What Leonard Cohen Did for Me

Following his 70th birthday in September 2004, this documentary explores the Canadian singer-songwriter's enormous influence. Admirers paying tribute in this programme include Nick Cave, Ian McCulloch, Arthur Smith, Kathryn Williams and Paul Morley.
　　For someone with a reputation for being a misery-monger Leonard Cohen has a lot of fans. There have been over 100 cover versions recorded of his song Suzanne and tribute albums feature contributions from the likes of REM, Elton John and the Pixies. Ian McCulloch performs a version of Suzanne on this programme and Kathryn Williams sings Hallelujah.
　　Cohen was a poet long before he started making music and his songs are literate meditations on love, longing, religion and meaning, delivered with alternate intensity and dry humour. In Tower of Song he jokes that he was "born with the gift of a golden voice", but it's the distinctive nature of the voice rather than technical accomplishment that is remarkable.