(Sony/Legacy)

www.legacyrecordings.com

BY RANDY HARWARD

When Leonard Cohen took the stage at the Isle of Wight in the wee hours it could have the cherry atop a nearly disastrous day that saw chaos and fire among the 600,000 attendees. The fans were grouchy and bleary-eyed-not the sort of crowd you'd think might appreciate Cohen's music, which is made for gracious, if not rapt, listeners. Since Cohen himself took his sweet time getting onstage, it could have gone poorly to say the least. Good thing the hour was on his side.

We all know how sleep deprivation makes us vulnerable, susceptible to thoughts and deeds we wouldn't have or do in the daytime. When the camera cuts to the crowd-surely editors favored the most attentive-their eyes as well as their ears are Cohen's; they consume his deep and deeply human songs. Between songs, they gobble up his stage banter, especially when Cohen tells a story from his childhood involving matches, and asks the audience to "let me see  you," to show their essences in the form of match flames.

Watching nearly four decades later, during prime time, from under a blanket on a sofa instead of on a blanket over dirt, the performance is no less enthralling.

SPECIAL FEATURES: A CD of the concert, complete with banter. Full versions of interviews with Joan Baez, Bob Johnston, Judy Collins and Kris Kristofferson, which are used sparingly but effectively in the main program.