LEONARD COHEN: Dear Heather ***1/2 (Columbia/Sony). Hard to believe, but Leonard Cohen is singing, or half-singing, in an even lower register these days. On some songs it's a low-rumbling whisper. Yet melodic limitations don't detract from Cohen's views on love, lust and ageing. As ever, he's bolstered by female vocalists, while synths long ago replaced his acoustic guitar. Words worth hearing.

JEFF CRAWFORD