Live in London

After taking a decade-and-a-half vacation from live performance, septuagenarian singer/songwriter/saint Leonard Cohen returned to the stage in 2008 for a European tour. During his absence, his popularity had grown to such a degree that his London concert took place at the city's O2 Arena. With the gathered masses sounding suitably enraptured, Cohen can be heard delivering a long program that serves as both career summary and mission reiteration on this double-length live album (FYI, there's also a DVD companion release).
Amazingly, Cohen sounds even more vital and intense than the last time he strode the boards, back in the mid-'90s. For all the high-powered cover versions over the years, his cavernously deep voice remains the most effective instrument for delivering his poetic incantations, looming large over a subtle, sympathetic band. He invests '60s classics like "Suzanne" and "Bird on a Wire" with new energy, underlining their continued relevance, while establishing a place in the canon for latter-day gems like "Anthem" and "Democracy," all the while punctuating his performance with carefully placed quips that show his trademark black humor to be in full effect.