I'm Your Man

I think "Everybody Knows" might be my favorite Leonard Cohen song.

So he records two kind of weird, cool songs. The rest is absolute garbage. Maybe don’t release the garbage. Release a couple of singles and spare the rest of the world from your miserable music. We’ll lock that crap up in a fault and bury it at the bottom of the ocean.

I just don't get the appeal of Leonard Cohen. Jazz Police has got to be one of the worst songs, lyrically, that I have heard as I've made my way through this list. And that's saying something.

7.2/10. Much less spoken-word than his You Want it Darker project, it was more upbeat, and more musical than poetry. I liked it, but it also didn't have the same emotional depth that he developed later, it wasn't as heavy which made it more fun but less drawing for me to listen to again. Still enjoy his voice, it is so unique.

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jazz police slaps

Сара 4,5 Марко 4,5

Ne znam zašto sam se prije slušanja nadao da će mi se ovaj album svidjeti.... ali nije me baš oduševio. Uglavnom ispod ocekivanja i stvari mi nisu bile nuzno lose, ali nisu mi bile dobre. Nekak mi ovaj njegov glas ne paše baš. Najbolja pjesma: First We Take Manhattan

Leonard Cohen doing weird electronic experimental stuff, that's nice.

Rough.

I don't know if I'm doing it wrong by going backwards in time, but coming from You Want It Darker to this was... a difference! I still think Leonard Cohen had an amazing voice and an excellent grasp of lyrics, but what on earth is the 80s ness of the rest of this? Every time i start getting into a song, synthesisers start and a chorus of teenage girls start singing over it, is this what his stuff is usually like? Not a fan.

Well that was just horrible.

There are a few things about music from the '80s that I absolutely hate. Reverb, out of place saxophone solos, and exuberant backup vocals. This album has it all. If it didn't have those things, I think I might enjoy it because the songs are pretty well constructed. I just can't get past all of my pet peeves.

Surreal…..so instantly 80s and then the vocals start! Quite the contrast. I rather like it….works for me. 3

You have to be in a special mood to like a Leonard Cohen album. Lucky for me I was. I enjoyed this one.

It's an album I love dearly, because in a way it's the first Leonard Cohen album I've loved. I got into Leonard through my grandfather, when we listened together to his album Live in London. For some reason, I thought this one will be the best to listen to next, maybe become many of the songs in the live album feature here. So, in a way, the somewhat debateble "electronic" Leonard was my first. I have a soft spot for this version. I think the somewhat naive experiment with the keyboard actually makes the songs, and especially the unique voice to shine. In a way, it's a thing this helps a limited but very distinct voices. Madonna, Neil Tennant come to mind. It happens, in a different way, here aswell. And the songs are great. Some of the deserved Leonard classics. The future, his next, is a political one (which I also love). This one combines social and love narratives and does so great. It's the softer of the two. I don't know if the Future is in the generator, but it should be. This one is a high 4

A couple of good songs but it ultimately feels wrong

Voice is deep and dark and cool, rest is mediocre. 3/5

Som liten lad hade jag väldigt svårt för Cohen. Kanske skar det sig rejält med LC när en tjej dumpade mig i sena tonåren - hon älskade Cohen. Men, min kärlek till Nick Cave har fått mig på andra tankar. Även om jag håller NC skyhögt mkt högre än LC kan jag sträcka mig till en trea. Hade kanske varit en fyra om det traumatiska uppbrottet aldrig hade inträffat.

Inte helt hundra på att han är betjänt av italo disco-soundet, men samtidigt växte den här bisarra jäveln under andra lyssningen. Kanske landar syntblås-cohen mot all förmodan på en 3a?

Precis när jag tänkte klaga på "allt är uppbyggt på samma sätt, inget hänt mellan den här och askisplattan blablabla bjäring", kommer en vals följt av hets om jazz-polisen. Mycket skoj! Får bli tre

Sjukt att han gjorde en låt om Dino Jazz Police! Som stor älskare av lökig 80-talsproduktion tillsammans med ambitiösa texter, lex Kjell Höglund, går det rätt in. Precis som Höglund blir det också musik av det med refränger och sånt. Inte bara poesiläsning

Never felt like a huge Cohen head. Some songs are great but they feel too samey after a while. This album has some of the most familiar to me songs. Best tracks: First We Take Manhattan, Everybody Knows Rating: 7/10

Aight

Nice

Ngl can’t stand this. Awful vocals and repetitive lyricism

God, every established artist from the prior two decades really lost their way in the ‘80s, huh? I mean, damn. Add Cohen to the list.

