Big Circumstance

Description

Big Circumstance is the fifteenth studio album by the Canadian singer, songwriter, and guitarist Bruce Cockburn, released in Canada on True North Records in 1989, distributed by CBS Music Products Inc. Also released in the US on Gold Castle. The album was recorded July-August 1988 by John Naslen assisted by Mike Colomby at Manta Sound in Toronto, Canada; with Jon Goldsmith producing.

After 1981’s transitional ‘Inner City Front‘, Bruce Cockburn released a trio of socio-political oriented albums -‘The Trouble With Normal‘, ‘Stealing Fire‘ and ‘World of Wonders‘ – which featured increasingly dark lyrics and a raw musical approach. ‘Big Circumstance’ is the enigmatic Canadian’s eighteenth album and his first collection of new material in three years. It signals somewhat of a return to Bruce’s pre-1981, acoustic sound and mood. The barely contained rage is still there. But it’s now tempered with restraint, the cynicism laced with optimism, and the futility is balanced by Cockburn’s Christian faith.

Bruce continues to study the headlines, and to be disturbed by the lack of justice that is meted out on the less fortunate of the world. «If A Tree Falls» decries the actions of “greedheads” who would rape the world’s forests with no thought of her future. «Radium Rain» was penned just after the Chernobyl accident, which is still costing lives in Eastern Europe. Done at a slow bluesy tempo, if features a chilling guitar solo that ranks with Cockburn’s best. And «Down Where the Death Squad Lives» is another snapshot from Bruce’s Central America travels. It shows, sadly, that little has changed there since 1984’s «Rocket Launcher».

Bruce Cockburn is one of the few contemporary rock composers whose lyrics can easily stand apart from his music. The intimate narrative sense of lines such as “a newborn moon pushing up its glistening some” or “a shattered heart and soul held together by habit and skin” aptly demonstrate Cockburn’s immense poetic talents.

As for “politics of the heart,” there’s «Don’t Feel Your Touch» and «Pangs of Love», two mournful tales of separation that are as personal and touching as any songs Cockburn has ever released.

Clocking in at about sixty minutes, listeners get their moneys worth with ‘Big Circumstance’. It was recorded mostly “live” in the studio, with a minimum of re-takes and edits, and the immediacy is rewarding. In a career rifle with highlights, ‘Big Circumstance’ may be Cockburn’s best work to date. [Bruce A. Brown, CCM, March 1989]

> Apple Music (https://music.apple.com/us/album/big-circumstance-deluxe-edition/295778268)

LP tracklist:

Side One
A1. “If A Tree Falls” – 5:43
A2. “Shipwrecked At The Stable Door” – 3:38
A3. “Gospel Of Bondage” – 5:45
A4. “Don’t Feel Your Touch” – 4:48
A5. “Tibetan Side Of Town” – 7:00
A6. “Understanding Nothing” – 4:25

Side Two
B1. “Where The Death Squad Lives” – 4:23
B2. “Radium Rain” – 9:22
B3. “Pangs Of Love” – 5:19
B4. “The Gift” – 6:04
B5. “Anything Can Happen” – 4:30

Note: Simultaneously released on cassette, 12-inch vinyl LP, and CD, with the vinyl edition housed in a gatefold sleeve. A remastered Deluxe Edition was released on CD by Rounder Records in June 2005 featuring a bonus track; “If a Tree Falls” (new acoustic version). Available at Bandcamp: https://brucecockburn.bandcamp.com/album/big-circumstance-deluxe-edition

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