Leonard Cohen: I'm Your Man (1988)

Stick another turtle on the fire
Guys like me are mad for turtle meat

My photo of my two copies of I'm Your Man is a bit crooked. Sorry about that.

I'm Your Man was quite a dramatic change in sound for Cohen. The guitar is all but gone, replaced by keyboards and synthetic rhythms. The lyrics, though, are classic Cohen with a good deal of humour thrown in. Jennifer Warnes recorded First We Take Manhattan the year before (making good use of Stevie Ray Vaughan), so many people were already familiar with that song. There are so many good songs on this record, it's really difficult to choose a favourite. I was quite happy when I learned that The Pixies choose to record I Can't Forget for the I'm Your Fan tribute album. That song is an overlooked gem on this record. Tower of Song is, of course, a masterpiece.