El tipo canta bien, pero no es que me emocione mucho ver otra vez un álbum suyo en esta lista. Lo volvería a escuchar? No

What a silly album

TL;DR: Leonard Cohen synth-pop that is almost all good. I hated what is apparently one of his "best" songs so YMMV. BEFORE: A Leonard Cohen album from the 80s. OK. I didn't know he wrote First We Take Manhattan - I've only ever heard the Jennifer Warnes version. AFTER: Fair play. I didn't expect this many synths. Sometimes they sound very cheap, and I have to assume that was an artistic choice rather than just a product of the times. It mostly works well except where the songwriting falters. HIGHLIGHTS: Cohen's sinister vocals work well with the synth-pop backing on First We Take Manhattan although I can't work out of the upbeat sections with the female vocalists are inspired or just incongruous. Everybody Knows and Jazz Police pull the same trick - simultaneously threatening and jaunty. The first is a more traditional Cohen composition but Jazz Polices is weird and atonal. If you can ignore the chintzy keyboards, I'm Your Man is an effectively solicitous ballad in the mold of Nick Cave. Take This Waltz is a wonderful song and Jennifer Warnes' doubled vocal is a particular highlight of the album. Tower of Song is like slipping into a warm bath. BEFORE: I know Jazz Police is supposed to be the bad song here but I like it, although I can see how it might be polarising. Ain't No Cure For Love, on the other hand, opens with a Kenny G-style saxophone solo and the song that follows is an odious mix of cheese and sleaze, with Cohen leering over a cheap karaoke machine backing track. It's too long for what it is and I don't give a shit how popular it has become. I listened to it twice just to see if I was wrong but it is sub-AM radio dross. VERDICT: A solid 4 stars. Unexpected and it mostly won me over.

Had fun going down a rabbit hole in track 1. Solid song when every cover rocks.

I fucking loved this. It’s so 80’s and so Leonard Cohen. It’s dark, jazzy, and just a cool ass album. Obviously well- written, the production is slick as hell and sets a tone that scratches the right itch.

I loved some, hated some. The fact that it elicited both deserves the extra star I think

Leonard Cohen is not a singer, he’s a poet who recites his poetry in a melodic way. Jennifer Warnes does the singing here. The music is over the top eighties. Not my personal best Leonard Cohen album, but very good nevertheless.

More Leonard Cohen? Ehhh.. fine, I guess. Again, the music is fine, the instrumentation and the background singers, but his singing is annoying. I think I only managed to enjoy it on the oldest album we heard from him, perhaps? Every other album he's sounded like a washed old man (for lack of a more polite way of saying it). Even the lyrics are often fairly intriguing; it's just that the whole of the music is lesser than the sum of its parts, largely due to the singing. A 2 feels kind of low given that level of quality, but it's going to be a biased, strong 2

This is our 3rd Leonard Cohen album, and it appears that there are still 2 more to come, a prospect that does not excite me. (Please see previous 2 reviews, for add'l comments.) To me, Leonard Cohen is a niche artist/acquired taste (that, safe to say, I'll never acquire), so I find it surprising and (more to the point) disappointing that so many of his albums are on here. Perhaps interesting as a sort of litmus test? But, if so, wouldn't one (or *maybe* 2) have been enough? Listening to Leonard Cohen is like . . . climbing through sludge? Not pleasant, not very musical at all, really. The best I can say about his "music" is that, in rare & scattered moments, he had a knack for evoking a certain (dark? world-weary?) mood. But a little of that goes a long way (for me, anyway), and I don't need a whole album of that. 2 stars.

Much to my amazement, I'm starting to "get" LC. I think the 80's production is the perfect setting for his surreal, Lynchian cabaret. I see how the humor compliments the overblown emotions. While I criticized him before for being a lyrics-first guy, I think this album showcases his best verse. The words are evocative and invite multiple interpretations. Today, the campiness and laid-back gravitas of this album are agreeable to me. +2 for being a tight 8 songs, all with substance. I would revisit, because I think the songs have more meaning to be gleaned.

