Feb
6
Now that ‘The Sweet Dropper’ has more readers than I can count on one hand, it’s time to give props to Canadian singer-songwriter Bruce Cockburn [pronounced co-burn with a long "o"], whose music has been a big part of my life since I first heard If I Had a Rocket Launcher in Paul Case’s car in the parking lot of Christ United Methodist Church in Jackson, MS in 1984. Miss Judy and I saw Bruce in concert at Holy Communion Episcopal Church in Memphis back in June–best concert I’ve attended since…well, since Paul Case and I saw Bruce at the Moonshadow in Atlanta in 1986!
Cockburn, whose guitar skills make amateurs like myself contemplate smashing their fingers with a hammer, is held in highest regard in his “home and native land” for his career of more than 40 years. He has released 29 albums, is a member of the Canadian Music Hall of Fame, and is truly ‘a musician’s musician.’
Cockburn gained initial recognition in 1969 as a last-minute replacement for Neil Young as headliner at the Mariposa Folk Festival. His first solo album was recorded the following year. For the next decade, Cockburn developed a sound that combined folk, rock and jazz, and also distinguished himself with lyrics expressing a new-found Christian faith and a gentle introspection. This phase of his career peaked with 1979’s Dancing In the Dragon’s Jaws, which featured his first U.S. Top 40 hit, “Wondering Where the Lions Are.”
On 1980’s Humans–which I and many other fans consider one of his best–Cockburn emerges as a keen observer of the global scene and an eloquent commentator on his own private struggles. Humans resonates with world-beat influences and darker, more politically aware lyrics. Throughout the ’80s his music took on a more electric sound and gave eloquent voice to angry left-wing politics.
From the mid-’90s to the present Cockburn’s music has gathered up the earlier phases of
his career and mellowed them into a spiritually sensitive, politically astute, and refreshingly honest body of work–now more jazz and acoustic than the electric “protest” music of the ’80s. His lyrics are more thought-provoking than ever, and his musicianship still amazes.
If you want to sample Cockburn’s music, let me offer a few recommendations:
- Joy Will Find a Way [1975] and In the Falling Dark [1976-many of the tracks chronicle his emerging Christian faith]
- Dancing in the Dragon’s Jaws [1979-the peak of Cockburn's folk/acoustic period],
- Humans [1980-brilliant transition album from contemplative Cockburn to angry Cockburn],
- Stealing Fire [1984-peak of Cockburn's politically-charged electric sound]
- Christmas [1993-if I can keep only one CD of Christmas music, I'd keep this one!],
- The Charity of the Night [1997] and Breakfast in New Orleans, Dinner in Timbuktu [1999-both of which exhibit his full artistic and emotional range],
- Speechless [2005 compilation of his best instrumental pieces--a must for guitar enthusiasts],
- Life Short Call Now [2006-his most recent release].
All of these are available from Amazon and most from iTunes.
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4 Responses to “Bruce Cockburn-revisited”
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I shouldn’t be surprised why I like you so much. “Dancing in the Dragon’s Jaws” was one of those delights around which my romance with my bride, Jennifer, began. At Grace our congregation’s singing of “Early on One Christmas Morn” has become a Christmas Eve tradition. BTW I heard Nancy Griffith on Prairie Home Companion last week, and I gave thanks for the Palmertrees!
I would love to hear what y’all sound like singing “Early.” I have always wanted to do that, but felt like our piano was too much in tune to make it sound authentic–you know, not honky-tonk enough. About every other year I get someone to cover “It Came Upon the Midnight Clear” with me, though.
I saw Nancy on TV a couple of weeks back, and savored memories of our seminary friendship too. She was not in particularly good voice, but she might say the same about me these days.
Where do you start with Bruce? The Charity of Night is the most beautiful album that a human being has ever created. Dark? yes, but that does not exclude it from the “beautiful” category at all. I have seen Bruce six times and have driven as far as Chicago from my home in Memphis to see him. He does have “off” nights if you see him enough, but even these are impressive.
Just dropped by to check Phillip’s blog. My wife Debbie and I were fortunate enough to attend the Bruce concert with Phillip and Judy last year. It was my 4th Bruce concert, my first having been during the Big Circumstance Tour tour in the summer of 2000 at Wolf Trap in Vienna, VA. All have been great (none was when he “was off”) but I think this concert last year was the best I have been to. Like many fans I think Humans is is best album (I actually had it on vinyl!) and I always wanted to hear him sing Tokyo but had given up on hearing it live since it was so old and I had been to three concerts and even yelled it out (you could tell it was a “Christian venue because everyone looked at me and one pious ___ yelled out “Play whatever you want Bruce”). Memphis, however, was a different story, it was one of the first songs of the night and I knew it was going to be a great night.
Because of Randy’s post I am sitting here listening again to Charity of Night finding out again what a great disc it is. My best comment about Bruce came from my son Davie (now 25) when he was first starting getting in music at 12 or 13 commenting that I was not cool about music because the guy that I had more CDs by than any other artist was a guy “no one else has ever heard of”