The production on Leonard Cohen's second album is starker than on his first, putting even more focus on lyrics that prove alternately entrancing and lacerating—sometimes both at once. War, mythology, romance, and religion tumble together in songs that wield words as instruments of wonder, wit, and destruction. Whether Cohen's deadpan voice is cataloging his attempts at attaining true liberty ("Bird on a Wire"), unfolding a bloody allegory ("The Butcher"), or indulging in romantic ribaldry ("Tonight Will Be Fine"), he's working on an almost untouchable level.