I'm Your Fan: The Songs Of Leonard Cohen By... CD

Leonard Cohen's supremely literate songs will always have a rapt audience among rock and folk's illuminati. In certain circles, Cohen is regarded with the same awe as Bob Dylan, Townes Van Zandt, and a handful of other top '60s songwriters. However, the singer's dry, husky voice and his dirge-like, hypnotic vocal delivery have often confounded even the bravest listener.

I'M YOUR FAN--the title is a reference to Cohen's landmark I'M YOUR MAN release of 1988--recruits an interesting, even inspired array of some of rock and pop's most uncompromising talents, presenting Leonard Cohen songs as unabashed pop. REM perform a gritty version of "First We Take Manhattan," while, Nick Cave And The Bad Seeds, a band clearly influenced by Cohen along the way, present an inspired version of "Tower of Song." Other standout selections include Lloyd Cole's beautiful take on "Chelsea Hotel," James' cover of "So Long Marianne," and Ian McCulloch's "Hey, That's No Way to Say Goodbye."