Bruce Cockburn - The Charity of Night (1996)

Dan:

I first learned about Bruce Cockburn (pronounced Co-burn) from my friend Rafael in Miami. Rafael lived in Canada for a while before moving to Florida. Cockburn was born in Canada in 1945 and began releasing folk albums on the True North label in 1970. He is known for his political stances but also as a great musician and songwriter. Through Rafael I discovered his albums In the Falling Dark (1976), Dancing in the Dragon's Jaws (1979), Humans (1980), and Stealing Fire (1984). Dancing and Humans became lifelong favorites that I still listen to frequently. 

The Charity of Night was released in 1996, a dozen years after I had stopped following Cockburn's albums. It came to my attention by way of Gary Burton, the celebrated vibist who plays on the album. The core instrumentalists are Cockburn on guitars, Burton on vibes, Rob Wasserman on bass, and Gary Craig on percussion. Backing vocalists include Bob Weir, Johnathan Brooke, Patty Larkin, Ani DiFranco, and Maria Muldaur. Additional guests include Bonnie Raitt (slide guitar), Janice Powers (keyboards), and Joe Macerollo (accordion).

So now we have a couple of jazz greats (Wasserman and Burton) playing on a folksinger's album listed in a prog blog. How could that be? To my ears, there is not much distinction between this album and many of the others in the blog. It's unique, just as many of our other posted albums are. It's obviously eclectic, as reflected in the musicians' bios, superbly performed and produced, and extends the language of folk well beyond its acoustic origins. The songs are socially conscious, focusing on the plight of the world ("Strange Waters," "The Mines of Mozambique"); ennui ("Pacing the Cage);" and love ("Live on My Mind"). Lyrics are poetically obscure, and all are worth mulling over.

Several of Cockburn's songs combine a "spoken word" approach to the verses, punctuated by lyrically ecstatic choruses, which are the lines I respond to most. The title track, "Live on My Mind," Birmingham Shadows," and "The Whole Night Sky" all employ this pattern to great effect. To wit, the latter's chorus is short but powerful:

And look—see my tears—

They fill the whole night sky

The whole night sky

Gary Burton's role is key on six of the eleven tracks. He was one of the first jazz vibes players to adorn country music with his ringing sound, and he has also recorded tango albums, added color to numerous rock and soul albums, and here provides luminous textures in just the right places. In addition, "Mistress of Storms" is a duet between Burton and Cockburn on acoustic guitar. 

I thank Gary for turning me on to Bruce Cockburn's superb album. 

Steve:

I was not familiar with this Bruce Cockburn album before Dan's inclusion of it on the blog, but getting to know this album has been a rewarding experience. I have some limited prior exposure to Cockburn's material (I've heard Stealing Fire and Humans once or twice), so this look into his 90s material was immediately interesting to me. Certainly the presence of Gary Burton rang a lot of bells (or vibes), as Gary's music resonated through our household frequently when I was a child. At one point Dan owned every album Gary ever played on, which is a lot of albums.

Cockburn's folk style is not a type of music I seek out often, but when such an album resonates with me, it tends to sink in deep. Richard Thompson's Rumour and Sigh is a good example of this, and I have reason to believe that The Charity of Night may join that excellent album's company. The album has great atmosphere, with a rich instrumentation (besides Burton, I can appreciate Rob Wasserman's bass work as well, familiar as I am with his work with Lou Reed), and the frequent spoken sections are always something I enjoy.

My favorite tracks include "Get Up Jonah", which has a lot of energy, and begins with a line seemingly designed to win me over, "I woke up thinking about Turkish drummers / It didn't take long, I don't know much about Turkish drummers".  "Mistress of Storms" is an excellent instrumental with lots of Gary Burton. "Birmingham Shadows" is likely going to get the most replays, as it has an inviting jazz groove and lots of great instrumental work in addition to more spoken bits. "The Mines of Mozambique" has a similar instrumental depth that I really enjoyed. Finally, the closing "Strange Waters" brims with intensity and anger, with a distorted guitar leading the way (including a cool electric guitar solo), and with sweet backing vocals lending poignancy to the chorus.