My first Leonard Cohen record, thanks entirely to the movie Pump Up the Volume (also clued me onto the Pixies with the UK Surf version of Wave of Mutilation). I thought Everybody Knows was just hilarious, this deep voice opening up each of HHH’s pirate radio shows. And to my disappointment it was not on the soundtrack. But then the song kinda stuck with me and hoo boy. Then, I heard the REM cover of First We Take Manhattan, a masterclass in guitar feedback, but also a showcase for the Mikes. So, imagine my surprise going back to the original album, a chintzy “synth pop” album? With an old man singing with Af-Am-affected choir girls? I could slot this in for just about any Cohen record, but damn man, these songs are long!

ok

Hallelujah for Leonard.

Late 80s folk rock, synth rock. His most successful album. The talk singing over aggressively 80s synths is something else. Painfully cheesy.

Uncharacteristically arranged and performed, but he's one of our great poets

Sounds like your divorced Uncle's bitter monologues at a karaoke bar, and I mean that as a compliment. I love the contrast of Leonard's bassy vocals with the bouncy disco pop instrumentation, and this contains some of his finest ever writing.

What a strange album, and not really in a good way.

Absolutely none of this makes sense and should register as an album of interest, and yet I am intrigued/fascinated by Leonard Cohen. The opening track sounds like a 13 year old playing around with his Casio keyboard and roping in his drunk uncle for the lead and his sister’s mates for the backing, and I love it! The rest of the album is a mixture of ups and downs but another charming effort.

Occasionally insightful or funny lyric - (awful vocals + shite synths) = 2 stars.

I think Leonard Cohen pulled this experiment off pretty well. Overall, it’s an 80s synthpop album, but you can hear elements of darkwave, artpop, and sophistipop mixed in. Cohen’s deep, gravelly voice is still front and center, along with his introspective lyrics and witty, half sung, half spoken delivery. The production gives the album a dark, melancholic atmosphere throughout. I’m sure he had people advising him to try something new since his career was dipping at this point, but this was a big departure from his earlier work, and he and his team did a solid job of pulling it off to revitalize his career.

Well that doesn't really work for me. Every so often I'm like okay.......ummm...no 2.0

Cohen’s sound and lyrics work significantly better over acoustic and folk sounding instruments. This is a pretty rough listen.

From the first bar of music I would never in a million years have guessed this was Leonard Cohen. He really did write for the era on this one. Haha! I really can’t help but laugh at the thought of the man, who was already in his 50’s and well established in the industry for over 20 years, deciding to produce this. Kudos for sound diversity I guess, but what was the need? The combo of an album of Euro synth, saxophone introduced love songs, sultry admissions alongside walkin bass lines has me feeling nauseous and wanting to leave the circus at this point. Would I buy this album if I saw it in the $5 bargain bin - *shaking head rapidly* ew, weird, uncomfortable, no.

I had this album back in college. Listened to it a few times, but didn't really get into it much. I have always thought Cohen is much like Dylan - a great writer, but not much of a performer. Re listening to it now with another 30 years or so on me, it's so much worse than I remembered. The writing is still great in most songs, but so much synth it could be mistaken for an early 80s album, and those backing vocals are so annoying. Turns out, much like Dylan, I like other people doing Cohen's songs way more than I like listening to the man himself. My three favorite tracks from this have all been redone by others and I find the covers to be much more listenable. "First We Take Manhattan" by R.E.M., "Everybody Knows" by Concrete Blonde, and "Tower of Song" by Tom Jones.

"Remember me ... I brought your groceries in ... (oooh oooh baby yeah!)" After really enjoying his Swan Song album, that line above really sums up the 80s cheese of this album!

Not a Leonard Cohen fan. The Everybody Knows song reminds me of “King of Kong,” so it gets points for that.

I used to love "Everybody knows" but the older I get, the worse those lyrics sit with me. A lot of this is just... not good.

Great lyrics

Me está tirando unos álbumes re potentes últimamente. Hypeado, veremos si cumple mis expectativas. Me aburrió bastante y no me convence el sonido ni el acompañamiento musical. Siento que es muy raro y desubicado por momentos.

(Strong 7/10) This album might be a bit of a grower for me, but I do think hearing Cohen's dark voice over these kitschy 80's synthpop backdrops is really entertaining. The poetry and lyricism are obviously the highlights here. The opening track combines the best of both together wonderfully with a super perky 80's-styled instrumental and that signature Leonard Cohen vocal delivery. "Tower Of Song" is also a super fantastic album closer, with very thoughtful poetry and a gentle backing vocal that does it's best to lift up an otherwise very melancholic tune. Everything in the middle is also more or less great, the weakest track being "Jazz Police". It just hasn't aged well as far as the songcraft itself goes. All in all, this a really pleasant album surprisingly for me, I just need to dig into the lyrics more and let the songs germinate in my mind.

