Famous Blue Raincoat: The Songs of Leonard Cohen is the sixth studio album recorded by the American singer Jennifer Warnes. It debuted on the Billboard 200 on February 14, 1987, and peaked at No. 72 in the US Billboard chart, No.33 in the UK albums chart, and No.8 in Canada. Originally released by Cypress Records ( RCA Records in the UK), it was reissued by Private Music after Cypress went out of business. It is the only Jennifer Warnes album to make the UK albums chart (up to September 2014).

When Cohen later released his equally splashy I'm Your Man album the new audience was primed, the older one supportive and Cohen's career took off, reaching heretofore unscaled heights of popularity and iconic cultural acceptance. Now in his '80s, Leonard Cohen has never been more popular, nor has his audience demographic been so young. He's the hippest oldster on the scene—even more so than Dylan. Yes some of the late '80s synth sounds are now dated but the greatness of Cohen's songs endure and given the state of today's singing—which is often just a lot of hysterical shouting (and now I sound like my parents!)—Warnes' tastefully restrained yet intense performances here, become more rare, more precious, more beautiful and more valuable. Patton, Alli (March 8, 2023). "Top 10 Songs by Leonard Cohen". American Songwriter . Retrieved April 27, 2023. The original recording starts in the key of A minor, but switches to C major during the choruses. Cohen said, "That's nice. I guess I got that from Spanish music, which has that." [5] Reception [ edit ] a b "Readers' Poll: The 10 Best Leonard Cohen Songs". Rolling Stone. 26 November 2014 . Retrieved 11 November 2016.The supercharged opener here, "First We Take Manhattan", with stinging Stevie Ray Vaughan guitar lines, is from the then unreleased I'm Your Man album as was "There Ain't No Cure For Love".

Gerxtenzanga, Peter. "Jennifer Warnes's Famous Blue Raincoat: 20th Anniversary Edition". The Village Voice . Retrieved February 19, 2017.Canadian album certifications – Jennifer Warnes – Famous Blue Raincoat". Music Canada . Retrieved August 19, 2022. In a 1994 BBC Radio Interview, Cohen remarked: "The problem with that song is that I've forgotten the actual triangle. Whether it was my own - of course, I always felt that there was an invisible male seducing the woman I was with, now whether this one was incarnate or merely imaginary I don't remember, I've always had the sense that either I've been that figure in relation to another couple or there'd been a figure like that in relation to my marriage. I don't quite remember but I did have this feeling that there was always a third party, sometimes me, sometimes another man, sometimes another woman. It was a song I've never been satisfied with. It's not that I've resisted an impressionistic approach to songwriting, but I've never felt that this one, that I really nailed the lyric. I'm ready to concede something to the mystery, but secretly I've always felt that there was something about the song that was unclear. So I've been very happy with some of the imagery, but a lot of the imagery." Kent, David (1993). Australian Chart Book 1970–1992 (illustrateded.). St Ives, N.S.W.: Australian Chart Book. p.333. ISBN 0-646-11917-6.