Cohen´s literature and music was, from the late nineteen sixties/early seventies until the nineteen eighties as vital and as relevant as that of any of his contemporaries. In the earliest period of his career he had few equals in his mastery of setting poetry to music. By the 1980s in the ever quicker flowing sands of time, he had become less relevant, but the quality of his output remained high, his very individual musical footprint firm, & his listeners satisfied. By 1992, already in his late fifties, Cohen had become so introspect that his loss of energy and vocal strength made it increasingly difficult to enthuse about releases, like this one, that considerably pale in comparison. He did release a couple of exceptionally good albums at the tail end of his career, including Old Ideas that confirmed his greatness, if it was ever in any doubt, as both author and artist. Between 1988 and 2012, however, when both lyric & music was so inferior to his earlier work, all one can really do is go back to that work & revel in his greatness.