Pretty good

Ok

Ok

Mehnard Cohen.

pretty sure i will have no comments. because i am speechless jazz police

Perhaps I am a victim of my own taste and musical upbringing, with the late 80’s being a blind spot for me, but the pop sounds of this era are the opposite of evergreen. It doesn’t help that Cohen takes no artistic liberty whatsoever with the instrumentals and synths. His voice and artistic aesthetics do NOT belong on a backing track that could be mistaken for an “I Wanna Dance With Somebody” karaoke backing track. The lyrics on “Ain’t No Cure For Love” are rigid enough when read, but an over 50 Leonard Cohen singing them adds insult to injury. I believe Cohen’s reputation precedes the substance of this album, and is perhaps somehow the reason folks have excused this wet blanket’s existence. I don’t find the lyrics to be passable or worth excusing the bleepy-bloopy, twee, shrill electronic backing tracks. If there’s an edge to these lyrics or a cunning to his deliveries, it’s totally lost on me. Leonard Cohen has some classics, and then there’s this dusty dump. “Take This Waltz” is the only fully-fleshed-out song on this record, and I think we can all find better baroque-inspired songs from long before 1988. I also really respect the idea of “Tower Of Song”, but it sounds like a donkey Kong country track and it’s just so off-putting. Swap the instrumentals out for something completely different please. 1/5

Some awful 80’s production going on here - not sure the wailing of Cohen gel with the synth pop and backing vocals.

It’s really hard to sound this goofy and still not even be a little bit enjoyable. Awful listen, super cheap sounding.

Listens: 2 Standout Tracks: First We Take Manhattan, Jazz Police This is my 3rd Leonard Cohen album, and while I wouldn't consider myself an expert who is well versed in his music, I am now "vaguely familiar". My own take on this album is, as with almost all other synth-based music from the 80s, I am not really a fan of the direction Leonard went with this album. The synth now feels dated. The backing vocals come off as kind of weird. I am not sure I can explain why. There are some good songs on the album - the idea of "Jazz Police" is strangely compelling in a futuristic, dystopian way - but I was not as impressed as I was on You Want It Darker or Songs from a Room. I continue to like the qualities of his voice, independent of whether or not I actually enjoyed the album.

Um, no... you are definitely NOT my man.

Kinda boring and repetitive at times but also cool

5 all day long (even with Jazz Police on it)

I'm learning via this album generator that I am not a Leonard Cohen fan. It feels like I'm at a coffee shop poetry slam, not listening to music.

It's alright. I find his voice nice to listen to but musics not catchy enough for my taste

Ah man. A change of style for Leonard Cohen, but not in message and voice. This is a Cohen record for the ages.

This came across as horrible as Pat Boone covering metal albums. Leonard Cohen trying to sound modern and hip is the exact opposite to what I want to listen to him do.

Great Cohen lyrics and imagery but now painted over 80s synths instead of acoustic guitar. Weirdly compelling, but ultimately a step down

Heavy synths; background singers + instruments this has to be the 80s. 1988, that tracks. Everybody Knows, for me, is where I found Cohen in this album and his modern sound. I am drawn to that voice, like Neil Young, Dylan, Gilles Vigneault, those who rasp and reach. I'm Your Man. I wonder if the modern sound puts his voice in the best light. The background music could be from a casio keyboard, or band in the box. Would less synth live musicians do it more justice. Take this waltz. I had to look up the lyrics, and the feeling I should do that for all of Cohen's songs. Lyrics are usually fluffy, but these have true gravitas. Barring the first few songs the synths and drum tracks play out just fine the rest of the way. The voice shines through, maybe needed some time to warm up? Who knows, who am I. Leonard's lyrics are sublime, worth printing and reading before, during, or afterwards. Solid 4.

