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Bruce Cockburn

Old 03-26-02, 10:45 PM
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Bruce Cockburn

As with my Cat Stevens thread, this one likely won't get very many, if any, replies. Cockburn doesn't just compose rousing melodies, he augments them with meaningful, often angry, lyrics. Post your favorites.

Mine:

1) CALL IT DEMOCRACY
2) FASCIST ARCHITECTURE
3) TOKYO
4) LOVERS IN A DANGEROUS TIME
5) THE COLDEST NIGHT OF THE YEAR
6) WANNA GO WALKING
7) WAITING FOR A MIRACLE
8) THE CANDY MAN'S GONE
9) WONDERING WHERE THE LIONS ARE
10) BURN
11) TROPIC MOON
12) THE TROUBLE WITH NORMAL
Old 03-27-02, 06:07 AM
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Hey Will, it's okay to post something that won't get many replies because usually at leat ONE person hears ya! I like Bruce. I have a few of his Cd's... "Nothing But a Burning Light" is my favorite. I also pull out his excellent Christmas CD each year.
Old 03-27-02, 08:19 PM
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"If I had a rocket launcher......."

-matt
Old 01-30-03, 10:40 PM
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Click here for AllMusicGuide profile of Bruce Cockburn
Reviving this old thread, I hope you two are still around. I recently got a whole bunch of Cockburn's albums, some older, some more recent, and I discovered some new gems.

Raithen, "If I had a Rocket Launcher" is often cited as one of his best, but although I like it to a certain extent, I disagree. I think "Call it Democracy" (see signature) is a much more politically forceful and engaging song.

Atlantamoi, one of the albums I got is Nothing but a Burning Light. It is good. I'd give it 3/5 overall. "Somebody Touched Me" is my favourite track on the disc, and I also like "Great Big Love", "One of the Best Ones", "A Dream Like Mine", and "Indian Wars".

Of the ones I have, I think his best album overall, preliminarily, is Big Circumstance (1988), with the top song being "Don't Feel Your Touch", followed by "If a Tree Falls", "The Gift", "Shipwrecked at the Stable Door", "Understanding Nothing", "Gospel of Bondage", and "Radium Rain". 4/5 aggregate.

Second best is probably In the Falling Dark (1976), a much more folksy (but beautiful) collection. Great tracks such as "I'm Gonna Fly Someday", "Dweller by a Dark Stream", and "Red Brother, Red Sister" (the latter has an especially contagious hook) are buttressed by a slew of decent-->good tracks, comprising virtually the entire album: "Vagabondage", "In the Falling Dark", "Little Seahorse", "Water Into Wine", "Silver Wheels", "Giftbearer", and "Untitled Guitar". 3.5/5 overall.

Next is, I think, Humans (1980), his most famous album. I've always found "Tokyo" and "Fascist Architecture" to be neck-and-neck as two of his best songs, but the version of F.A. in Humans is markedly inferior to the longer, more intense reinvention of the song found on the double-disc compilation album Waiting for a Miracle (1987). Also good on Humans are "More Not More" (especially), "How I Spent My Fall Vacation", "The Rose Above the Sky", and "Rumours of Glory". 3.5/5 overall.

World of Wonders (1986) showcases what is still my favourite Cockburn song, "Call it Democracy", as well as the excellent "Down Here Tonight", and other goodies like "Lily of the Midnight Sky", "World of Wonders", "Berlin Tonight", and "See How I Miss You". 3.5/5 altogether.

Other 3/5 albums include Inner City Front (1981), with standout songs like "The Coldest Night of the Year" and "Wanna Go Walking", among others; Stealing Fire (1984), which contains the wonderful "Lovers in a Dangerous Time" (later unfortunately redone by Barenaked Ladies), in addition to worthy songs like "Dust and Diesel", "Peggy's Kitchen Wall", and others; Dancing in the Dragon's Jaws (1979) is just a collection of consistently nice folkers.

I found The Trouble With Normal (1983) disappointing. Four songs I deem worth repeated listenings, the strongest being "Candy Man's Gone". 2.5/5

The worst Cockburn album I've come across is The Charity of Night (1999). A couple of above-average tunes; the rest is boring, in my opinion. 1.5/5


I would revise my Cockburn top-10 list to include several of the new pieces I've heard.

Last edited by Norm de Plume; 01-30-03 at 11:01 PM.
Old 01-31-03, 02:08 PM
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Cool name
Old 01-31-03, 04:35 PM
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Yeah, his name was a nightmare for our college radio station. We played many of his albums and I remember having to write down on a big sticker that you pronounce it "Co-Burn" or "Coh-Burn". People still messed it up.

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