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Rating:
He is undoubtedly one of the few untouchable artists, constantly in search of "...understanding why at certain moments I feel so melancholic..." and it is precisely that melancholy that candidly paints his poems dressed in music and enchanting song.
However, listening to "I'm Your Man" gave me a Cohen I wasn't used to. I knew well that all he needed was a guitar to give a sense of completeness to his art, and now instead I find myself lost among cold and predictable digital sounds blended with insistent and annoying choruses.
I have nothing against changes and evolutions of an artist, but I find it difficult to see an evolution in this type of musical guise of someone who hangs the guitar on the wall and buys a computer.
Listening to this album truly gives the impression of hearing Cohen sing over poor-quality pre-cooked bases from who knows what clumsy computer tinkerer.
He had slowly accustomed us to the choruses: very discreet in the days of "Songs of Leonard Cohen", present but well blended in "Various Positions", and now, in my opinion, decidedly over the top.
Another thing I find hard to digest is the fade-out that concludes the tracks. I find it unbearable and not worthy of songs of such caliber... In "I'm Your Man," for example, it fades right during the singing... disgusting!
The songs on the album are indeed on par with his best moments, featuring "First We Take Manhattan", "Take This Waltz", "I'm Your Man", "Tower of Song", sung with expressive strength and a spine-chilling voice...
And this is probably the reason that causes me a certain nervousness: an album that could undoubtedly have been excellent is thus penalized by choices, in my opinion, difficult to understand.
On the other hand, a thorn stuck in a moccasin is much more annoying than the same thorn in a tangle of thorns...
P.S. I am aware that what in my head was meant to be a review has here turned into a rant and mostly a rather confused one, but the purpose is to hear your opinions on arrangements, choruses, and fade-outs, perhaps providing me with points of view that might allow me to appreciate this work more.
Tracklist Lyrics and Videos
01 I'm Your Man (04:27)
If you want a lover
I'll do anything you ask me to
And if you want another kind of love
I'll wear a mask for you
If you want a partner
Take my hand
Or if you want to strike me down in anger
Here I stand
I'm your man
If you want a boxer
I will step into the ring for you
And if you want a doctor
I'll examine every inch of you
If you want a driver
Climb inside
Or if you want to take me for a ride
You know you can
I'm your man
Ah, the moon's too bright
The chain's too tight
The beast won't go to sleep
I've been running through these promises to you
That I made and I could not keep
Ah but a man never got a woman back
Not by begging on his knees
Or I'd crawl to you baby
And I'd fall at your feet
And I'd howl at your beauty
Like a dog in heat
And I'd claw at your heart
And I'd tear at your sheet
I'd say please, please
I'm your man
And if you've got to sleep
A moment on the road
I will steer for you
And if you want to work the street alone
I'll disappear for you
If you want a father for your child
Or only want to walk with me a while
Across the sand
I'm your man
If you want a lover
I'll do anything that you ask me to
And if you want another kind of love
I'll wear a mask for you
02 Chelsea Hotel #2 (03:06)
I remember you well in the Chelsea Hotel,
you were talking so brave and so sweet,
giving me head on the unmade bed,
while the limousines wait in the street.
Those were the reasons and that was New York,
we were running for the money and the flesh.
And that was called love for the workers in song
probably still is for those of them left.
Ah but you got away, didn't you babe,
you just turned your back on the crowd,
you got away, I never once heard you say,
I need you, I don't need you,
I need you, I don't need you
and all of that jiving around.
I remember you well in the Chelsea Hotel
you were famous, your heart was a legend.
You told me again you preferred handsome men
but for me you would make an exception.
And clenching your fist for the ones like us
who are oppressed by the figures of beauty,
you fixed yourself, you said, "Well never mind,
we are ugly but we have the music."
And then you got away, didn't you babe...
I don't mean to suggest that I loved you the best,
I can't keep track of each fallen robin.
I remember you well in the Chelsea Hotel,
that's all, I don't even think of you that often.
03 Who by Fire (02:31)
And who by fire, who by water,
who in the sunshine, who in the night time,
who by high ordeal, who by common trial,
who in your merry merry month of may,
who by very slow decay,
and who shall I say is calling?
And who in her lonely slip, who by barbiturate,
who in these realms of love, who by something blunt,
and who by avalanche, who by powder,
who for his greed, who for his hunger,
and who shall I say is calling?
And who by brave assent, who by accident,
who in solitude, who in this mirror,
who by his lady's command, who by his own hand,
who in mortal chains, who in power,
and who shall I say is calling?
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