Typically, I’m NOT a covers guy. Dare I say, I’m not even really THAT big of a Leonard Cohen fan. But Barnaby Bennett does my ears good every-single-time. And knowing that he’s covering “First We Take Manhattan” …just makes me smile in the sense of ultimate evil versus ultimate evil. Could you just imagine? Oh, Leonard Cohen, I KNOW what you tried to do in NYC. Props for trying to destroy everything. Thanks for pointing Barnaby in the right direction, as the demise of Manhattan is really my only way out. Actually, untrue. I’d be stuck on Long Island — which is arguably a bigger shit-hole — considering Manhattan is my only REAL way out. But in this case, I’d swim.
I admire Barnaby’s intent with the song, both in his interpretation and the way he deploys his interpretation. It’s darker, maybe? DEFINITELY not as clear-cut in sound. Just mostly wonderful that he’s gripping from the dance/beat side of production and then adding a layer of fuzzed guitar atop it make things hazy, but in a polluted skyline sense. So, “First We Take Manhattan (Leonard Cohen cover)” is pretty much 2014’s “Come With Me.” You be the judge and scope it out below:
• Barnaby Bennett: http://barnabybennett.snack.ws