Is this the best album cover on which a 54 year old man eats a banana? I don't love the synths generally - very casio - but I think his voice almost works better with synth backing than acoustic backing? Also love whenever he's got backup singers. Lyrics are pretty fun too - playing a fascist in a few songs in a way that really works for me and playing with his aging legend status in a way that kinda works for me. Jazz Police must be reckoned with at some point, but I am not prepared for the reckoning today. Let's just call it minus one star.

this is a weird one: it's like he had half of an album but was then asked to add a bunch of semi-creepy love songs with 80s lounge music backing. the synths can be... a bit much. was his voice always so deep and crusty?? 2.5/5

A bit surprised by the low average on the site for this. It's is PEAK 80's with the production, with backing singers chiming in and cheap sounding electronics on a large portion of the songs, but to me that is part of the charm!! Tower of Song, First We Take Manhattan, Everybody Knows, I'm Your Man, there is some fantastic songs on here. Give it a chance and see behind the cheesiness and you will be rewarded!!

Listened before?: nope First We Take Manhattan - 4/5 Ain't No Cure for Love - 3/5 Everybody Knows - 3/5 I'm Your Man - 4/5 Take This Waltz - 2/5 Jazz Police - 1/5 I Can't Forget - 2/5 Tower of Song - 3/5 Average score: 2.8/5 ⭐️⭐️⭐️ i have generally liked Leonard Cohen's albums featured on this list, but this one was probably the most jarring to me. pairing his sultry, mature voice alongside cheesy 80s production and synths was definitely a choice i can't understand why this is on the list aside from the fact that it's a Leonard Cohen album but whatever. i don't think i hated this enough to give it 2 stars, so i'll generously round up the score this time

Lyrically great, musically awkward and uncomfortable. 2/5.

Some of my very favorite songs, but cheesy 80’s production.

Weird spoken word poetry....

Overall, this was disappointing. Not a lot of good vocal work, which was the expectation. Left no impression. Wouldn't listen again.

A very distinct voice. He’s got something

I don't understand the hype with this guy

Great voice but this album was a miss for me. Aggressively 80s, quite poppy, I thought it didn't suit his style at all. Seems like it sold loads and he released half of it as singles so guess it's well regarded. Leonard is far better when he's miserable I think and this was all fairly breezy. So overall not good.

Fan of Leonard Cohen anyway, and this album was a bit refreshing. I'm always up for something miserable, but this one was miserably optimistic. First We Take Manhattan the proper standout, really belting anthem gurned through, but I'm Your Man and I Can't Forget also really good.

Hmm synthy Leonard Cohen hey, that wasn't a thing that I was aware that existed. After reading the wiki entry I thought I would hate this, but it wasn't too synth heavy at all really. Cohen is one of the artists I've found from this list that I enjoy the albums when I hear them, yet I rarely seem to want to listen to them again strangely. I do think I enjoyed this less than all the others of his we've had before. Still I reckon 3.5

This was over shockingly fast. It’s crazy how quickly 40 minutes can evaporate. It sounds like progressive music one long nice song. I’m sure I would like it much more with multiple listens.

Very smooth listen. Leonard Cohen's voice sits powerfully above the lush instrumentals and the backing vocals and singing performances are grand on this project. Another great listen!

I almost gave this a 3 because I just really like listening to Leonard Cohen’s voice. But ultimately it’s not an album I find very interesting unfortunately.

OMG, Leonard Cohen two days in a row… please make it stop!!! I literally do not understand how this guy has so many albums on this list. Yesterday was deathbed depression spoken word poetry over music, today is spoken word poetry over 80’s music - saxophones and all.

More listenable and entertaining than I would have initially thought

Day 31 Man sounds bored the entire time but it works Fav track: Tower of Song

I really can’t stand 80s music.

He sings very low. That's about all I can say.

More than one song reminded me of “Be Prepared” from the Lion King. This is both compliment and complaint.

Even Cohen bowed down to the power of the 80s synthesizer! Yea, I didnt like this. Ive had enough Cohen on here. I get it

LEONARDDDDDDDDD 1000000000000/5⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

As a rule, 60’s-70’s folksy poets fit horribly into the 80’s aesthetic. Horribly. The excellently-initialled LC seemed to transcend that a bit, I believe by hopscotching over the 80’s mindset and going directly into the 90’s mindset. So in spite of the synthesizers and other bloops, I’m Your Man feels like an early 90’s record to me. Of course, this isn't the hot take I may have once thought it was. One of the coolest aspects of this whole project has been learning how trends germinate and evolve over time, and I've heard to just how wide an extent the music that exploded in the early '90s was being pioneered all through the '80s and earlier by a few brave souls. So in summary: A grand spin!