LIKE a surreal gangster in double-breasted suit and trademark Fedora, Leonard Cohen skipped on to the stage to a deafening and reverential welcome at the Brighton Centre.
With stellar reviews at every stage of this sell-out tour and after so long an absence, expectations were sky high and Cohen, at 74, did not disappoint.
The 'golden voice' may have deepened over the years from a high baritone to a bass baritone/ba
ss but it has lost none of its power and seduction.
Tales of relationships, loss, life, death, and hope are still as fresh today and Cohen's lyrics are delivered with crystal clarity.
Curled over the mic like a charcoal-slashed question mark or crouched in supplication, his beguiling songs speak of intense and intimate moments.
There were strong hispanic, gipsy, world music and jazz influences and the Canadian singer-songwriter, novelist and poet was supported vocally by long-standing collaborator Sharon Robinson and Brit duo The Webb Sisters.
His pride in his musicians is huge and he introduced them at least four times.
He told us: "It's been a while since I was in Brighton. Fourteen or 15 years.
"I was 60 then. Just a crazy kid with a dream."
Highlights included the haunting So Long Marianne, Ain't no cure for Love, I'm Your Man, the epic Tower of Song and Dance Me to the End of Love.
This is someone who never for a moment needed to work for our smiles.
By Charlotte Taylor
