I mentioned I had been listening quite a bit to K-OS' "Joyful Rebellion" lately. There's a pretty little acoustic track on this disc called "Hallelujah" that I really dig. It somewhat resembles Leonard Cohen's "Hallelujah", but not quite enough to label it a cover. Lets just say it was clearly inspired by the Canadian classic.
Leonard Cohen's "Hallelujah" happens to be one of my favourite songs of all time, but Cohen's version isn't my preference. The greatest version of the hauntingly beautiful "Hallelujah" belongs to the late Jeff Buckley. Buckley sings this tune the way Cohen wrote it. Of course, it's such a stunningly beautiful song, just about anyone can sing it and give it punch. Another excellent version I heard recently belongs to K.D. Lang who sang it for Neil Young at the last Juno Awards.
K-OS can take credit for "Hallelujah", but it echoes Cohen's gem in much the same way Nick Cave's awesome "Hallelujah" does. When you write a song this utterly exquisite, imitation truly is the highest form of flattery.
