Amanda Shires is best known as a violinist (also for being Jason Isbell’s wife and sometimes bandmate), but on her tender new cover of Leonard Cohen’s “I’m Your Man” she ditches her signature instrument for the ukulele. At least it has the same number of strings!
She proves equally adept at the new instrument, plucking it quietly to accompany her delicate singing. She gets bonus points too for not forcing a switch to “I’m Your Woman,” the sort of dumb lyric change too many singers do when covering a song by someone of the opposite gender.
“We have taken a thousand road trips together and I have drunk hundreds of bottles of wine with him, ever since I found him in that record store in Lubbock, Texas,” says Shires.
The song comes off an upcoming Amazon Music Valentine’s Day playlist that includes tons of new covers. Hear a few others released early below: Hurray for the Riff Raff covering The Ronettes’ “Be My Baby” (accompanied by members of Lee Fields & The Expressions), Joyce Manor covering the Lemonheads’ “Into Your Arms”, Tacocat covering Dolly Parton’s “Why’d You Come in Here Lookin’ Like That”, and Kadhja Bonet covering The Spinners’ “One of a Kind Love”.
The full set is out tomorrow on Amazon Music.
