Leonard Cohen

Time was, in those pre-John Denver days, every aspiring folkie had to have "Suzanne" and a couple of other tunes from Songs of Leonard Cohen in his extended set list if he wanted any street cred. It's revelatory to hear Cohen himself perform these songs if you've come to his repertoire through other artists — such as John Cale, whose version of "Hallelujah" is widely regarded as definitive; or Judy Collins, who recorded "Sisters Of Mercy" as well as "Suzanne"; or Jennifer Warnes, who cut a whole album of Cohen's songs, Famous Blue Raincoat.

The Death of a Ladies' Man album, from which we have "Memories," was produced by the notorious legend Phil Spector, who is alleged to have threatened Cohen at gunpoint. "Anthem" was included on the soundtrack to the cult-fave film Natural Born Killers. And even Brit folk-rockers Fairport Convention have had a go at Cohen's catalog — a surprisingly (ahem) conventional cover of "Closing Time" from Cohen's 1992 album, The Future. (Of course, Cohen is Canadian, so it might be some Commonwealth trade agreement.)

Leonard Cohen's 2004 album, Dear Heather, contains an unexpected gem: his reading of the country standard "Tennessee Waltz." Not only does Cohen rarely cover others' material (Patti Page's version topped the charts in 1950); he actually sounds, well, caffeinated. Notice that he adds a third verse to the song, one that will likely become part of the canon along with the original lyric. Then there's "The Stranger Song," from the album Songs of, which piles proof upon proof that, as a songwriting poet, Cohen has few peers.

Has it really been half a century since Leonard Cohen published his first book of poetry? Astonishing. The man had a career as a poet and novelist before he turned his focus to songwriting; in fact, he didn't cut his first album until he was 33, an age when all but the hardiest rockers are generally at their peak, or even in decline (if not "retirement"). Subsequent to Judy Collins' success with "Suzanne," Cohen was "discovered" by legendary Columbia Records A&R man John H. Hammond, who also brought Dylan and Springsteen to the label. With his monotonic delivery and frequently opaque lyrics, Cohen's something of an acquired taste, but one that's well worth the pursuit.