The artists collected here represent a simplicity and sophistication that inspired Leonard Cohen to make manifest in his career. His novelist and poet background gave him an advantage over his peers in constructing a searing narrative—enter countercultural giants Allen Ginsberg and Jack Kerouac. Country music was his first love and “Your Cheatin' Heart” set a high standard for a young Cohen when he was in his first band, The Buckskin Boys. The Weavers featured Pete Seeger, a huge influence on the eternal folkie. Tom Waits shares Cohen's style of savoring each syllable before it leaves his lips. There's also Billie Holiday, whose deepening voice illuminated the space between the sacred and profane, a lasting Cohen trait.