The lyrics to "Take This Waltz" are based on Federico Garcia Lorca's poem "Little Viennese Waltz." Personnel: Leonard Cohen (vocals, arranger, various instruments); Anjani, Jennifer Warnes, Evelyine Hebey, Mayel Assouly, Elisabeth Valletti, Jude Johnstone (vocals); Jean-Philippe Rykiel, Jeff Fisher (arrangers, various instruments); Michel Robidoux (arranger, keyboards, drums); Roscoe Beck (arranger); Bob Stanley (guitar); Sneaky Pete Kleinow (steel guitar); John Bilezikjian (oud); Raffi Hakopian (violin); Richard Baudet (saxophone); Larry Cohen (keyboards); Peter Kisilenko (bass); Vinnie Colaiuta, Tom Brechtlein (drums); Lenny Castro (percussion). Producers: Leonard Cohen, Roscoe Beck, Michel Robidoux, Gean-Michel Reusser. Engineers include: Ian Terry, Roger Guerin, Francois Deschamps. Recorded at Studio Tempo and DMS Studios, Montreal, Canada; Rock Steady, Los Angeles, California; Studio Montmartre, Paris, France; Soundworks, New York, New York. Contemporary music's poet laureate, Leonard Cohen performs in a universe of pessimism, cynicism, spirituality and profound romance, all stirred with a dash of wit. On I'M YOUR MAN, his acid words burn deep to the soul. Cohen's poetry deals with powerful demons--"You loved me as a loser, but now you're worried that I just might win/You know the way to stop me, but you don't have the discipline/How many nights I've prayed for this: to let my work begin." He is obsessed with religion--"Everybody knows what you've been through/From the bloody cross on top of calvary to the beach at Malibu"--and has a love/hate relationship with himself--"My friends are gone and my hair is grey/I ache in places where I used to play." Often, existential dilemmas rear their complex heads ("They sentenced me to twenty years of boredom"), but it is eroticism that truly drives Leonard Cohen--"I'd drive howl at your beauty like a dog in heat/I'd claw at your heart and I'd tear at your sheet/I'd say 'please, please, I'm your man.'" Oh yes, there's music also. Cohen's deep, gruff vocals are offset by female singers, and by moody, textured instrumentation ranging from rock and jazz to classical and folk. Yet it is the language that is the true star of I'M YOUR MAN.

• Genre: Pop
• RSD Date: n/a
• Format: Vinyl
• Released: 10/07/2016