does not hear Cale's version, this great song fades into obscurity. John Cale is one of the most underappreciated artists of the past 50 years.

[dancer3502]

agreed....seriously underappreciated. He truly is a musician's musician.

[Arnoldx1992]

I think that Cale, Buckley and Kennedy have best covers of this song!

[verolicas69]

Back in 1991, Cale was the first to realise its anthemic potential, turning the tinny synth-backed original into a spine-tingling piano ballad, and serving as inspiration for Jeff Buckley's more celebrated 1994 effort. (from Independant uk)

[orange8129]

Yes. Cale ended many of his solo performances with this at the time little known song. Cale took the multiple (hmmm I've heard 80) verses of Cohen's original and established both the text and arrangement for others to follow. Cohen and Cale deserve the accolades, not Cohen and Buckley(not to take away from Buckley's take on Cales's take).

[brython2]

Anfarwol o ddatganiad

[BiancaRosexxx]

This is a great version i must say! But i do like the Rufus Wainwright version (that's the one that's played in shrek)

[iamian16]

Er, no. John Cale sang the version in the film. Rufus Wainwright sang on the soundtrack album.

I prefered Cale's rendition in the film to this concert version, but any of Cale / Wainwright / Buckley has to be preferable to the ghastly manufactured for TV version.

[Joshofthekop]

u completely forgot the oriinal cohen

[peanutbutterdisco]

this is in my opinion the est version of this song.

[daegrant]

Peanutbutterdisco - I agree. The brilliance of the song means that less is more. This outshines the version Cale did on Later with a string quartet (my first introduction to the song). A great voice and a fine acommpaniment are all one needs to do justice to Cohen's writing and the lack of bombast make the emotional effect all the greater. Umpteen artists, some of them great, take note. I would love to hear Bonnie Prince Billy put his singular talent to the task though...

[W0000H0000]

John Cale's voice just takes this song away... he is amazing! :)

[jayanx]

I agree, it's just so raw and powerful. Beautifully haunting, I love this version.

[phishfearme2]

i'd say this "experiment" was a success!

[troyt2000]

great song and great interpretation. pure genius.

[duncanmcgreg]

Its beautiful, truly. But I cannot understand it. How is it truly played? I have the chords in the left hand, and I have the tune in the right. But what are the arpeduoes? It is an extremely difficult song to play, and it irritates me so much that I cannot understand it. I love it and I need to play it.

[dancer3502]

it just doesn't get any better or more beautiful than this...............

[CagliostroInHelvete]

A part of me agrees 100%.

The other part can't stop thinking about Jeff Buckley when hearing this song...

[yasiohaha]

er hat´s drauf...von allen versionen von hallelujah ist die von john cale einfach die beste!!!

[utprbeav]

I collected 26 of the best versions I have heard on youtube and Cale and Bon Jovi are my favorites in order.

[starpog]

There must be room for Leonard in the top 3 utprbeav :)

[utprbeav]

Indeed, but he just has to be number 3 and only because what's her name overdoes it. Only my opinion, of course. I try to sing barbershop but would never touch this song, unless my friend Joe Johnson arraged it, that is. :-)

[vanillaicetube]

It's as if the song was written for him to sing. So simple, strong and beautiful.

[fantasticvoyages]

In a sense it was, this is his new arrangement of a then pretty much lost Cohen song. All the other covers, including Buckley's are efficively covering Cale's version.

[ForARide]

Thanxx for posting Dekkers!

Maybe you could also post Heartbreak Hotel from this performance, His piano-playing is absolute brilliant on that Track

[stefantwilliams]

Absolutely beautiful.

[stefantwilliams]

Absolutely beautiful.

[orangnblue]

Love it. Better than rufus and jeff.

[euroanddollars]

:( :( very nice and sad :((

[moribundlust]

I was quite moved by that.

[are1we2the3baddies]

Cheers for postin this,

its a great performance of his and shows us a bit of history; When the song "Hallelujah" was reinvented seeting the foundation for innumerable copies. (he says "this is an experiment" so im assumin its one of his earlier performances of this song)

Put it this way, do u think Buckley n Wainwright would hav done a version had this one not be made by Cale.....i think not.:D