Famous Blue Raincoat: The Songs of Leonard Cohen

Since Ella Fitzgerald never produced a songbook of Leonard Cohen songs, Jennifer Warnes's plush 1986 tribute is the next best thing. The sleekly seductive "First We Take Manhattan" is gilded by the guitars of Stevie Ray Vaughan and Robben Ford. Warnes doesn't add much to an evergreen like "Bird on a Wire," but she lays claim to the noirish title song with a confidential vocal that complements the chamber-pop arrangement. "Song of Bernadette" is a ripened gem, and the selection where Warnes lets down her refined vocal technique to reveal deep emotions. More often, Warnes is as professionally accomplished on this well-chosen set as her band of studio pros. --John Milward