2008 is regarded as a pretty shitty year by most standards. Other than Obama's victory there was little to celebrate. However, there was one other bright spot. Leonard Cohen's return to performing live. Judging from the two-disc live album documenting the poet laureate's stellar concert at London's 02 Arena in July of 2008, he's still got it. Most artists still performing as late into their career as Cohen have lost a lot of their impact. Either their voices have not aged well or they cannot maintain the level of energy they once did. Leonard's voice has aged well, evident on such beautiful performances of classic Cohen standards as "Suzanne", "Famous Blue Raincoat" and "I'm Your Man". It's one advantage of having a deep, monotone voice. And his style of music has always been subdued. His singing here is just as good as on his later period albums. And the arrangements of strings and back up singers give the songs rich, mellow vibe while not straining to far from the original album versions. If this concert was candy it'd be expensive dark chocolate eaten after a long day on the job. -Brad Filicky
"Suzanne" from Leonard Cohen's Live In London
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