4/5 Buy It For Cohen's Wisdom
  by Zarathustra (Sacramento, CA USA)
Most documentaries about singers have too much talk and not enough music. This one is just the opposite. Cohen's comments are very interesting and often profound, but most of the singers covering his songs on this DVD are way off the mark. Nick Cave and Rufus Wainwright completely miss the spirit of the songs by being too cute (Cohen is anything but cute). Anthony starts out well, but he can't pull it off either.
The best covers of Cohen's songs are found on Jennifer Warnes' CD Famous Blue Raincoat. Her version of First We Take Manhattan, Then We Take Berlin is sheer genius. A former backup singer for Cohen, she gets it, and even sings a duet with Cohen on Joan of Arc.
There is a plethora of Cohen covers on CD. Joan Baez has a nice version of Suzanne, Madeleine Peyroux has a good interpretation of Dance Me to the End of Love on her CD Careless Love, and there are some good covers on Tower of Song and I'm Your Fan.
Finally, don't miss A Conversation with Leonard Cohen in the Bonus Features.

4/5 Once Again, On The Enigma Of Leonard Cohen
  by Alfred Johnson (boston, ma)
I have used a review of "The Best Of Leonard Cohen" CD as the start of my review of the DVD "Leonard Cohen: I'm Your Man" because I believe that the questions that I had about his place in musical history get resolved, partially, in the film:

"The Best Of Leonard Cohen, Leonard Cohen, CBS Records, 1975

Leonard Cohen always seemed to me to be the odd man out in the swirl of the folk revival of the early 1960's. Yes, sure he did his time at the Chelsea Hotel (something of a rite of passage for some singer/songwriters). He certainly, either through his music or lifestyle, did not merely represent some hippie faddism. He was just a little too old and little too proper writer, in the European sense, for that. Yet, although some of his material could well be played in the beat cafés of the late 1950's, there too his work seems too civilized for that raucous crowd. A viewing several years ago of a film documentary on his life, work and times "I'm Your Man" only added to my confusion about where to pigeonhole Mr. Cohen.

So now you see my dilemma. In any case the best place to start to get an appreciation for the work of this very talented and driven lyricist (I cannot say much for his vocal accomplishments as it will be the lyrics that will stand the test of time, not the voice) is this compilation of his best work, circa 1975. Haven't we all had, or wanted to have, male or female, that "Suzanne" of the first song. This is probably his best known song, and I think rightly so as a secondary anthem of the 1960's. Included here are the heart-wrenching lyrics of "Bird On A Wire", as well as "Sisters Of Mercy" and "So Long, Marianne". Cohen tips his hat to the Chelsea Hotel experience in "Chelsea Hotel No. 2". As I run through this list there is one thought that does occur to me. If you are in a depressed or melancholy mood it is best to save this CD for some other time. But do listen to it."

Those remarks receive some answers in this well-done 2005 part biographic sketch and part tribute concert (down in Sydney, Australia). The parts about his driven personal life from the days when he held forth in the poetry circles of his native Montreal, his evolution as a lyricist during his key stay at the Chelsea Hotel (basically absorbing the vibrant folk lyric/ poetic milieu of New York City, the center of the cultural universe back in those days), and his long time commitment to the rigors of Buddhism round his story and give a better sense of the demons that drove his work.

The concert segments interspersed between the Cohen commentaries are the real reason to view this DVD though. I mentioned in the review of the CD (and Cohen, with a measured sense of his own creative skills, confirms in this film) that Leonard Cohen would be remembered for his lyrics not for his voice. By that I did not mean that his work could not be well-covered by others. And this Sydney concert is the proof. Of course any time you have the McGarrigle Sisters, Anna and Kate and the Wainwright kids (Kate's kids), Rufus and Martha (Martha outshines Rufus here, if you can believe that), you know that there is a solid base to the show. Add in Linda Thompson, Beth Orton and others covering Cohen classics like "Suzanne", "Sisters Of Mercy", and Chelsea Hotel", to name a few, and this is quite a tribute show. Additionally, there is as segment with the ubiquitous Bono and the U2 crowd doing their part by "aiding" Cohen's singing on a newer song "Tower Of Sound" and the title entry "I'm Your Man". This is good stuff for Cohen aficionados and newcomers alike.


5/5 I'm your man
  by D. Turkus
This DVD is a tribute to Leonard Cohen, and several of the artists preform his music better than he does. Seeing Rufus Wainheart and his sister preform is great. Antony does one song, probably the best piece of music Antony has ever done, I was so inspired by Antony on this DVD, I searched all his albums, and have yet to find another tune he preformed as well or better. Truly a fine DVD with a history of Leonatd Cohen included. You will not be sorry you purchased this one!


2/5 Leonard Cohen I am your man
  by Turnip Sue (Pickle Ridge Montana)
I was hoping Leonard would have sang more of his songs. The other artists didn't do justice to his songs. His other DVD was much more what I liked.

5/5 Leonard Cohen I'm Your Man
  by Irundi Sampaio Edelweiss (Salvador, Bahia, Brazil)
Beautifully made. Great interpreters of his songs, correctly mixed with interviews, particularly with Mr. Cohen himself. You will not get tired of watching it repeatedly. A moving tribute to a great poet and songwriter.