The Best of Leonard Cohen
Leonard Cohen is famous as a major seller in much of the world outside the U.S., the Canadian singer-songwriter's adoptive home; in Europe, this album's title isGreatest Hits. Even listeners barely familiar with Cohen's name will know "Suzanne" and "Bird on a Wire," but those oft-covered numbers are the least of it. The former novelist's mission as a wry, resigned troubadour is better reflected in songs like "Chelsea Hotel No. 2," a remembrance of Janis Joplin with a devastating closing line, and "Who by Fire," which updates a Jewish prayer.--Rickey Wright