Bruce Cockburn ~ you can have only seven albums...which would you pick?

Finally picked this one up last year and then recently read that section of his memoir. He seemed to have been quite inspired at the time. I think it can get a bad rap because it is pretty dark. However, songs like Open provide a good contrast to the bleaker material.

 

I'm really surprised by the relative lack of love for Big Circumstance. And Small Source of Comfort is wonderful. I like all of Bruce's work but my taste skews towards his albums from the 80s onward so if I really had to limit myself to just 7 I would cheat by starting with the original Waiting for a Miracle two disc compilation (the UK version was just a single disc on CD). Then:

Big Circumstance
Further Adventures Of
The Charity of Night
Humans
Dart To The Heart
Breakfast In New Orleans, Dinner In Timbuktu

 

Just got The Trouble with Normal and Dancing in the Dragon's Jaws on CD.

My DITDJ disc has some pinholes, but hoping it doesn't prove to be lethal as this is one dynamic sounding disc.

Discogs doesn't have the year of issue on this, but this is the one I got (can't be too early of an issue as it has "visit our
website" on the back:

Bruce Cockburn - Dancing In The Dragon's Jaws

TTWN is a US disc from '89 on Gold Castle (?)

Bruce Cockburn - The Trouble With Normal

 

Nothing But A Burning Light / Bruce Cockburn Primer (Promo only)
Columbia ‎– CSK 4222 2 × CD
This 2 cd promo is a great choice, Commemorating the Columbia Re-issues
Disc 1 covers his most popular work up to 1991. Disc 2 is the full version of "Nothing But A Burning Light"
Excellent sound quality.
Bruce Cockburn - Nothing But A Burning Light / Primer

 

Just seeing this over a year on. I would go with:

Live
Stealing Fire
Dancing In The Dragon's Jaws
Big Circumstance
Nothing But A Burning Light
In The Falling Dark
Breakfast In New Orleans...Dinner In Timbuktu

To get the best overview of his early career, it's hard to beat the complete 2-disc original version of Waiting For A Miracle: Singles 1970-1987. There's a bit of overlap with three of the studio LPs I've listed but you get the cream of the rest of his 1970s and 1980s work, plus two new songs (both very good). Most of his albums over this early period were rather hit or miss, and many of the best songs are collected here.

 

It's a great album; much better than the comparatively tedious The Charity of Night.

 

You'll be happy to note that he has a new, all-instrumental album coming out later this month:

Crowing Ignites | BRUCE COCKBURN

 

I agree; I think it's the best of his late-period albums (2000-onward).

 

Saw that one in Boston a couple of years ago.

 

Also not necessarily in order...

1. In the Falling Dark
2. The Trouble With Normal
3. You’ve Never Seen Everything
4. The Charity Of Night
5. Inner City Front
6. Humans
7. Dancing in the Dragon's Jaws

You're right. Seven just isn't enough. I would have included Sunwheel Dance, Christmas, Salt, Sun and Time, and Nothing But A Burning Light. We saw him last year at City Winery in Atlanta, and we're seeing him again September 20th at City Winery in Nashville. He's one of my absolute favorites!

 

Some odd the beaten path choices. Humans and Inner City Front seem to get lost between Dragon’s Jaws and Trouble, likely because of the big hits on those two. Both are excellent, though, and really sound like Toronto in the early 80s to me (even more so the excellent non-album track from that era, Coldest Night of the Year).

I’m also glad to see lots of love for Falling Dark. While I agree with others who sing the praises of the 2-disc best of, it doesn’t showcase the depth of this 70s gem. A flawless album. It also has the best outtakes of his career.

 

My wife and I actually saw Bruce in 1982 during the Inner City Front tour with a full band at Covenant College in Chattanooga, TN VERY near where I live, and I remember he did most of what would become The Trouble With Normal album, and I remember being very taken with the songs, and as soon as I saw the album I immediately scooped it up, as I've done with every Bruce release before or after that one. Excepting one-off tribute songs and the box set I have everything he's done.

 

I’m in pretty much the same place... the box set was a bit steep for a disc of outtakes. Here’s something new I found out about today by chance... Bruce produced and played on this early 70s folk albums. One of his band mates from The Children:


Also, I recently got a smart tv that came with the National Film Board of Canada app... did a quick search and lo and behold there was Waterwalker featuring the excellent soundtrack by Bruce.

 

In 1976 I was a teen gobbling up every good bit of music I could find, and as I was driving down the road this song came on the FM station that mesmerized me. The vocals reminded be of Patrick Simmons from the Doobie Brothers, but I knew it wasn't them. Since this was before the Internet, smartphones, and Shazam, I did what any obsessive teen music lover would do...I called the radio station and said "What WAS that song you just played. I HAVE to know! Turns out it was "Silver Wheels', from "In the Falling Dark". I went right out to the Record Bar and ordered it special order. It took eight weeks to get it, but I played it to death and fell HARD for Bruce, and eventually special ordered all of his current back catalog. So it started, my exquisite ardor for all things Bruce.

 

Anyone heard the new album? I'm a big fan of Bruce's instrumentals (and guitar playing in general) so I'm looking forward to hearing it. Gonna pick it up tomorrow if my local has any copies in stock.

 

Apropos of the season, I have Bruce's Christmas album on its way. Got it on trade with a .50 cent fee....can't beat that. I listened to it on YT last night, and it didn't take long to decide. Plus, my wife liked it, and she generally doesn't pay much attention to anything I listen to.

 

You need at least 10 so I have cheated and included a couple of live albums and a compilation.

Big Circumstance
Live
Nothing But A Burning Light
Dart To The Heart
Breakfast In New Orleans, Dinner In Timbuktu
Anything, Anytime, Anywhere – Singles 1979 – 2002
Slice O Life

 

I have it and it's pretty good. Some of is quite unusual though.

 

Even my family who don’t really have interest in Cockburn want this in frequent rotation every Christmas. There’s so much going for it. The great T-Bone production. Some really serious material, some beautiful stuff like Silent Night, and a couple of flawless instrumentals.

 

Big Circumstance is the only one I listen to regularly. High quality record. I've got a couple of others but they were second-hand and on "well-loved" vinyl so they don't play very well.

I really must explore more so this thread has been an interesting read.

 

As an aside. For the covers this is my fav.

Bruce is from my home town Ottawa Canada. The bridge behind him is an overpass over the Bytown-Prescott railway cut in Old Otawa South. These were all destroyed by the late seventies. The last of which was out in the country south of the airport on Johnston rd which was a short hike from my house.

I remember how crazy it was in the winter with the school bus struggling and sliding across these things. However they were timber structures close to a hundred years old so much respect!

Another aside. Bytown is the old name for Ottawa and also the name of Bruce's publishing at this time

 

I was never into any of the famous commercial artist's Christmas albums but acoustic stuff like Cockburn is great. My other favorite in this vein is Heart Of The Minstrel On Christmas Day by Harvey Reid.

 

I would start with Circles in the Stream to get a good overview of his earlier work; then Dancing in the Dragons Jaw; then Stealing Fire; then one of his more recent ones. Those 4 would get you started. where'd 7 come from?

 

That’s some great Ottawa history! Although if I remember correctly, wasn’t he born on Union St in Kingston?

About 10 years ago I was pulled into the customs office at the 1000 Islands Bridge and who was coming out but Bruce! Too shy to say hello, but he was in a Dodge Sprinter so I assume coming home from a solo tour. This would have been when he was living in Kingston, but dating his now wife in Brooklyn, so probably going through that crossing frequently.

 

High Winds White Sky is a beautiful, quiet winter time acoustic album. I treasure all of those records he made in the 70s.