The album features Cohen experimenting with different musical approaches. On "To a Teacher", Cohen quotes himself fromThe Spice-Box of Earth,his second collection of poetry from 1961. The basic tracks of "The Faith" dated back to theRecent Songssessions from 1979.[1]The album includes a live version of the country standard "Tennessee Waltz",which was taken from a performance during his tour in support of the LPVarious Positions.Considering the plethora of sources from which the material sprang, Cohen had originally wanted to call the albumOld Ideas,but eventually changed it toDear Heatherfor fear that fans might assume it was merely a compilation or "best of" package (Old Ideaswould be the title of Cohen's next studio album). There is increase in spoken poetry over singing, with two songs featuring words by other writers:Lord Byron( "No More a-Roving" ) andF. R. Scott( "Villanelle for our Time" ).[2]Thegospel-tinged "On That Day" addresses the still-raw tragedy and horror of the9/11 terrorist attacks.
The album reached #131 on theBillboard200and Internet Album charts and #5 on the Canadian Album charts. It was Cohen's highest charting album in America since 1969'sSongs from a Room.The album's highest chart position came in Poland where it reached #1 on thePolish Albums Chart.[14]Dear Heatherwas not received as well by critics asTen New Songsand Cohen's 2001 live albumField Commander Cohen: Tour of 1979had been. Some critics found it dour - although such notices had been commonplace throughout various stages of Cohen's career - and noted a tone of finality in the offering.The New York Timesreported, "Some of the songs are virtually unadorned with poetic imagery and fall flat; in others, Mr. Cohen uses his calmly sepulchral voice for speech rather than melody. The production is homemade." TheStylusdeemed it an "unsatisfying way to end such an intriguing career." In the November 2004Rolling Stonereview of the LP, Michaelangelo Matos praised the album, calling Cohen "Canada's hippest 70 year old "and insisting that" given how monochromatic Cohen tends to be, the jumbled feel works inDear Heather's favor. "Thom Jurek ofAllMusicargues thatDear Heatheris Cohen's "most upbeat" album: "Rather than focus on loss as an end, it looks upon experience as something to be accepted as a portal to wisdom and gratitude...If this is indeed his final offering as a songwriter, it is a fine, decent, and moving way to close this chapter of the book of his life."
"Villanelle for Our Time" was recorded 6 May 1999, shortly after Cohen's return fromMount BaldyZen Center. It is an improvised jazz recitation of a poem byF. R. Scott,Cohen's older colleague from theMontreal Groupof modernist poets.
"To a Teacher" is a spoken-word track based on Cohen's poem from his 1961 book of poetryThe Spice-Box of Earth,dedicated to the Canadian poetA.M. Klein.
"The Letters" is a duet with Cohen's producer, collaborator and track's co-writerSharon Robinson.
"Because Of" is a recitation of Cohen's poem which was included in his 2006Book of Longing.
The track "Nightingale" is dedicated to the late R&B singerCarl Anderson,Anjani Thomas's colleague. She composed the music using Cohen's abandoned poem.
Music track for "The Faith" is actually anouttakefromRecent Songs,with completely new lyrics, re-mixedand with new vocals added (thus the production was co-credited toRecent SongsproducerHenry Lewy). It was based on a Québec folk song.
The final track is a live performance of "Tennessee Waltz",recorded 9 July 1985 at theMontreux Jazz Festival.It was taken from the bootlegged radio recording and cleaned up digitally.[15]
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