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#33 Leonard Cohen – I’m Your Man

Leonard Cohen – I’m Your Man

Talk Hard.


The moment that I heard “Everybody Knows” sung by Cohen in his deep baritone voice, I knew I was hooked. It was spooky, scary, perfect but best of all it felt truthful. The song like it was being sung by a seedy underworld character explaining the realities to today’s youth. The song was introduced to me in the movie ‘Pump Up the Volume’ and the soundtrack offers a glimpse into the music of Generation X, (Pixies, Jesus & Mary Chain, Soundgarden) but this song is inexplicably covered by Concrete Blonde on the soundtrack which is slightly odd because I think that Cohen is cooler than all the artists that I have rattled off.

During my own personal introduction to Cohen’s music, out popped a tribute album to his work featuring none other than those Athen’s fearsome foursome covering “First We Take Manhattan” and as always it was something familiar helping me pursue uncharted territories.

The music itself is severely dated. I have to admit that some of the “Muzak” on this sounds like it was straight off of an 80’s soundtrack especially with the saxophone intro on “Aint No Cure For Love”. Listening to Cohen for the music is like being a fan of the Chicago Cubs for the championships. Cohen is a poet that has turned his craft into organic matter and that is the difference between any artist that puts together some words on a lyric sheet and Cohen. Cohen delivers.

At the same time, Cohen’s lyrics, singing and enunciation make up for any lapses with music. ‘I’m
Your Man’ is still a sexy love song that goes way beyond the simplicity of the lyrics but the way that he presents them. Every syllable is purposeful, not just sung but believed.

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