Various Positions
by Leonard Cohen
Leonard Cohen bestography
Various Positions is ranked 7th best out of 27 albums by Leonard Cohen on BestEverAlbums.com.
The best album by Leonard Cohen is Songs Of Leonard Cohen which is ranked number 140 in the list of all-time albums with a total rank score of 9,682.
(N.B. Bestographies include all albums by an artist (and their variations), but do not include albums ranked outside the top 100,000).
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Various Positions track list
The tracks on this album have an average rating of 82 out of 100 (all tracks have been rated).
Top-rated track as rated by BestEverAlbums.com members.
Various Positions rankings
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Various Positions ratings
Average Rating = (n ÷ (n + m)) × av + (m ÷ (n + m)) × AVwhere:
av = trimmed mean average rating an item has currently received.
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Showing latest 5 ratings for this album. | Show all 160 ratings for this album.
| Rating | Date updated | Member | Album ratings | Avg. album rating |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 04/03/2026 16:07 | daCritic | 4,518 | 73/100 | |
| 03/15/2026 04:31 | Exist-en-ciel | 9,757 | 70/100 | |
| 03/03/2026 00:14 | JacobMullis | 750 | 88/100 | |
| 03/01/2026 19:47 | Johnnyo | 9,713 | 77/100 | |
| 02/08/2026 18:50 | dukeboxkool | 2,163 | 72/100 |
Rating metrics:
Outliers can be removed when calculating a mean average to dampen the effects of ratings outside the normal distribution. This figure is provided as the trimmed mean. A high standard deviation can be legitimate, but can sometimes indicate 'gaming' is occurring. Consider a simplified example* of an item receiving ratings of 100, 50, & 0. The mean average rating would be 50. However, ratings of 55, 50 & 45 could also result in the same average. The second average might be more trusted because there is more consensus around a particular rating (a lower deviation).
(*In practice, some albums can have several thousand ratings)
This album is rated in the top 7% of all albums on BestEverAlbums.com. This album has a Bayesian average rating of 75.2/100, a mean average of 74.3/100, and a trimmed mean (excluding outliers) of 75.4/100. The standard deviation for this album is 14.0.
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Lyrically amazing and I love how he retooled his sound in the 80s. This was the first "casio" album and though it was a little out of left field it rejuvenated his career. I'm Your Man might be the more perfected version but Leonard 2.0 really starts here with Various Positions. In addition to the big three songs ("Dance Me," "Halleluiah," and "If It Be Your Will") there are some other great tracks. "Heart with No Companion" is a simple song with some of LC's best lyrics. "The Law," "Coming Back to You," and "Night Comes On," are some of his most theological/mystical meditations. "Hunter's Lullaby" and "The Captain" involve great story telling. When I first heard this album it showed me that pop music could go places spiritually that I had not imagined. There really is not a skip track.
Really great album. Contains 3 Cohen classics, "Hallelujah", "If it be your will" and "Dance me to the end of love". All other tracks are good as well with some great poetry; the lyrics to "Night Comes On" especially resonate with me. I'm surprised it isn't regarded higher by more reviewers. A must listen for poetry fans and one of Cohen's best.
jnfbn 02/28/2018 18:10 | #209797
This is one of the most criminally underrated albums ever, it contains 3 best songs of Cohen; Hallelujah, If It Be Your Will, and Dance Me To the End of Love as well as other great songs.
Crumpet 02/16/2018 17:12 | #208456
Really great album here, the only problem is the production, setting Dance me to the End of Love to such a heavy drum beat ruins it and this isn't the best version of Hallelujah (that would be the beautifu 7 minutel live performance that can be found easily on Youtube) but the songs are still great. The other songs are all good The Captain and When the Night Comes In being particularly good.
The best track her is the stunning finale "If it be Your Will", a lyrical masterpiece that really hits hard.
A lovely Leonard Cohen album. Obviously his voice is starting to deteriorate by this time but it kind of suits the music. There is some beautiful writing here on, dance me to the end of love, coming back to you, night comes in, and off course, hallelujah. The record closes with the excellent, if it be your will. A great laid back album.
Absolutely underrated, this album! Then again, aren't all of Leonards?
sssvnnn 01/18/2015 00:12 | #131815
4 brilliant songs:"Dance Me to the End of Love", "Hallelujah", "Heart With No Companion", "If It Be Your Will".
Decurso 09/23/2014 13:02 | #122485
Hallelujah alone makes this a must have. But the whole album is very worthwhile. It's a lot lighter and less morose than most of Cohen's stuff. Dance To Me To the End of Love and The Captain are fine examples of Cohen showcasing his more reverent side here.
timtooky 04/10/2014 19:12 | #108966
it's always fascinating to hear leonard's breathy voice. it's so sweet and grumbling at the same time. good album for relaxed moments. on the other hand his voice is so dominant, that most of the songs sound a bit similar to me - therefor it couldn't be a really great album.
Rather Good / Good
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