Fans of Cohen had long become accustomed to long intervals in between albums – between 1979 and 1988 he released three – but the tour appeared to re-energize him, as biographer Sylvie Simmons observed in a 2012 Mojo cover story: "After his former manager helped herself to his savings, leaving him nothing to retire on, Leonard, in his seventies, having not been on the road in 15 years, embarked on one of the most remarkable, and remarkably successful, tours in music history, playing three-hour shows each night.

Old Ideas was recorded in Los Angeles at Cohen's own studio in his house and at 7th Street Sound with Patrick Leonard and Ed Sanders.

Many of the songs explore some of Cohen's favorite themes: mortality, sex, depression, and the quest for love in an apocalyptic world.

Cohen worked closely with co-producer Patrick Leonard, writing four of the tracks with him: the resigned "Going Home," "Show Me the Place," "Anyhow" and "Come Healing."

13 on Rolling Stone's list of the top 50 albums of 2012, saying "Cohen adapts to this uncharted age with a lifetime's worth of grace and wit.