The latest CD releases reviewed

LEONARD COHEN
I'm Your Man Lionsgate Home Entertainment ****

Some people reckon they can see right through him, yet for many Leonard Cohen remains the ultimate enigma: a literate and lauded, if not especially commercially successful, singer-songwriter who retains maximum credibility as much for his songwriting as his background of seducer, lover, monk, poet and all-round philosophical cool dude. Film- maker Lian Lunson handles this bio-doc-concert very well; it's neither a full-blown biography nor a bone-fide concert movie, yet blends elements of each. The tribute concert, Came So Far for Beauty, is filmed straight and features renditions of Cohen songs by the likes of Nick Cave, Antony Hegarty, Jarvis Cocker, Beth Orton, the Wainwright clan and The Handsome Family. The biog section is altogether more successful and artful, allowing fans to catch a rare glimpse of Cohen in conversation: arch, opaque, self-deprecating, expressive. Anyone not yet swayed by the man and his lyrics will remain unconvinced; fans, however, will smile knowingly, nod in agreement and raise a glass.

DONNY AND MARIE OSMOND
The Best of Donny & Marie, Vol 1 Sony/BMG **

You'd have to be a very special and honest person indeed to admit to not only watching this musical variety travesty, but also to actually liking it. The past, they say is a different country, but this is a whole different planet. It's 1976, and Donny and Marie Osmond take charge of a homey affair; they goof around; they dress up as Caesar and Cleopatra; they shake tambourines; they sing many, many awful songs; and they introduce movie and TV comics (Bob Hope, Carl Reiner, Ruth Buzzi) in the hope that canned laughter might drown out the sound of groans of despair. This, folks, is what the average 1970s teenager had for televisual entertainment. Now it's Skins. What a long, strange trip it has been. Extras include a photo gallery. www.donny.com